Running Head: U.S.

and European Soccer Cultures

A Comparison Between the United States and European Soccer Cultures

Justin Woods
University of Kentucky

Authors note
My name is Justin Woods and am a student at the University of Kentucky. I am writing
this paper for Mr. Jeremy Hickman in the Communications Department at the University of
Kentucky. Contact me at jdwo228@g.uky.edu

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Abstract
This paper will give a little background about what the sport of soccer is and its origin. It
will also compare the United States and the European soccer cultures and their main differences.
The European soccer culture is greatly centered around nationality and communication while the
United States soccer culture goes almost unnoticed. The differences are side effects of how the
sport was raised and how the fans associate the sport with their country. Although there are
differences between the two cultures, the sport of soccer is still present and universal across both
of them. It is a way that the two cultures can come together and communicate with one another.
Keywords: nationality, culture, pace, communication, friendship

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The game of soccer can be followed all the way back in time to 200 B.C. when the
Chinese would play a game called Tsu Chu. Tsu Chu was a game played by soldiers that would
include their feet. They would try to kick a ball between two poles with a net several feet above
the ground. Since then, the sport of soccer has greatly changed, but the game of Tsu Chu can be
tied to its roots (Crocombe 2015). However, soccer was only recently established as an
international sport within the past 200 years. The first international game was played between
Scotland and England in 1872 and later introduced to the Olympics in 1900 (Parrish 2015). The
popularity grew quickly for this sport in Europe and began to be associated with a strong national
pride within the countries. What one may not know is that the second international game hosted
outside of Europe was between Canada and the United States. Even though all of these countries
made international moves in progressing soccer, their cultures around the sport remain
completely different. Why is it that two countries in Europe will begin a war over a soccer
match, while the game is barely noticed in the United States? It is because of how the
community associate the sport to their countries. Europe is more predominantly cultured around
soccer because of its rich history and meaning for the sport, while the United states is less
cultured around soccer because of its slow paced gameplay and disinterested fans.
One reason American soccer cannot match European soccer is because of its lack of
passion in the states. The difference between the two cultures is how the sport is viewed by its
fans. In the United States, soccer isnt considered a typical American sport: soccer is just not as
deeply rooted within the culture as other more traditionally American sports, such as baseball,
basketball, and football (Soccer culture 2015). As one will notice, soccer does not seem to be
included in the top three sports that Americans would contribute to their country when Europe
may consider it as their primary sport. This is because soccer did not grow in the United States

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like the other sports did. When one thinks of soccer, they usually do not tend to associate it with
the American culture. Soccer is not inexistent in the United States; it just isnt the top priority.
Soccer is actually quite popular among families and communities in the U.S. Although soccer is
played between many world cultures, the United States just seems to fall flat compared to other
nations: nonetheless,thisomnipresenceofsoccerinasocietyandcultureincountriesaround
theworld,isnotcomparabletothesoccercultureintheUnitedStates(Soccerculture2015).
WhatAmericalacksisastrongfoundation.TheU.S.enteredthegameofsoccertoolate
comparedtoEurope.Becauseofthis,theAmericansoccerculturecanonlyplaycatchupand
mimicthetraditionsofEuropeanfootball.Withoutastrongfoundation,thereisnorootfor
havingaloveforthegame.Having a rooting interest can make a sport far more interesting than
not having one (Garlikov 2015) because then there is a team to cheer for. By having a team to
cheer for, a fan is more likely to watch the game intently, but since there are no large name
professional soccer teams other than the national team, it is difficult to find a favorite. In
Europe, there are many popular teams that are known worldwide and spark high levels of
fandom. Also,AmericaisisolatedfromothercountriescomparedtoEurope.Europehasmany
countriesinatighterspace,causingmoreopportunitytoshownationalprideandcompetewith
rivalnations,whiletheUSislargeandonlyboarderstwocountries.ThisiswhyAmericahas
nationalchampionshipsinsteadofinternationalchampionships.Forexample,theworldseries
andthesuperbowl.BothareextremelypopularintheU.S.,butonlyintheU.S.TheUnited
Statesdoesnthaveacomparablepassionforthegamebecauseofthewayitisplayedandthe
lackofastrongfoundation.
AnotherreasonthatsoccerhasfallenflatinAmericansocietiesisbecauseofthepaceof
thegame.Anyonewhowatchesagameofsoccerwillnoticethatnoteverysecondofthegame

