Does an NFL or a Premier League game have more action?

Ask Americans why they don’t watch soccer, and chances are that most of them will argue that soccer is boring and that there’s not enough scoring in the game. Dig a little deeper, however, and you may be surprised by what you find.

Reddit user Rolldog did some research after one of his friends got into an argument with him that “there’s not enough scoring in soccer.” Here’s what Rolldog uncovered based on the 2011-12 season:

EPL

• 1066 goals
• 380 matches
• 2.81 goals per match

NFL

• 1259 TDs
• 256 games
• 4.9 TDs per game

Then he factored in real time per game viewing length:

• NFL: 3 hours, 7 minutes = 187 minutes
• EPL: 1 hr, 51 minutes = 111 minutes

So, scoring in real time:

• NFL: 187/4.9 = 38.16. A touchdown every 38 minutes of real time.
• EPL: 111/2.81 = 39.50. A goal every 39 minutes of real time.

So, when you break it down, the EPL and NFL are practically on a par when you compare how often a goal or touchdown is scored. In his data, Rolldog didn’t factor in field goals.

“Go ahead and throw out the ‘not enough scoring’ argument against soccer,” said Rolldog. “Only difference is length of the game and giving 1 for a goal instead of 6 for a touchdown.”