The mixture of pure skill, athleticism, and physicality make soccer one of the most entertaining sports to watch. Even sports fans in America can appreciate the talent of the Christiano Ronaldo’s and Lionel Messi’s of the world. With all that being said, there are still issues that are holding back soccer’s popularity in America.

Soccer, like the great Pele once said, is definitely a beautiful game, and with the World Cup going on Americans are getting a taste of world class soccer.

Granted, I am no soccer expert, but I do enjoy watching soccer whenever I can and I follow a few teams during the course of a season, but even I have one giant issue with the beautiful game.

There is almost nothing in sports that can make someone more sick to their stomach than flopping, and soccer, particularly at the World Cup, is filled with it. Flopping refers to an athlete exaggerating contact to penalize the other team. Granted, there is flopping in various sports, but some of the flopping in soccer would make LeBron James blush.

Soccer players are definitely tough. They take their fair share of bumps, bruises, and injuries. Ronaldo is currently playing through an injury, but the toughness of the professional athletes isn’t what is in question. Their acting is what’s in question. It’s understandable to try and get a call your way for a free kick. Athletes will do anything for the competitive edge, but some of these players look like they are trying to win an Oscar for best performance on the field. The other day while watching a match it looked like one of the forwards was hit by a sniper in the crowd, or at least that is the only sensible explanation for falling to the ground the way he did. Then again, maybe he just forgot how to run.

All over social and sports media American fans have been criticizing and having fun with some of the flops seen in the World Cup this year.

Americans are ready to embrace soccer, with younger generations playing it more and more. While this rise in the popularity of soccer excites most fans of the sport, the sell will be hard for most Americans with the issue of flopping. The answer may have to come with the Major League Soccer (MLS) issuing certain penalties or flags for flopping, much like the NBA has tried to implement. Until soccer finds a way to fix this problem, the day Americans welcome soccer with open arms may be far away.