An Interplay of Correlations and Differences

Soccer and Other Reasons America is Fat
It's the cheapest sport in the world, and while that's not why people don't really like it in the states, it does explain why we don't play it. I mean, there's nothing to market. And while we might not be afraid to swing a bat, swoop in for a big catch or crush somebody else covered in similar equipment, we're really not chasing the ball around the field. As for Soccer and Basketball, I'll only say this: Soccer is more inclusive, though Basketball is probably our most athletic sport. And while Europe is getting fatter we're getting fatter still. No, I don't blame our lack of interest in Soccer for this - because it doesn't stop there.

food and subsidies
It's not the fast food, it's the bottomless cup. The fast food isn't good for you but the bottomless cup makes you fat. Soda is so different in Europe. First, they don't have mad corn subsidies here so their soda-pop is still made with sugar. While they might eat a lot of bread, they have a cultural eating tradition and there's so much home cooked food. Not to say that people don't eat out, but there does appear to be some sort of cultural pressure with their giant lunches here, to eat them in the privacy of your home with family and people you can trust. Eating lunch out, eating tapas, it's more of a shared experience more of a communal act and people don't eat as much. And we're not afraid to pig out in front of anybody. What's cheap in America is bad for you and what's cheap in Spain is bread and seasonal food. What strikes me in this is how the food has been dictated by the culture, as opposed to the food being dictated by lobbyists and government policies.


But here it is then, what is "freer?" To focus on playing sports that require equipment over activity or to play what's affordable and easy to start - a sport that also teaches you to keep your eye on the ball and hone some quick feet. To eat what your culture has been eating for five hundred years or to let some lobbyists and the government dictate what's affordable.