Sgt. Largent":23ntg6iw said:
Uncle Si":23ntg6iw said:
Or for that matter, what sport can you see a player of Messi's size being drawn to? Just because Lebron is 6'10 doesn't mean the ball at his feet is going to do anything. He may be fast, but i'd suggest a massive handful of modern footballers are much faster.
What I'm talking about is specifically American.
Here are the facts when it comes to sports and the US, we dominate at the sports we dedicate time, money and athletic resources to.
If we had the history, development and resources dedicated to being a soccer nation first? Then it would be the same. The reason the most affluent nation of 320 million in the world is #31 in the FIFA rankings behind smaller less affluent countries is because our best athletes do not play soccer, they just don't.
That's an extremely large assumption. Its not only assuming that if our best athletes played soccer we would have any idea how to train them to do it properly. (the development of the coaching in this country is vast and rapidly progressing) It also assumes (wrongly) that the Messi's, Rooney's, Ronaldo's, Ibra's, Suarez' of the world are those nations best athletes (they are not, if your definition of best athlete involves someone who plays RB in the NFL or PG in the NBA).
It also wrongly suggests that we dominate at all other sports. We don't. We dominate at football, because it's ours. No other nation has anything more than a fledgeling dedication to the sport. Imagine our NFL players going at New Zealand or England in Rugby. It would be far more competitive. We may have the dominant all- star team in terms of basketball, but the amount of world class Euro and South American NBA players is on the rise, as is the overall talent of those international squads. Baseball? Hockey? Are we really dominant?
The amount of money, time and resources spent to soccer is far more than you're giving it credit as well. Mistaking the amount of money spent in the NFL as testament to the amount spent in development of players is a large reach. In truth, soccer may have the largest and most structured youth development system of any of the 5 sports. More kids play soccer before 8th grade than any of the other 4 sports.. combined. Why do kids move on? Lots of reasons. Most just don't like playing when they get older.
We can dream about Richard Sherman playing wing back, or Lebron playing center back, maybe Adrian Peterson as a center mid. The truth is, there is a reason they play the sports they do, and its not because the money is there. Some of it is induction into other sports based on their upbringing. Some of it is because physically the sport does not appeal to them. Why are there not 7 foot soccer players in international football? (ever watch Peter Crouch) Why are their not bullish power runners harassing Messi in Germany's midfield? Its not as if those types of athletes do not exist in those countries.
It's a fool's dream. An American excuse. American soccer, despite never producing a world class player, is one of the most consistent international entities in the World Cup. It does not lack athletes (on the contrary, the program is known for its exceptional athletic ability and fitness over other international teams who fair better). It lacks intricacy. It lacks coaching.
Most of all, it lacks the ability to identify the kids who can become stars. Read up on the backgrounds of Rooney, Suarez, Ibra, Messi, or just about 8 out of 11 of every professional footballer at a high level. As kids they played. They played every day. They played in streets, alleys, on dirt, with bags filled with grass, no shoes. They grew up impoverished.
Sound familiar? Not many NBA players grew up on a military base like Kobe. Most hit the pavement everyday as an outlet. The DAs are trying to find these kids in America. Its one of the reasons they are in Chicago, Phoenix, Dallas, LA.
