I know we hit on some of this in the "why soccer will never be big" thread. But I want to ask it from a different angle.
Disclaimer. Personally, I'm mostly agnostic on Soccer. I live in the South where High School and SEC college football is king. But I am NOT anti soccer.
AND, I recognize how hugely popular it is worldwide. And how popular it is in the US. It may not be my thing, but I'm not the subject here.
My question is this: What will it take, and what has to change for the US to be competitive on the world stage? And I guess specifically, I mean, what will it take for the US to be competitive in the World Cup?
Anecdotally, I see this in my area and among my friends:
1. Soccer is extremely popular among youth. Obviously it draws the little kids as it's an easy team sport to play for little ones. But I see a ton of interest in older kids too. So I don't buy the "it's only for toddlers" idea.
2. We get good athletes. I understand the idea that our best athletes go to Football / Basketball / Baseball. But I see differently. I have two good friends locally who's sons were the best athletes in our High School. (Pretty large public high school with 2,000 students). They both played soccer for the High School team. And played all through middle and high school on club teams. Basketball and Baseball have AAU teams for kids. Football has QB camps and such. It's not like our Football / Basketball / Baseball kids are whisked away as 10 year olds to live and train in a special facility. And we excel in those sports worldwide.
3. We have tons of people. I know it's not a numbers game, lest China would win everything. But numbers do matter. The fact Croatia can dominate at the World Level with a population equal to Kentucky is astounding.
4. We have the resources. Soccer obviously doesn't need a ton of money for equipment and such. But if money matters, we have lots of it for facilities and coaching and development.
5. We want to win. Good or bad, Americans are competitive. It's not like we have some lackadaisical fan base that doesn't care. I have to think we rank at least normal on the "want to win" scale. I have to think given how much we love Soccer already, there's a huge desire to want to excel at the World Cup.
So with all that - why can't we field a competitive team?
Disclaimer. Personally, I'm mostly agnostic on Soccer. I live in the South where High School and SEC college football is king. But I am NOT anti soccer.
AND, I recognize how hugely popular it is worldwide. And how popular it is in the US. It may not be my thing, but I'm not the subject here.
My question is this: What will it take, and what has to change for the US to be competitive on the world stage? And I guess specifically, I mean, what will it take for the US to be competitive in the World Cup?
Anecdotally, I see this in my area and among my friends:
1. Soccer is extremely popular among youth. Obviously it draws the little kids as it's an easy team sport to play for little ones. But I see a ton of interest in older kids too. So I don't buy the "it's only for toddlers" idea.
2. We get good athletes. I understand the idea that our best athletes go to Football / Basketball / Baseball. But I see differently. I have two good friends locally who's sons were the best athletes in our High School. (Pretty large public high school with 2,000 students). They both played soccer for the High School team. And played all through middle and high school on club teams. Basketball and Baseball have AAU teams for kids. Football has QB camps and such. It's not like our Football / Basketball / Baseball kids are whisked away as 10 year olds to live and train in a special facility. And we excel in those sports worldwide.
3. We have tons of people. I know it's not a numbers game, lest China would win everything. But numbers do matter. The fact Croatia can dominate at the World Level with a population equal to Kentucky is astounding.
4. We have the resources. Soccer obviously doesn't need a ton of money for equipment and such. But if money matters, we have lots of it for facilities and coaching and development.
5. We want to win. Good or bad, Americans are competitive. It's not like we have some lackadaisical fan base that doesn't care. I have to think we rank at least normal on the "want to win" scale. I have to think given how much we love Soccer already, there's a huge desire to want to excel at the World Cup.
So with all that - why can't we field a competitive team?
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