Saturday, February 27, 2021

You said it!

I don't know if anyone's noticed or not, but soccer's popularity in the U.S. seems to be on the increase. It had already been trending upward pre-corona, but that growth has increased ten-fold over the last year or so. It's gotten to the point where people are even paying large sums for soccer cards now. Soccer cards!

No one asked, but for the record, just in case anyone ever did; I don't care how popular it gets, or how valuable the cards become, in my mind the "sport" will always be...

24 comments:

  1. I feel you. The only reason it is so popular is that you don’t need equipment in order to play it so it’s easily accessible to anyone. You don’t need a glove, bat, ball, hoop, helmet, pads, or anything. All you need is 3 rocks. One to kick, and two to make a goal out of.

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    1. That is a good theory, and one that I hadn't thought of. I have my own theory as to why it's growing in popularity here, but am not looking to offend anyone, so I'll just keep it to myself.

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  2. I'm old enough to remember the first soccer wave in the U.S. (Pele in the '70s). It didn't last. This one probably will but I just can't get into it, and popularity will never make me like it more. See: the NBA/college football/pro wrestling.

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  3. Outside of SJ Earthquakes cards... I've never really dove into the soccer card market. But I do enjoy the sport and before the lockdown... attending Quakes games.

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    1. People were pumping up the Timbers before I left Portland, but I just couldn't ever care about them, the team, or those who were pumping them up :)

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  4. I think soccer cards are just getting caught up in the hype. Once the bubble bursts, they’ll be back down to nominal.

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    1. Possibly, I don't think that the majority of soccer fans are also card collectors, but I could be wrong. I guess time will tell.

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  5. My son loves soccer and plays on a club team. So I get to watch a lot of it. But same as most of the rest of the guys, seems like a less interesting sport from a viewing and collecting standpoint.

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    1. Ah, so you kind of have to like it, or at least pretend that you do. The things that people will do for their kids...

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  6. I played soccer at the collegiate level, and enjoy watching the men's and women's World Cup. Oddly, despite that, I can't get into international soccer. It was barely on growing up, and I think that's why I never took to following it on a regular basis. I have noticed how big soccer cards are getting.

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  7. There are a lot of things I don't like or understand, but I know people who enjoy them so I usually just keep my head down and respect their preferences. Except country music lol.

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    1. What? I've seen you rag on lots of things over the last few years (including the country music), who are you trying to fool with this high-ground nonsense? :)

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  8. I think of it as a children's game myself, one easy to learn before they progress to more complicated sports.

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    1. Makes sense. But then why are adults still playing it?

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  9. Totally agree. I won't watch it from a mile away but have finally found some use turning my soccer cards into real football cards through trades

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  10. Agreed. Way too much diving and faking in the pro game. Sometimes it seems like every few minutes a player flops to the ground in agony, only to get up and trot away a minute later. I just can't watch that.

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    1. Hmm... sort of like the modern NBA!

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    2. Funny ESPN commercial on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhxHozHTV00

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    3. Yeah, that looks about right :)

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