Why Children Should Watch Soccer on TV
Television viewing options are often the center of intra-family squabbles. Who gets the remote, what does the family watch, and the list goes on. Soccer in many ways can serve to quell these arguments. It is the ultimate team sport and can bring a group of viewers together like nothing else on the hundreds of channels that cable TV provides.
So why, you ask, should we allow our children to spend hours watching 22 people chase a ball all over a grassy field? Here are just a few reasons:
1. The teams work towards a common goal – How many times have you heard someone on a little league team be accused of being a ball hog? Watch the professionals show you how to work the ball around as one. If you need a prime example, just go enjoy a Barcelona match. The team resembles a pinball machine as the ball literally bounces around each player as they progress towards the opponent’s goal. When there is a goal the whole team usually celebrates in one grand heap, because they each played an important role in the set up. Working together is something your child should learn from a young age.
2. Soccer Inspires Passion – There is no greater celebration than when a team scores a dramatic game winning goal. As such, there is no greater frustration than when a player collapses in vain when he misses that glorious opportunity. This is the passion of soccer. Players truly get lost in the heat of the game, and it happens because they care so much. So much importance can ride on every touch of the ball and in its finest moment, soccer shows everyone what hard work and discipline can lead to.
3. Soccer teaches respect – Watch a man slide tackle an opponent to the floor and get a yellow card for dangerous play. But then watch that player lend a hand out to help him up. When a player goes down injured, opponents usually kick the ball out of bounds so the medical staff can assist them. Players always shake hands before and after the match because they respect one another. Common respect is something your child should understand from a young age, and soccer is a great way to show your child just that. And, in the occasional moment where a player refuses to offer another respect, the commentators usually criticize them so young listeners will learn what’s right and wrong.
4. Soccer is a cultural experience – All the clubs are made up of multicultural members. The English club, Arsenal, is often criticized for not having enough Englishmen on the field because the team has so many French, Spanish, and even Cameroonian players. In most parts of the world, the sport is referred to as football (since it is played with the feet), and everyone comes together to share in the sport that transcends any national border. Go watch the World Cup and you’ll see people of every color and shape all united in their love for that single sport. Do you want to learn a new language? Go turn on a game from a foreign country and listen to the commentators speak in that country’s tongue. So much of the world can be seen in the game’s global sport.
5. Watching the sport teaches the sport – Have you ever heard the saying, “you don’t have to teach a kid to turn a double play, they’ve seen it happen a million times.”? The same thing applies to soccer. If your child plays the game, what better way to improve than to learn from the best? You can watch how they move off the ball, how they keep their heads up to make passes, and how they dazzle our eyes with their feet.
So with that said, next time you pass by a soccer match on TV and skip on by, think about how much you and your child could learn if you just gave the beautiful game a chance.