Yahoo story: Why the world's game is a white game in the U.S.
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Anonymous
| Kids aren’t playing in the streets and neighborhoods because there are no fields to play on. There are no fields because there is no demand for it. If you build it they will come does not apply here |
Anonymous
There are lots of communities around the country where soccer is hugely popular, and they are not limited to those with large Latino populations—immigrants from African and most European countries are usually very into soccer, and there are many primarily white soccer hot beds as well. Most of the parents on my kids’ MoCo soccer teams grew up playing soccer, and that’s true for the kids we have met from the Tri-State area, Florida, CA, and TX. We have lots of young American players doing really well in the Bundesliga youth and senior teams, and others playing in other leagues around the world. If you don’t follow closely, you may not be aware of the shift over the last few years. You can’t make NBA or NFL level money with lacrosse, swimming (outside of Olympians with endorsement deals) or volleyball (same), but you can with men’s soccer. Hockey is a different animal, but like soccer, lots of kids are obsessed with it and watch and talk about it constantly. |
Anonymous
How are we supposed to distract people from the fact that a handful of billionaires own most of the wealth in the country of we can't constantly distract people by manipulating them into hating each other! |
Anonymous
Ha, have you ever watched the NFL or the NBA? Guess all you see is white? |
Anonymous
| There are futsal fields in almost every community in Brazil. It is not a socio-economic issue. Even high-end apartment complexex in Sao Paulo have futsal quadras. The issue is that soccer in the rest of the world is the dominate sport. |
Anonymous
| Is soccer really a big deal in Asia? If not I don't see how it's the "world's game." |
Anonymous
I’m Asia, their national teams are predominantly funded by the Gov. in order to compete with the rest of the world. Also, in some Asian countries, Soccer is their dominant sport. |
Anonymous
Yet we dominate in these sports...at at least do very, very well internationally. |
Anonymous
| People want to say our best athletes don't play soccer. This is a bad statement. First, most soccer players start playing when they are very young...so there will be phenomenal athletes and not so much athletes that find soccer to be their sport...JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER SPORTS. There are phenomenal athletes that take up basketball, football, tennis, etc etc and some kids that suck take up those sports too. To say our best athletes don't play soccer when the decision is being made at like 10 years old for most is ridiculous. Also, we have more kids in the US playing soccer than practically every other country in the world. I don't have these numbers of course but I think I remember hearing that there are more soccer players in the DMV than the population of Iceland...so it's not about the best athletes because there are plenty ELITE athletes playing soccer in US. It's not about the number of players because there are plenty. It has to be our system. Is it that the players are too spread out? Are they not being identified? I don't know. We have foreign coaches. It's not hard to replicate what other top academies are doing. I mean if we got Pep to be the US technical director and USMNT coach, I don't think much would change. Maybe it would I don't know. I'd also go out on a limb and say...yes, money does keep some of the best players from advancing through the ranks but there are enough players with money that we, as a nation, should still be competitive world wide. It's has to be the system. |
Anonymous
Completely agree with this--anyone who says the problem is that "the best athletes play other sports" has no clue what they are talking about. In addition to the facts you mention, US men's teams have always been among the most athletic in the world, yet were still not able to advance against less athletic but more talented opponents. It is the system, and the problems come from the lack of tactical sophistication of our coaching pool. I do think if Pep and his like were installed at all levels of USSF you would see significantly better results very quickly, but you also need that caliber of coach at all levels of the MLS academy set-up too. |
Anonymous
Well, we invented American football, basketball, volleyball, and lacrosse (or Native Americans did) and have played them for many more years than other countries. In soccer, the situation is flipped for men. Our women had consistent playing opportunities for decades before women in other countries, and that also explains much of their success relative to the countries that are now catching up. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
Personally I think it's the culture. How many of the kids on the top teams in the area are playing every lunch time and after school. In most of the world kids from age 5 or 6 onwards erupt out of schools onto playgrounds and parks and streets with a soccer ball several times a day. Ours attend three or four organized pratices per week. No matter how good the coaching, there's no comparison. |
Anonymous
Judging by the number of kids at all the MoCo HS tracks I go to, tons of kids are taking advantage of the free time and track space to play soccer. I go on weekdays between 4 and 6 and at random times on weekends, and the fields are packed with groups of kids playing. I often walk around the outside of the school grounds because I’m nervous about proximity to so many people. |
Anonymous
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Kids dont play anything outside in the street. This is the US for heaven's sake - protesters, kidnappers, idiots with cars! NO SPORT is played in the street.
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