Didn't Landon Donovan play in Europe?
Toronto has an MLS team but as far as I can tell, it's not very popular. The stadium is now looking for tax dollars to convert it to a multi-sport venue. Eff that.
Nobody cares about soccer here, which is why it will never be a success. Can't say I blame them. It's a mystery to me why it's so popular overseas. I guess because it's cheap to play, which is why so many kids get into it.
...It's a mystery to me why it's so popular overseas. I guess because it's cheap to play, which is why so many kids get into it.
There was an article a while back about how awesome the US team would be if they drew from the football and basketball talent pools. It was such a moronic article. For example, it put forth Ray Lewis as a potential star defensive midfielder. If only he had a different body type and if only he also had a natural aptitude towards kicking instead of tackling and if only he.. Kobe Bryant was put forth as a potential uber forward. Nevermind that there are only a handful of freakishly tall professional soccer players, but all Kobe would have to do would be to practice kicking it around a bit and he'd be awesome.Of course, also consider the talent pool the U.S. has for soccer players is vastly different than in Europe. In Europe, the talent pool for players is everyone. In the U.S., the talent pool is shrunk by those playing football, basketball, baseball as their primary sport. The pool of talent for those primarily playing soccer is much smaller.
I've always wondered how many athletes that end up playing the other sports would be exceptional soccer players? We'll probably never know because soccer isn't even treated as a second class sport here, more like the U.S.'s sporting world's retarted redheaded stepchild's bastard son.
....It's not popular in Canada because they are really bad at it...
They already have. Dempsey and Donavan both played for Tott Spurs/Fulham and Everton.
If playing in the worlds best football league is not enough, not sure what is.
Give it 5-10 more years and US will be football (soccer) superpower. Mark my words.
In the late 90s/early 2000s more kids were playing soccer than baseball in US. That generation is growing up now....league is growing, it's just a matter of time.
Also, clearly soccer interest in US are growing rapidly. I can tell simply by # of televised football programs over the years. I'm able to watch any and ALL English premier league games this year.
Demand is def growing.
MLS is no EPL, La Liga or Bundesliga but they are getting close. US def has a better league than countries like Poland/Sweden etc, so it's just a matter of time.
It's not popular in Canada because they are all a bunch of prima donna cry babies who act like they have been shot, pepper sprayed and tasered every time someone comes within 3 feet of them.
They already have. Dempsey and Donavan both played for Tott Spurs/Fulham and Everton.
If playing in the worlds best football league is not enough, not sure what is.
Give it 5-10 more years and US will be football (soccer) superpower. Mark my words.
In the late 90s/early 2000s more kids were playing soccer than baseball in US. That generation is growing up now....league is growing, it's just a matter of time.
Also, clearly soccer interest in US are growing rapidly. I can tell simply by # of televised football programs over the years. I'm able to watch any and ALL English premier league games this year.
Demand is def growing.
MLS is no EPL, La Liga or Bundesliga but they are getting close. US def has a better league than countries like Poland/Sweden etc, so it's just a matter of time.
I firmly believe the U.S. could have easily been the dominant power in soccer if the U.S. had embraced the sport as much as we have embraced football, basketball and baseball. But, given our economic prosperity compared to most other countries, it's not surprising the U.S. developed a host of sports other countries didn't.
It costs vastly more to play football, for instance, than soccer. All you need is a ball and a couple of net/goals for soccer, something even the poorest countries seem able to afford. But I doubt the poorer countries could foot the cost of baseball or basketball or football. Forget hockey......waaaay to expensive for any but the most wealthy of countries to afford.