World Cup is bigger on social media than the Super Bowl, Olympics and Oscar awards COMBINED

[Irish7478]

College soccer in itself is a joke. The best players bypass college for the sake of development. The top teams around the world sign kids into their academies at 14 years old and groom them from that point on. The best thing we can do to progress soccer in this country is get away from the idea that college is a precursor to the pros.

So evidently I originally missed the point of this post. It appears that you are saying that we (as a country) need to forget the idea that high school and college soccer is a way to the pros, and once we do that we will enjoy soccer more. Is that your point?

 

[bconngemini]

I never really understood why you can't like both soccer and American Football? Who decided that you had to take sides and there was no in between? I love both.

Soccer is passionately hated in America for what it represents. No rational person would hate something as arbitrary as a sport, all sports are arbitrary collections of rules guiding athletic competition. What those who hate soccer really take issue against is the cultural invasion that soccer represents.

It’s clear that when Americans fight about soccer, they’re talking about more than just a game. Like ordering a latte or watching NASCAR, a love of soccer has become emblematic of larger cultural differences.

Foer says the fundamental divide at the heart of the “culture wars” isn’t religion, social class, or even political leanings, but our reaction to an increasingly globalized world. According to this theory, soccer represents a “double threat of globalization.” As the researchers write: “With its best leagues located in Europe and many of the best players coming from South America, soccer is an import burdened by the dual threats of European politics and a growing American Hispanic population.”

How Much Do Americans Really Hate Soccer? | Hazlitt

 

[Red_Alert]

If you don't like soccer you're a homophobe.

 

[potzer25]

ways to get american to enjoy soccer:

commercial break each time play stops
goals are worth 6 points with 1 pt extra kick taken from the 18 yd line after each goal
offense can decide to take a free kick whenever they penetrate the 18 yd box worth 3 points
players wear padding and can hit each other
make the field smaller and reduce the number of players
more substitutions
more stoppages in play

 

[Irish7478]

ways to get american to enjoy soccer:

commercial break each time play stops
goals are worth 6 points with 1 pt extra kick taken from the 18 yd line after each goal
offense can decide to take a free kick whenever they penetrate the 18 yd box worth 3 points
players wear padding and can hit each other
make the field smaller and reduce the number of players
more substitutions
more stoppages in play

They have to put in a no-flopping rule as well.

 

[potzer25]

They have to put in a no-flopping rule as well.

nah...American sports are catching up in that area...

​

 

[romeo212000]

So evidently I originally missed the point of this post. It appears that you are saying that we (as a country) need to forget the idea that high school and college soccer is a way to the pros, and once we do that we will enjoy soccer more. Is that your point?

No. My point is once we do that we will start to develop world class talent on a much larger scale which will lead to growth and improvement on the world stage.

 

[Red_Alert]

 

[Irish7478]

No. My point is once we do that we will start to develop world class talent on a much larger scale which will lead to growth and improvement on the world stage.

So we won't have domestic success until we have international success.

 

[WestEndVol]

LOL, I like how Bell's arms just drop like, "you gotta be kidding me".

 

[romeo212000]

So we won't have domestic success until we have international success.

That's not what I'm saying. Developing our domestic league correctly so that we are developing elite talent and attracting elite talent will beget both. That means not making college soccer an integral part of our development system.

 

[bamabear82]

LOL @ Meatchicken St.

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

nah...American sports are catching up in that area...

​

Guaranteed that all of them watched/played soccer as a kid.

 

[Irish7478]

That's not what I'm saying. Developing our domestic league correctly so that we are developing elite talent and attracting elite talent will beget both. That means not making college soccer an integral part of our development system.

Why would a potentially elite athlete pass up college to go into a training program that may, or may not result in them getting to play professionally, when the same athlete can play football or basketball or even baseball or track and get 4 years of college paid for, and potentially play professionally. And more importantly, which parents would let the kid give up a $250,000 scholarship to join a training program that may or may not result in a professional career. Wouldn't it be easier to utilize the same path that football, and basketball has taken.

 

[romeo212000]

Why would a potentially elite athlete pass up college to go into a training program that may, or may not result in them getting to play professionally, when the same athlete can play football or basketball or even baseball or track and get 4 years of college paid for, and potentially play professionally. And more importantly, which parents would let the kid give up a $250,000 scholarship to join a training program that may or may not result in a professional career. Wouldn't it be easier to utilize the same path that football, and basketball has taken.

That happens in baseball all the time. Kids get signed right out of high school with a 7 digit signing bonus and bypass college. See no reason why it would be different with soccer.

 

[nebearsfan70]

That's exactly the feeling they have about us in those other countries. BTW, football and baseball is also very cheap to play as is basketball. Otherwise you wouldn't have as many minorities involved.

Racist dick.

 

[romeo212000]

Racist dick.

I'm really hoping this is a joke.

 

[Irish7478]

That happens in baseball all the time. Kids get signed right out of high school with a 7 digit signing bonus and bypass college. See no reason why it would be different with soccer.

Because baseball has a fully established minor league system that will allow teams to sign a player and let them train and grow for 5 or more years before they hit the big leagues. Football and basketball don't have that, so they use college as their training grounds.

Additionally you stated that these training programs start when they are 14, you can't draft a baseball player until they are out of high school. Do you really think American soccer is willing to pay big money to a 14 year old who "might" become a good player in 8-10 years.

 

[romeo212000]

Because baseball has a fully established minor league system that will allow teams to sign a player and let them train and grow for 5 or more years before they hit the big leagues. Football and basketball don't have that, so they use college as their training grounds.

Additionally you stated that these training programs start when they are 14, you can't draft a baseball player until they are out of high school. Do you really think American soccer is willing to pay big money to a 14 year old who "might" become a good player in 8-10 years.

I think there is a model that can work. What exactly do you think these programs are? Same this as minor leagues in baseball. The idea is to have these kids playing for a club that is invested in them rather than go the soccer mom route which doesn't develop anything. By the time they're 17-18 years old, you've got a pretty good idea whether they're professional material or not. If not, then go to college. By the time you're 23-24 (post college) your timeline to develop the skills and instincts have pretty much passed.

 

[bconngemini]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8-JYSXDp9k"]NFL Flop and Fake: The Art of NFL Flopping - YouTube[/ame]