With David Beckham trying, and to some extent failing, to excite the masses into a fervour over the lovely game of Football, here are SEVEN reasons why the U S of A really should give the game a chance!

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Every mention of football has been changed to soccer in order to further appease the American market!

7) Soccer manages to not pander to advertising overload, sure the game is getting more attuned to the money machine but at least it doesn’t break every few seconds for some words from our sponsors. Surely Americans are sick and tired of the constant breaks of play, be it for an inning break or timeout.

It begs the question, do the big sports in the US do so well because of the constant stop start nature of the games or are they just big because advertising has helped finance their success. The old chicken and egg syndrome if you like.

6) 2002! The USA’s performance at the World Cup in Japan and South Korea should have been the springboard to success for the sport. The achievements of that side should not be undersold. Bruce Arena’s side were not expected to progress from their group stage but started with a bang, going 3-0 up in the first half hour of their match against Portugal they then battled past Mexico in the second round and were extremely unlucky to lose to the Germans in the Quarters a result that really didn’t reflect the American’s superiority a point echoed by German legend Franz Beckenbauer who said, “America were clearly the better team for 90 minutes.”

It’s worth noting that had they triumphed over Rudi Voller’s side they would have probably eased past South Korea and found themselves in a World Cup final against Brazil!

5) It sounds like an old cliché, but Football really is a sport that unites all. It’s a sport that needs little in the way of finance to play. No need to buy a baseball bat and a mitt, or steel platted armour and also no need to be Eight foot tall to be any good at. All you need is a sphere shaped object, like a football, and you’re away!

4) 1950! If ever there was an awe inspiring shocking triumph of the human spirit an effort of David vs. Goliath proportions that should have shot the sport of Soccer into the national consciousness then that should have been it. The moment that the US beat an English team who were thought of as the best in the world was best summed up by American defender Harry Keough who said “Boy, I feel sorry for these bastards. How are they ever going to live down the fact we beat them?”

3) Soccer is simply far more entertaining that any other sport in the world. Why, I hear you ask? Well it’s the world’s most popular sport, simple. As a sport it is far less predictable than most. It’s a sport where upsets can and do occur on a regular basis.

2) The US has already proven how they are number one, or close enough, in the big four sports they love (American Football, Baseball, Basketball and Ice Hockey) and soccer could be their next big challenge? A country the size of the US, and it’s big, should really be much better than it is in the field of soccer. Sure the MLS is getting bigger and crowds are increasing but it really hasn’t exploded but if it did, boy would it make a big bang!

1) Everyone on the planet loves Soccer, not just one nation. Therefore when soccer (I mean football of course) plays its World Series (or World Cup as we call it) it really does include the WHOLE world and not just one nation. The game of football is played by more worldwide than any other sport (unless you count fishing which surely can’t be considered a sport) so surely the US would love to join the footballing family and attempt to conquer the world!