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> For example, one of the reasons that soccer/football is popular worldwide is because it's very cheap. Is it not so in the US? It is relatively cheap in the U

> For example, one of the reasons that soccer/football is popular worldwide is because it's very cheap. Is it not so in the US? It is relatively cheap in the US as far as I know, but it's not nearly as common as basketball for pickup sports. I think the racial / class connections here are fascinating (and too lengthy to dissect here), but my general sense in the US is that soccer is actually perceived as more "other" / "foreign" than other sports. > Also the assumption that everyone takes painkillers? People who come up from lower-class backgrounds often have chronic pain - being overweight is one reason (as alluded to in this article), which is strongly correlated with income/class levels in the US. But also the work that one might do as a lower-class person in the US is different, and tends to be more physically stressful. That can add up to back/knee/neck injuries that never quite heal correctly and cause pain.

ghaff 5y ago
>It is relatively cheap in the US as far as I know, but it's not nearly as common as basketball for pickup sports. In the US, while less broadly true today, poor has often been associated with urban. And basketball is probably easier in an urban environment than soccer/football, at least with anything approaching a standard playing field. It's also just never been a very popular US sport although at some point, it became mildly popular among the suburban soccer mom demographic, among others, for various reasons.
the_lonely_road 5y ago
To expand on this a bit the average (and many even most) poor person in America will be obese AND will have to stand a large portion of the day. Imagine your cashier at your grocery store who is not allowed to have a chair at most places in America or the fast food crew running around the Kitchen. The combination of being overweight (and sadly the author has a lot of photos so you can see she suffers more than just the average obese person) and being on your feet most of the day leads to a culture of OTC pain killers. I come from a poor background. There are two things I can guarantee about the BBQ I go to this weekend. 1) We are all going to have at least 30 pounds on us we shouldnt and 2) EVERY woman there is going to have a bottle of Aleve in her purse to the point where I wouldn't bother trying to find my wife when my inevitable back pain starts in, I will just turn and ask whichever woman is nearby with her purse in hands and I know already she's going to say "Oh of course sweety, here you go" as she pulls out two Aleve for me.

ghaff 5y ago

>It is relatively cheap in the US as far as I know, but it's not nearly as common as basketball for pickup sports. In the US, while less broadly true today, poor has often been associated with urban. And basketball is probably easier in an urban environment than soccer/football, at least with anything approaching a standard playing field. It's also just never been a very popular US sport although at some point, it became mildly popular among the suburban soccer mom demographic, among others, for various reasons.

the_lonely_road 5y ago

To expand on this a bit the average (and many even most) poor person in America will be obese AND will have to stand a large portion of the day. Imagine your cashier at your grocery store who is not allowed to have a chair at most places in America or the fast food crew running around the Kitchen. The combination of being overweight (and sadly the author has a lot of photos so you can see she suffers more than just the average obese person) and being on your feet most of the day leads to a culture of OTC pain killers. I come from a poor background. There are two things I can guarantee about the BBQ I go to this weekend. 1) We are all going to have at least 30 pounds on us we shouldnt and 2) EVERY woman there is going to have a bottle of Aleve in her purse to the point where I wouldn't bother trying to find my wife when my inevitable back pain starts in, I will just turn and ask whichever woman is nearby with her purse in hands and I know already she's going to say "Oh of course sweety, here you go" as she pulls out two Aleve for me.