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NTRODUCTION
Attention-Getter: According to FIFA.com, the 1994 World Cup held in the U.S.A. recorded an overall attendance of well over three and a half million making it the highest attended world cup in history; so why is it that soccer is not embraced in the U.S.?
Audience Motivation: Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and it is our duty as citizens of one of the most diverse cities in America to be aware of this sport.
Purpose/ Preview: In my speech, I will talk about the influence of American ethnocentrism on the popularity of soccer, the most common argument against soccer, and the social and health benefits of soccer in order to persuade you to give soccer a chance.
TRANSITION: First off, I would like to talk about the influence that American ethnocentrism has had on soccer in America.
BODY
I. American ethnocentrism and soccer:
A) According to Hendrik Hertzberg of the New Yorker, “Back in 1986, Jack Kemp, the former Buffalo Bills quarterback turned Republican congressman, took the House floor to oppose a resolution supporting America’s (ultimately successful) bid to host the 1994 World Cup. Our football, he declared, embodies ‘democratic capitalism’; their football is ‘European socialist.’”
B) These quotes plus the fact that MediaMatters.org stated that “As the 2010 World Cup begins in South Africa, conservative media figures have seized the opportunity to attack the tournament and the sport of soccer. They have also used soccer as a proxy to attack President Obama and progressives” serve to further prove that soccer’s popularity in America has waned due to its use as a political tool. Baseball, football, and basketball are usually played without any political uproar yet whenever soccer is mentioned the uproar belongs to those who feel it is not an American sport.
C) Soccer is a spectator sport and like any sport it exists to excite and entertain not to be used as a tool for molding
Attention-Getter: According to FIFA.com, the 1994 World Cup held in the U.S.A. recorded an overall attendance of well over three and a half million making it the highest attended world cup in history; so why is it that soccer is not embraced in the U.S.?
Audience Motivation: Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and it is our duty as citizens of one of the most diverse cities in America to be aware of this sport.
Purpose/ Preview: In my speech, I will talk about the influence of American ethnocentrism on the popularity of soccer, the most common argument against soccer, and the social and health benefits of soccer in order to persuade you to give soccer a chance.
TRANSITION: First off, I would like to talk about the influence that American ethnocentrism has had on soccer in America.
BODY
I. American ethnocentrism and soccer:
A) According to Hendrik Hertzberg of the New Yorker, “Back in 1986, Jack Kemp, the former Buffalo Bills quarterback turned Republican congressman, took the House floor to oppose a resolution supporting America’s (ultimately successful) bid to host the 1994 World Cup. Our football, he declared, embodies ‘democratic capitalism’; their football is ‘European socialist.’”
B) These quotes plus the fact that MediaMatters.org stated that “As the 2010 World Cup begins in South Africa, conservative media figures have seized the opportunity to attack the tournament and the sport of soccer. They have also used soccer as a proxy to attack President Obama and progressives” serve to further prove that soccer’s popularity in America has waned due to its use as a political tool. Baseball, football, and basketball are usually played without any political uproar yet whenever soccer is mentioned the uproar belongs to those who feel it is not an American sport.
C) Soccer is a spectator sport and like any sport it exists to excite and entertain not to be used as a tool for molding