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isaction.Itisaslowedpacedandskilledgame.Manygamesarelowscoringandmost
Americanscannothandlethefactthatworseteamscanstillwin.Butwhatisevenmorepainful
isthatoverhalfofthegamestendtoendinatie(WhytheRest2005).Americanswanttoseea
teamwinandberewardedbytheirefforts.Itisdifficulttowatchateamwhoshouldwincome
outwithatie,implyingthatthetwoteamsareactuallyequivalent.Comingfromapersonwho
playssoccer,someofthebest,ormostdramaticplaysdonotevenresultinagoal.Afantastic
playcancomefromaslidetackle,apass,orasave.Notonlygoalsareimportantinthegame:
inasoccermatch,someofthebestplaysandtruebeautyofthesportmaybeseeninthetimes
notdirectlyresultingingoal(SoccerCulture2015).Theslowpaced,andlowscoringgameis
whatAmericansparticularlyfinddisinteresting.TheUnitedStateshasashorttermoriented
culture,meaningrewardsshouldbeimmediatelygiven.Whenviewersnoticethatsomething
significanthashappened,andtheplayerisnotimmediatelyrewarded,theygetfrustratedand
becomelessinterestedinthegame.
SoccerisdeemedmoreimportantinEuropebecauseitisusedasaformof
communication.Sincesoccerisplayedallovertheglobe,itcanbeconsideredatypeof
language:soccerisoftenconsideredtobeauniversallanguagespokenaroundtheworld
(SoccerCulture2015).Sportscanbetreatedlikemusic:atypeoflanguagethatdoesntrequire
words.Itcanbeusedinawaytobondwithothercultureswhenlinguisticsisnotanoption.In
Europe,thisisaprimarylinkagebetweencountrieswheretheycanshareaspecialbondor
conversation,similartowhatAmericansdowithbaseball,basketball,andfootball.When
British soldiers in Afghanistan and southern Iraq wanted to befriend the locals, they played a
soccer match (Why the Rest 2005). Soccer is almost used as a token of friendship, as seen by
the British soldiers in Afghanistan and southern Iraq. It is a way to communicate to residents, of

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what seems to be a hostile environment, that they can be trusted and are relatable. Another
unique example of soccer as communication is that on Christmas Day, 1914, British and
German soldiers in the First World War trenches came together for a day of cease fire and
played soccer (Christmas Truce 2014). They played soccer with their enemies. Two countries
who were conditioned into hating each other, and were shooting at each other the day before
came together for a moment because they shared a common passion over soccer. This is how
powerful soccer can be in countries in Europe. It can be used to communicate between even the
worst of enemies.
The way countries develop a nationwide relationship with a sport is ultimately
what determines the athletic culture around that sport. When comparing the European soccer
culture with the United States soccer culture, one will notice that the Europeans come from a
rich history of soccer and all the Americans can do is mimic their traditions. Europe decided to
take extreme national pride in their teams, but also bring intimacy to the sport. People in
different communities can come together with a common interest and speak the language of
soccer to each other, while the United States passes the sport off as almost unnoticed on a
national level. The sport is played frequently among Americans, but because of a lack of
foundation, the recognition of soccer will not break through the surface level. Surprisingly,when
theworldcupishappening,itdrawsmoreattentionthantheOlympics.Thismaybeshockingto
Americansbecauseitdoesntseemlikesocceristhatpopular,butitis,justnotintheirreality.
Even though the sport is more widely watched than the Olympics, most Americans do not even
realize that the world cup is happening. This is because of the disinterest that the slow paced
game brings to the country. By how the sport is played and the short term-oriented society of
America, the sport of soccer seems boring and unfair to the fans and therefore difficult to

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publicize. Although the two cultures are different, the sport is still widely respected and played
between all cultures and is one way that the world is unified.

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References
Christmas Truce of 1914. (2014). Retrieved October 12, 2015.
Crocombe, M. (2015). The Ancient Origins of Soccer. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
Garlikov, R. (2015). Why I find watching hockey and soccer boring. Retrieved October 12,
2015.
Parrish, R. (2015, February 18). In What Year Was Football Introduced to the Olympics Games?
Retrieved October 12, 2015.
Soccer Culture in the U.S. (2013, December 2). Retrieved October 12, 2015.
Why the Rest of the World Plays Soccer. (2005). Retrieved October 12, 2015.