American football for me is all basically the same and not too interesting. In soccer when you watch the top teams you get to see such individual flair and creativity (players like Messi, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo, Rooney). Sometimes you'll see a goal and do a double take whether you really just saw that happen. The only time I've ever done anything near that in American football, was in the last superbowl when that 300lb guy ran the whole field lol.
A lot of games are kind of slow though, especially when goal less. That's why highlights exist.
I see where you're coming from, but I still enjoy American football more. I do like soccer though, but the US league isn't very exciting and I have no idea where to watch Euro games.
When soccer games are slow and/or goal less, that really kills it for me. But in football, a slow or score less game may often be due to a team's superb defense rather than clumsy and inactive offense. Yeah some football games are rather low in score also, but like you said that's why highlights exist.
As for the individual flair business, that goes for football too. Faking punts, blocking punts, one-handed diving catches, etc. Michael Vick himself used to be a great QB to watch, due to his unconvential liking to run the ball rather than throw it.
For the sake of encouraging more discussion, here's what I dislike about soccer:
- No replay system. Some guys get away with obvious flops and fouls, while others get penalized for being on the wrong end of the flop.
- Extra time system. Not a biggie, but just appears much more official if they just stop the clock and resume when appropriate, rather than adding X minutes after each half.