ive had 4 concussions in two years of playing soccer and its not even pro level! also heading the ball everyday can cause sub concussive impact on the head.. its forced me to retire permanently as the effects are devastating.. im about 70% recovered but it will take me months and maybe years to fully heal from the effects..
shareWell, I believe there is a lot of validity to those saying that the best American athletes are not playing soccer. Athletes tend to go where the money is. In America its the big three: Football, basketball, and baseball (boxing is up there too, and NASCAR as well if you consider that a sport). For the rest of the world it's soccer. Soccer is getting more popular and will soon beat out hockey as the 4th most popular sport in the US. I'm not saying that US would automatically win every World Cup if those athletes were in soccer, but could you imagine if someone like Lebron James was groomed his whole life to play Soccer instead of basketball? He'd probably be just as dominant because he does have a ton of natural athletic ability.
Soccer is gaining a lot of traction in the US though. I remember as a kid there was never any soccer on TV. It had no exposure other than the World Cup every four years. It was the sport the we played at recess and lunch only when we got the football taken away for playing tackle instead of touch. Then the MLS came, and there was a little, but even then they were rarely televised on major networks. Nowadays, we can watch English premiere league on Fox (a major network) every week while they play as well as MLS on networks and basic cable, Will that influence more young athletes to stay in soccer rather then go for one of the big three? Maybe, I think it will be interesting to see where this new generation of American athletes will decide to go.
Won't agree that it is as dangerous as it is not really an impact sport, though it gets closer and closer every year...
Still.. heading the ball, stopping a powerful ball with your head, yeah that's gonna do some damage.
"You'll be taking a soul train straight to a disco inferno where you never can say goodbye!"
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Data does not support what you have stated. American football has more reports of concussions and just like soccer and all sports, Im sure not all are reported. Football has more deaths related to head injury as well.
I have played both as well and there is no comparison and data supports that.
High school data in USA supports that football has more concussions than any other sport. Soccer is the number one high school sport for concussions in females, but that is because they don't play football.
Keep in mind too soccer players play more games and have more actual minutes of game action per game than football. Look how many games a top professional soccer player encounters compared to a professional football player. More oppurtunities to be injured, but yet football has more head injury incidents and the severity is greater too. Thats data.
SOrry to hear about your condition. BUT, I think saying "soccer is equally as dangerous" in terms of concussions is absolutely ridiculous.
Football involves literally 40-45 high-impact(i mean heavy) head collisions per game. It's brutal. I've played both sports and the thought is totally ridiculous.
The equivalent in soccer would be having the best striker in the game.. nailing you in the head on free-kicks, while your on the wall, 40-45 times a game. So the comparison is truly 'off'.
as for some of the other responses. In particular the one's regarding which sport is more entertaining. Both are. You like one or you like the other. It's opinion. The first argument and the OP IS NOT. I can enjoy a good soccer game at a high level(premiership/la liga/ and even MLS is coming along fast), conversely, I can enjoy a football game at nearly ANY level.
The OP should've clarified.
Soccer can be equally as dangerous, sometimes. When two players run unintentionally run into each other, then yes...it can be equally as dangerous.
Football is a game where the collisions and impacts are intentional. Soccer is not.
And they flop. And it should be embarrassing to their sport but their fans embrace it. So they have that.
I cant believe this is a serious post. There are no 250+ lb soccer players who can run like the wind and benchpress a Mack truck that hit you with a running start.
Lawrence of Arbia, he was an English guy who came to fight the Turkish
That's bollocks. Complete and utter bollocks. You're obviously doing something wrong. Plus a football being headed is nowhere near as powerful as two heads banging against each other, probably why they wear helmets. Any competent soccer player knows how to head a ball, and take the sting out of the collision.
Football may involve massive hits to your body and your ribs, but you're really not supposed to be hitting the head. That's an automatic 15 yard penalty and first down when you do (or 15 the other way if it's on offense). Maybe in the old days they did head to head without ramifications, but they've been cleaning that up. Notice that in the trenches, the offensive lineman and the defender are suppose to meet at the chest and drive, like they're hugging. If their heads touch, its not intended.
In soccer, the main problem is head butting the ball. If they got rid of that, it would be fine for the heads. However, heading the ball is exciting, and would be tough to get rid of completely.
Heading the ball isn't really a problem in soccer, as I mentioned previously any competent football player knows how to head a ball and avoid any serious contact. Also the modern ball is made of a material which doesn't absorb water, which was a problem with the older balls, as they did and made the ball significantly heavier. The chief cause of head injury is when two players try to head a ball at the same time and bang heads. Of course problems may arise with people learning the game and don't know how to head a ball in the correct way.
1. It's called football not soccer 2. It's not as dangerous as American football.
Rugby is probably as dangerous or even more dangerous since its a similar game and they don't have a helmet or pads.