Hidden Travel Gems

Exotic destinations | Off-the-beaten-path travel

  • Home

Soccer Doesn’t Have to be a Yawn

Author: admin

Soccer Doesn't Have to be a Yawn

While Soccer (Football to those who inhabit the non-North American regions of the world) has yet to become popular in the U.S., it is followed like some sort of pseudo-religion by the rest of the world. For myself, the excitement of soccer is not in the game itself, but in the way it means so much to its fans. Despite David Beckham bringing his skills and high-pitched cockney accent to Los Angeles, most Americans still see "the beautiful game" as a tremendous bore.

Most of the fun of soccer is simply experiencing the atmosphere surrounding it. In Asia, I have seen whole cities shut down because everyone was watching the national team play in the knockout stage of a regional tournament. Here are some great places to take in a match and the atmosphere surrounding it.

Mexico's First Division is well respected and entertaining. Any football game in Brazil or Argentina is akin to a religious experience. Europe's top leagues offer the world's best (and highest paid players). This is especially the case in Spain where Valencia, Madrid, and Barcelona house consistent powerhouses.

In most cases, the euphoria a country experiences when their national team plays can reach dangerous levels. It might be wise to avoid these events as feeling run quite high.


  • Finland's Saunas
  • Mexico City
  • Hopping the Rio to Juarez
  • Soller Has It All

This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 1:06 pm and is filed under Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply

  • A World Away
  • Adventure
  • Best of
  • Budget Travel
  • Business Travel
  • Cities
  • Did you know
  • Dining
  • En Route
  • Europe
  • Events
  • Flights
  • Hidden Gems
  • Information about
  • Islands
  • Learning Experiences
  • Luxury Travel
  • Misc
  • Modern World
  • Nature
  • Neighborhoods
  • Quick introduction
  • Shopping
  • Sport
  • Travel Books
  • Travel News
  • Travel Tips
  • Videos
  • Websites
  • Recent Posts

    • Co-Op Travel And Thomas Cook Merger Given The Thumbs-Up
    • Co-Op Travel And Thomas Cook Merger Given The Thumbs-Up
    • US Responds To Travel Restrictions In The Same Vein
  • Categories

    • A World Away
    • Adventure
    • Best of
    • Budget Travel
    • Business Travel
    • Cities
    • Did you know
    • Dining
    • En Route
    • Europe
    • Events
    • Flights
    • Hidden Gems
    • Information about
    • Islands
    • Learning Experiences
    • Luxury Travel
    • Misc
    • Modern World
    • Nature
    • Neighborhoods
    • Quick introduction
    • Shopping
    • Sport
    • Travel Books
    • Travel News
    • Travel Tips
    • Videos
    • Websites
  • Archives

    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
  • Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries RSS
    • Comments RSS
    • WordPress.org
  • Contact

    • Contact

Copyright © 2012 - Hidden Travel Gems | Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS)

WordPress theme designed by web design