Are men really that competitive?

A great way to have fun and do so safely. This makes it much easier to play soccer indoors, too, as the many trip-ups and falls that are not as damaging on a natural field are a lot more painful when they happen inside on a wooden basketball court.

But aside from having a grand old time, this use of big bubbles surrounding the players like this forces them to use movement and quick legwork rather than run-up-and-intimidate tactics that discourage using skill and agility to snag the ball from another player but instead allow the ball-taker to try tripping an opponent to get the ball from him.

I suspect one reason soccer has not gotten as popular here in the US as elsewhere is because the US already has baseball, basketball, and football. In these games, it's hard to fake a foul, as officials are right on top of the players. In addition, in football, it's expected that yes, players will get hurt/feel pain. It's part of the game, and they assume the risks (though I am very much in favor of finding ways of reducing the risks of serious injuries/concussions/etc. in any game, and football needs this kind of attention badly). In soccer, it's considered part of the game strategy to try to fake fouls to get the officials to throw cards down on opponents. Much of the time, these tactics don't work, but soccer teams persist with them. So I have noticed that it's entirely possible to see half a team's players writhing around on the field grabbing at their shins while some guy who's having a good day is running the ball down the field, having traded it with three opposing players in the past 10 seconds but still managing to secure it for the next goal attempt.

Yep, I can see this kind of indoor soccer taking off here in the US, perhaps to start in middle schools before the kids have started worrying about 'looking cool'. Really looks like fun. :)