WORLD CUP 2014 - BRAZIL
- Thread starter Brando
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Jovec
?
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It will need to start a the youth level. If you polled the USMNT, probably 75%+ played AYSO soccer for many years when they were young (where often times the coaches are whichever father or mother volunteers for the job). Most high school teams aren't much better. I'm sure many moved on to a youth club team, but the system for identifying and training talent is not comparable to what the rest of the world.
BrutulTM
Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
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Is there some other country where soccer is the 4th or 5th most popular sport yet they make it further than the US does?
The only way that the US is going to take soccer seriously is if there is some kind of superstar player that comes from the US and leads us to a world cup. Lance Armstrong got a bunch of Americans to pay attention to bicycle racing for a decade.
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What a great freaking game to watch. Anyone who blithely says soccer/futbol is boring to watch should have watched today's game with someone who knows the game. Just great.
American team should be pleased with how far they got, and how well they did. Also:
American team should be pleased with how far they got, and how well they did. Also:
Jait
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As someone mentioned earlier it starts with the youth. Hopefully more kids get out there and play. Or more accurately, less parents act like little bitches and tell their kids to play a manly sport like baseball, hockey, football. We have some of the best athletes in the world, but almost none of them play soccer.
But truth is, I imagine myself and the other 6 Americans will go back to posting in the normal soccer thread on these boards while the rest of you will disappear. It's just our attitude as a nation towards the game, and I really have no problem with that. I try to tell my friends to give in to the "1 year challenge" of picking a team and sitting down every Saturday morning (and sometimes Wednesdays) to watch Premier for a year, and by the end of that one year you will be drinking beer at 6am (on the West Coast) and screaming at the screen in your local British pub. It has all the personalities of the WWF in the 1980s, and more strategy than any American sport. Try it, but try it for a full year.
But truth is, I imagine myself and the other 6 Americans will go back to posting in the normal soccer thread on these boards while the rest of you will disappear. It's just our attitude as a nation towards the game, and I really have no problem with that. I try to tell my friends to give in to the "1 year challenge" of picking a team and sitting down every Saturday morning (and sometimes Wednesdays) to watch Premier for a year, and by the end of that one year you will be drinking beer at 6am (on the West Coast) and screaming at the screen in your local British pub. It has all the personalities of the WWF in the 1980s, and more strategy than any American sport. Try it, but try it for a full year.
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I think the only way soccer will really take off in the US is if MLS can expand and become a credible sports league. They need to get top quality players from around the world in their prime. Americans don't really give a shit about European sports leagues. Maybe we need a ton of coverage of Americans playing in the Premier League to gather interest.
Sebudai
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It's no surprise why soccer isn't more popular here right now. We need a top tier league that makes sense to us. Americans aren't going to tune into the Premier League and arbitrarily choose a team to root for from a list of teams that to us sounds like is from fucking Narnia or the Harry Potter universe.
Alex
Still a Music Elitist
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NFL is pretty fucking strategic. Sure, it doesn't take a long time to develop a play, but there is a shitload going on in every play. It's not just random chaos with dudes running into each other.
I think MLS is getting more popular. They certainly don't seem to have a problem selling tickets. I remember when I lived in Cincinnati, people would routinely travel up to Columbus for Crew games. And here I have a friend who goes to every single Quakes game and he lives nowhere close to San Jose.
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Yeah, the strategic aspect of it comes from a guy in a booth not from the players on the field trying to make plays happen on the fly. Not trying to start a derail but the players on the field just have to run their route/block their guy. With Soccer, basketball, hockey etc it's not like that. Sure there are set plays they practice but mainly it's up to the players to get it going.
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DiddleySquat
Bronze Knight of the Realm
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Well I started watching the Superbowl around 2004, so I guess I was a Pats bandwagon fan of those days, and that they are from the most 'European' part of the USA did indeed solidify my team choice. 2013-2014 was the first I really following game after game throughout the season, mostly thanks to the finally finding a good streaming site (vipbox.eu). I love the tactical aspect of the game, but it's a game you need to learn to watch - which I'm doing slowly, slowly - because so much is hidden or happens so fast.
Sutekh, I had to look up those names. They're before my time. Nowifwe were talking about that signed Brady jersey we all know you have tucked under your pillow...
Got that T-shirt in the NFL store in SF. Above the register they had some QB jerseys. Me: "How much for the Brady jersey?", cashier: "$300", me: "yeah I'll stick with the t-shirt".
Bonus gif time:
And since Belgian food and drink as so popular in the US, I present what we call 'Filet Americain' (which is basically ground beef):
Sutekh
Blackwing Lair Raider
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My signed Brady jersey is in the bathroom, with the rest of the worthless shit that I use to wipe my ass.Well I started watching the Superbowl around 2004, so I guess I was a Pats bandwagon fan of those days, and that they are from the most 'European' part of the USA did indeed solidify my team choice. 2013-2014 was the first I really following game after game throughout the season, mostly thanks to the finally finding a good streaming site (vipbox.eu). I love the tactical aspect of the game, but it's a game you need to learn to watch - which I'm doing slowly, slowly - because so much is hidden or happens so fast.
Sutekh, I had to look up those names. They're before my time. Nowifwe were talking about that signed Brady jersey we all know you have tucked under your pillow...
Got that T-shirt in the NFL store in SF. Above the register they had some QB jerseys. Me: "How much for the Brady jersey?", cashier: "$300", me: "yeah I'll stick with the t-shirt".
Bonus gif time:
And since Belgian food and drink as so popular in the US, I present what we call 'Filet Americain' (which is basically ground beef):
Quineloe
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There's people who do care, and those of you who don't are shitting up this thread. I've never seen a soccer post in the NFL or NBA thread.
Elerion
N00b
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I don't know why Americans get so upset that we don't really care about their sport that much.
I'm not saying we would necessarily dominate, but it's ridiculous to say that we wouldn't be consistently in the top 10 if we actually gave a shit about american football. I mean, name me a sport that we actually throw any bit of interest and money into where we're not competitiveall the time?
You can throw out how Messi may not be a great american football player, and maybe Cristiano Ronaldo too. But if we were cultivating american football players in youth academies like we do soccer players and selecting the best of the bestwith an american football skillsetyou don't think we'd have a hell of a fucking team? You're out of your damn mind.
Would this sound like a stupid post if I made it in the NFL thread?
The only reason the rest of the world cares about how the US views soccer is that we like competition in our sports, and getting the third most populous country on the planet to produce a decent team would actually improve the competition.
I'm not saying we would necessarily dominate, but it's ridiculous to say that we wouldn't be consistently in the top 10 if we actually gave a shit about american football. I mean, name me a sport that we actually throw any bit of interest and money into where we're not competitiveall the time?
You can throw out how Messi may not be a great american football player, and maybe Cristiano Ronaldo too. But if we were cultivating american football players in youth academies like we do soccer players and selecting the best of the bestwith an american football skillsetyou don't think we'd have a hell of a fucking team? You're out of your damn mind.
Would this sound like a stupid post if I made it in the NFL thread?
The only reason the rest of the world cares about how the US views soccer is that we like competition in our sports, and getting the third most populous country on the planet to produce a decent team would actually improve the competition.