I'm Watching More Soccer Than Ever Before

Like most in America, I will be glued to college football and the NFL when September rolls around.

But lately, I have found myself watching more soccer as of late. Mainly the Barclays Premier League, and will occasionally peak at an MLS game on Fox Sports 1 or ESPN.

Three years ago, I would have had little to no interest in watching soccer, unless it was the U.S. in the World Cup. Now, I find myself watching the sport beyond FIFA's tournament, and as of last year, have made Premier League games a part of my Saturday and Sunday mornings leading into football. "Our" football.

Like most Americans who tune in to watch soccer, I'll watch the Premiership for a few reasons. First, it's been easier to find on television with NBC Sports carrying games now (and through 2022), and promoting them very well, the quality of talent in the league and the structure of the league.

The idea that teams can be kicked out with relegation was one thing I found intriguing about the Premier League, and the entire league system where teams are constantly moving up and down. Imagine if relegation existed in baseball or football? The Pirates would have been relegated to a lower league several times during their two decades of losing. No more tanking for high draft picks in the NFL if defunct leagues like the USFL and UFL still existed as lower tier leagues in American football?

Premier League soccer functions like Major League Baseball, but has the popularity of the NFL in America. No salary cap means the teams with higher payrolls are more likely to succeed, and those in the middle or on the bottom work with what they have.

Soccer, unlike football, is commercial free during the two, 45 minute halves. Football has its fair share of T.V. timeouts that constantly stop action (especially when they go to another commercial after a kickoff, after just taking one after a score!). But hey, that's how they make money. One other thing I have noticed about games. When they say they are going to start at a certain time, they start at that time. Too many times college and NFL games will start 15-20 minutes after they were supposed to begin. Soccer matches are usually done within two hours.

My parents can't get over the idea that the clock never stops, what injury time is, and what offsides in soccer is. Also, with football becoming more offensive-minded, they wanna see score bigger than 1-0.

I got over the whole "the scores are too low" thing a while back.

Soccer is a simple game that has had little to no rule changes since its inception. After watching it for a while, you get to know the rules, and with the five hour time difference, it fills your weekend morning schedule on television, that is usually landscaped with magazine programs and your standard pregame shows for whatever sports are on that afternoon.

In no way am I a soccer junkie. I can't name every player on a particular team in the Premier League. I'm just casually watching, learning more about the game every time I tune into a match.