What would you change about soccer to make the game more appealing to American spectators?

Let me make the necessary disclaimer that, even as the most casual of fans I dont like the idea of changing a perfectly popular sport just to appeal more to a particular audience.  But in keeping with the spirit of the question, to make the game appeal more to American audiences, you have to increase scoring, plain and simple.    This could be done in any number of ways.  Eliminate offsides penalties.  Make the goal bigger.  Fewer players per side, or a limit on the number of players that can come back on defense.  Also, either eliminate ties outright or incentivize "going for the win" by making wins worth 4 (or more) points in the standings.

I would like to point out that Americans have tried numerous times to change the game to appeal to more Americans, but to no avail. First, Americans created "indoor soccer" that is played in an arena. The rules have been slightly altered to accommodate the arena but it was created to somewhat recreate soccer but in a bit more fast paced, controlled environment. Although indoor soccer has infiltrated countries outside of the US, it is an American thing. It has been around for many years, and even has had numerous professional leagues but has yet to catch on. The other major change Americans have tried to make recently, was to introduce a tie-breaker at the end of the game. In the early days of MLS, if a game was tied, it went to a shoot-out type format. The reasoning being it would be more exciting for American fans to watch that type of "sudden death" shoot-out match where ties are not allowed. A few years later, MLS conformed their rules to match the rest of the world leagues where a tie is an acceptable outcome to a hard fought match. So, my argument is that Americans have tried to change the game to appeal to Americans but to no avail because, as we are learning through the success of MLS and the (relative) success of the national team, Americans might actually love soccer in its current form more than any other form. So, there is nothing more that can be done to "entice" Americans other than providing a competitive domestic league and a competitive national team that both play by the same, great rules that the rest of the world love and adore.

I don't think I would change anything. But I'll tell you what I think soccer has working against it - the continuous nature of the play. In both baseball and American football, there is a considerable amount of dead time in the course of the game. That gives the commentators time to explain events during the play of the game, view instant replay and point out strategy, mistakes made, etc. That is a huge help for people trying to learn the game - and for that matter - it helps those who know the game to know it better. As it is, it's pretty difficult for spectators to build their knowledge of the game by watching matches and gaining from the insights of the commentators. Again - I wouldn't propose any kind of change. The continuous play is just part of the game. But it definitely makes it difficult for spectators who didn't grow up playing the game to get to know the game better by watching it and thereby enjoy it more.

I think I might have the answer that is different from most answers here. Most sports fans among American audience don't always want a high scoring game. They will appreciate a 10-9 football game between two good defensive teams as much as any high-scoring game. What they really want is to watch world-class athletes at pick of their careers go out on the field(court) and consistently do what they do best. They want "quality product". And that's what they are getting with NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. Unfortunately nowhere close with MLS. So to answer the question first step would be not to change the game but change the quality of the game by bringing more talent from abroad and doing a better job cultivating own superstars. Btw I watched parts of MLS draft on TV last couple of years - it was pretty pathetic both times. Change won't happen overnight so consistent and continuous marketing will help. I'm noticing that ESPN is doing better job at it. Some international success for team USA won't hurt either.

I'm sorry, but your update is silly. If someone does not think the game should be changed to appeal more to Americans, then they are going to answer the *actual* question with "nothing". And the explanation is equally nonsense.  It proceeds on a bad assumption, which is that the theoretical restaurant chain would not be able to gain customers without changing its menu. Well, if every restaurant thought that, then every restaurant in the world would serve basically the same stuff in any given market- and none would have a consistent menu across the entire world. Restaurants don't really work like that, though.  Restaurants with Italian food serve the same kinds of Italian food whether they are located in Italy, the US, China, the UK, or Peru.  (I've had Italian food in each of these locations!) So restaurants specialize and keep things about them that are distinct. This no doubt means that they don't draw as many customers as they could; sure, an Italian restaurant might be able to get more people in the door if they started serving, say, chicken fried rice, but then they would be getting away from what makes them distinct. And that's my answer about soccer.  Soccer doesn't need to change things about the *game* to appeal to American fans.  Soccer already HAS terrific appeal for American fans; millions of people watch and play the game on a regular basis in the USA. Soccer can change some things about how the game is presented, or marketed (there's a piece from two years ago on this that's fabulous at http://www.soccerwire.com/news/how-to-market-our-new-league/), but the game itself is an immensely popular game. And the reality is that the more like "international soccer" the game has become in the USA, the more popular it has become. As MLS has become less "Americanized", it's gained in viewers and attendance and teams and interest. Thus, I think the very premise of the question is off-base, and my answer is "nothing, I wouldn't change anything about soccer to appeal to American spectators." (Please note: That's different than saying I wouldn't change anything about soccer itself, but it wouldn't be an American-ization thing, it would be for the game itself.)

Most of the changes that need to happen are slow, cultural evolutions that will take hold over many years, but there are a few things to be done to speed up the process. The most important, I think, is for MLS to be viewed as a legitimate, major sports league alongside MLB and the NHL. (I don't think we can expect it to achieve the heights of popularity of the NFL or NBA any time soon.) Young people need to view soccer with the same kind of awe and admiration as other sports with more established traditions in America. This means pumping a lot of dollars into marketing for MLS. Kids need to see MLS players on TV every weekend during the summer. MLS needs to get their matches (and their stories/rivalries/narratives) on prime time television on major networks, which will mean convincing those networks of the inevitability of soccer's increasing popularity. There are statistics that support this, and we're already seeing MLS's profile on American TV becoming much harder to ignore. If we can continue the trend of increasing visibility for professional soccer players in the everyday lives of America's youth, more and more young soccer players (and their parents) will see the sport as a potentially serious and long-term pursuit, which will increase the quality and spectator popularity of the game in America over time.

Nothing. If they don't like it, they can stick with gridiron football. The whole idea of changing the game for Americans is ridiculous. I might suggest cheerleaders and stops to the game every minute so that a game actually lasts for three hours. And of course making the game so simple that you don't actually have to watch it to know what's going on - the stats tells you everything.

3 Ideas: 1. There should be an intro with lots of robotic explosions a la Michael Bay. Studies show, Americans love explosions. 2. Make each goal worth 6 points. Americans like it when you get a lot of points, even if not a lot is happening. 3. Make American soccer the best in the world. Americans don't really like watching a league unless it is both the best in the world and American.

I would change NOTHING about soccer to make it more appealing to American spectators.  Its "lack of appeal" is due only to Americans' unfamiliarity with the game and their lack of appreciation for its appealing aspects.  I would seek changes in the audience, helping them to understand and appreciate soccer. The question would suggest that there is some ideal or perfect game, or that sports might be improved by homogenizing all games.  The etymology of the word "sport" refers to something that has a nature different from other examples of its kind.  Later usage includes the idea that the difference produces human enjoyment by distracting or "carrying away" the person from normality. Making soccer more like another sport, reducing its differences and uniqueness, would make both sports less enjoyable.