Soccer

[rjs246]

They have some real talent on the team but no idea how to play a complete game against good competition. Landon Donovan is a goddamned fruitcake but he set up both goals with ridiculous crosses last night. Dempsey doesn't do anything but finish, but he does it with remarkable regularity. Gooch, Davies and Bradley are all legit players too. And their keeper is world class. I honestly think they could run with anyone. I just don't think they will until they play top teams on a regular basis.

[Rome]

Until soccer becomes a financially viable operation in this country the sport will never attract the best athletes and until they start getting better athletes they'll never be a world power.  They are getting better but the rest of the world still dwarfs us in terms of participation of elite talent.

[QB Eagles]

Until soccer becomes a financially viable operation in this country the sport will never attract the best athletes and until they start getting better athletes they'll never be a world power.  They are getting better but the rest of the world still dwarfs us in terms of participation of elite talent.

Soccer doesn't need to be financially viable in the USA for the USA national team to have elite talent. After all, most of the Brazilian players don't play professionally in Brazil. Really it's pretty much just the existence of American football that swallows up a lot of the potentially great soccer talent in the US in the fall season.

Given the size of the US and the overwhelming popularity of soccer youth leagues, it's inevitable that the US national team will continue to get better, even with football taking some of the best athletes. I don't think the US will ever come to dominate like they do in women's soccer, but it can definitely be a significant contender.

[Rome]

Like it or not the best athletes in this country play football or basketball.   Soccer isn't even a thought for most young inner city kids.  What we have is typically white middle-class suburban kids playing the game and until we start drawing kids away from football and basketball we'll never be on the same level as Brazil, Italy or even Germany.

[MDS]

so youre saying we need more of those african boys from the ghettos?

[ice grillin you]

soccer should attract more poor kids as you need nothing to play but a ball....but because the sport is atrocious no real athletes wanna play it

[MDS]

youre atrocious

[Diomedes]

so youre saying we need more of those african boys from the ghettos?

Well, I don't think it's stretching the truth to say that the world's best athletes tend not to come from comfortable, well heeled homes.  Kids with moms who drive them to their organized sports inevitably end up softer than kids who struggle to survive.

[Rome]

so youre saying we need more of those african boys from the ghettos?

Considering most soccer players in America are spoiled white rich kids from suburbs like Elkins Park, yeah, a few more kids from the hood wouldn't hurt.

[MDS]

lol i am neither spoiled nor rich nor is anyone from ep. its a middle class suburb. people whose parents make the 100k+ are in lower merion son

[rjs246]

Todd = DTC

[MDS]

im pretty sure weve met a few times and you know that im a) jewey and b) my cork is huge which means i cant be dtc

[Rome]

Watching Liverpool/Hull City right now.

Liverpool is scary good.  Hull City = not so much.

Jesus...

[Diomedes]

Errands

[ice grillin you]

does anyone know how close the format for WC qualifying gets to putting the 32 (or however many teams make the wc) best countries in the tournament