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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is why we don't have US soccer stars.  The kids in the pay-to-play system don't NEED soccer for a better future. They have parents that can afford a nice lifestyle and sent them to a great college.  They have kids that it makes more sense to go into a STEM or IT field or a great MBA program.   There are kids all over the World where Futbol is their ticket and only way out of certain circumstances or social classes.  That's a hunger that 99.9999% of kids in the pay-to-play system do not have.[/quote]

???  There is so much wrong in the generalizations made above, including:

-- only kids of affluent parents can afford to play travel soccer -- this is a gross generalization and ignores the huge number of kids in the US from "non-affluent" families who play soccer, including for elite travel teams.  Don't get me wrong, the pay-to-play system has more than its fair share of problems, but your statement is absurd on its face;

-- only kids who don't NEED soccer for a better future have the hunger to become stars -- this gross generalization also ignores the countless stars whose parents were well off.  Off hand, I am near certain that Andrea Pirlo (arguably one of the best defensive midfielders ever), Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea legend), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands and Arsenal legend), Gerard Pique (centerback for Spain and Barcelona) and Hugo Lloris (goalkeeper for France and Tottenham) all came from "affluent" families;

-- soccer (or other sports) is the "only way out" of poverty for kids from non-affluent families -- give me a break.  I will grant you that it is incredibly (and increasingly more) difficult for kids to rise above their parents' socioeconomic "status," but it is ignorant to think that becoming a professional athlete is the "only way out."

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