Martin & Reeves’ (2001) article “The Whole World Isn’t Watching (But We Thought They Were): The Super Bowl and US Solipsism” drives the point that the Super Bowl is not an international spectacle in the way that many in the US believe it is. Instead, the Super Bowl is a distinctly American event, holding little importance outside of our borders. In this, Martin & Reeves (2001) seem to imply that the US is ignorant to the rest of the world’s taste, and automatically assume that what is important to Americans must be important to the rest of the world.
Certainly, Martin & Reeves (2001) are not off the mark in their take that the rest of the world is lukewarm at best to the Super Bowl. Football is a distinctly American sport, and the rest of the world simply hasn’t caught on to it. I think this is due to a number of factors- football is expensive to play, it has a very complicated set of rules (and at first glance, the scoring probably wouldn’t make sense to somebody with no concept of the game), and because it is so American, it may not be seen as very chic in other countries. However, the sport has had some success abroad, including the “American Bowls” which have done very well in foreign markets. There is still hope for the sport abroad.
Still, although it is true that the NFL uses some fairly fuzzy numbers to augment the reported international viewership, I feel is it extremely unfair how Martin & Reeves (2001) seem to paint Americans as ignorant and self-centered when it comes to what the rest of the world is watching. I feel that most people know and understand the soccer is the true international sport of choice, and that football is not wildly successful overseas. Yes, the NFL has a long way to go in terms of internationalizing the sport (I can’t name a single non-North American player in the NFL), but to call Americans self-centered because many of us think there is a market for the sport outside of our borders is uncalled for.
Soccer is boring, full of theatrics, and is way too long. I tried watching it, and just cannot get into it. Yet, some people are absolute fanatics about the sport and would love to hunt me down for bad mouthing it. I guess you might say that we have a difference of opinion. However, just because we have that different viewpoint does not mean I should attack them personally. I feel like that is exactly what this article is doing. As Americans, we seem to have a penchant for “unique” sports – football, baseball, and to a lesser, unique extent, basketball. I am not sure why we are targeted and called self-centered and ignorant if we choose to spend time watching those sports rather than soccer.
ReplyDeleteI do not like soccer, get over it Martin and Reeves. ;-)
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the football rules are dfficult to understand. I just know a little about football rules, so I always feel confused why people stopped again and again? There is a Chinese American named ED Wang who played football in NFL recently. If it works well for the busniess operation, more and more Chinese will watch football for the Chinese face in the games.
As Steve said, there probably are not too many non-Americans who play in the NFL. Thanks Yu, for mentioning the Chinese player Ed Wang, who now plays. On a few occasions, soccer players have converted to kickers in the NFL, but that is probably rare. What especially intrigues me about the article by Martin and Reeves is what seems to be backlash against soccer in the U.S. Have you ever heard Jim Rome talk about soccer? He used to say that he would let his son do ballet before he would allow him to play soccer--that was, of course, before his son wanted to play soccer:-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matt- I am not a big fan of soccer. Like him, I have tried to make myself watch it, and maybe it is because I don't fully understand it, but I cannot get into the game. This is not saying that I think others don't like it though.
ReplyDeleteYou brought up some very good points concerning why football may not be as popular overseas. I feel like cost may be a huge reason. Even here where the sport gets most of its viewership and participation, there are many people who cannot afford football. Universities that do not have football as a sport are a perfect example. If a large institution cannot afford football, how could someone who lives in an underdeveloped country and barely has enough money to survive on?
while I am not a big soccer fan, this is a cultural thing. Obviously, it is wildly popular in other parts of the world. Football in this country makes up huge amounts of revenue for other sports to be able to play in colleges. Even though I don't watch soccer much, I know they are the best conditioned athletes and are very tough even though they are not known for that. Soccer may be more popular in other countries because it is cheap to get a ball and practice on the street or in a field and many countries don't have the money to train more than that. I just know I would not want to get in the way of an avid soccer fan!!!
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