Reply to Yahoo story: Why the world's game is a white game in the U.S.

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Reply to "Yahoo story: Why the world's game is a white game in the U.S."

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You did me the courtesy of a long reply which was mostly somewhat coherent...So let me see if I can sum up your argument.

The US is not good enough in world football because the US does not have any "super, super great" players. "Super, super great" players only come from circumstances of hardship which force them to develop, train, and play with a desperate intensity. Therefore, in order to succeed in international football (shall we call "success" consistent appearances in the World Cup semi-finals?) the US must somehow find, develop, train, and effectively employ at least one of these "super, super great" players which MUST come from desperate circumstances. Does that fairly represent your viewpoint?

The best I can give you is this: you might not be wrong. But this argument is also completely useless. You can talk yourself in circles--any player who falters, well, clearly they weren't desperate enough. Never mind the *literally tens of thousands* of young men from horrifying situations who do not succeed as professional footballers. You can also re-define the destitution however you want, so there's not much of a point to arguing with you. Again, you might not be wrong--but it's completely irrelevant. What, is US Soccer supposed to go through the records of Child Protection Services looking for the really bad cases to try to make them into footballers?

Your lists of "super, super great" players...Well, again, I appreciate that you put it together. But Griezmann? Pogba? Mueller? Schweinsteiger? Also, the fact that you think that Pogba was the "super, super great" player in the French midfield without a mention of Kante makes your level of judgment clear. Very good players all, to be sure. Pulisic has the potential to surpass them all in terms of individual quality (two notes here--1) I was a Pulisic skeptic for a long time. But you can't argue with what he's done at Chelsea this year, and 2) He does seem a bit fragile and even a small injury could knock him off course).

But even if we just accepted your judgment of these players as "super, super great," have all of them suffered the tragic trauma that you deem necessary to attain that status? Of course not. So "white kids" from a middle-class background who never lacked for anything in life such as Mueller, Schweinsteiger, and Neuer can, with the proper training and environment, become world-beaters. You refute yourself.

Last time, even if you're not entirely wrong, your argument is entirely irrelevant. It's not like US Soccer can start grading the level of personnel tragedy a 7-year-old has suffered as a predictor of their future success. What they CAN do is improve their coaching, provide more access to quality coaching, and work on developing a coherent national strategy for how the US plays, which they can then teach to young players.

"Grow up, read a book, observe life, and pay attention." LOL...sure thing, chief.  [/quote]

Thank you. The insult was a response to your insult. Forums like this tend to bring that out. Anyhow, I was not trying to say what the US can or must do, I was simply saying what history has typically shown. That’s all. Germany is an exception to the rule (as are a few other Euro countries) in that their cultures live breath and eat soccer and the pro teams and leagues and nations there plow money into the sport and the development of their best players. We do not have that here, and not sure we ever will given all the other competing sports and activities. So, we most likely need hungrier players (who tend to, but not always, come from worse situations) rising up to take us to the next level. I like Pulisic a lot. I hope he continues to make strides and is utilized correctly by our national team coaches. Same with Weah and Reyna. We can get to quarters with talent like that. [/quote]

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