Why is football so popular?
No one knows for sure but there are some theories:
- it is a game that is not affected by social barriers: the required gear is inexpensive and the playing field is natural grass, so it can be played both by the riches clubs and the poorest localities.
- it is a game in which intelligence is more important than brute force: good footballers are not necessarily the strongest, but the ones with more body flexibility and quicker of mind.
- it is a game in which the final score is not easily predictable: surprises do occur (like Greece beating Portugal in the last Euro).
- it is a game that values talent above anything else: if you are a good player, it doesn't matter if you are ugly, illiterate or plain stupid; you will earn a lot of money and become famous. Football is known to be one of the paths that can lead a poor boy to stardom (read about Pelé, for instance).
- it is easy to understand: for every goal scored, one point. Goals are scored when the ball enters the goal. Foals are when a player hit another player instead of the ball. Fouls inside the main area become penalty kicks. The ball must be controlled with any part of the body but the arm. Onlye the goalie can touch the ball. When the ball is kicked off the field it reverts to the other team. Violent or unfair players are warned (yellow card) and eventually sent out (red card). There's not TV aid, no measuring tape, no computer-generated statistics, no need for an electronic score keeper. The only thing about the game that is a bit obscure is the offside rule, but people seem to have taken it for granted for decades.
