Why dont you like football?!?!?

[Ausfalcon]

I think soccer in the U.S. has had a hard time because firstly it is not a sport that gets exposure to our youth to play themselves.  So the young develop no love of it in general, because they don't get much of a chance to play it in an organized fashion.  School gym time is often put to more generic exercise pursuits.  Teams for schools usually center around basketball, baseball, and (American) football.  And perhaps some swim and track team stuff.   So no one wishes to grow up to be a professional soccer player.  The sport is simply not in our minds usually.  And since the game is foreign to us in the sense that we don't play it as youth generally its hard to envision enjoying a professional match.  Pelé brought some interest to us in the past, but it was short lived.  And if anything Beckham just exudes "annoying". 

But not all hope is lost.  Our hispanic population is growing tremendously in the country.  And as such they are bringing a love of soccer with them.  Give it a few decades and things will probably be a lot different here.