Random Sports Comments

[Discobob]

Discobob Conn picking up the conversation here.

I think there's no one thing. It's a variety of things, and they all maybe kindof feed into themselves:

1. We don't have a Soccer first culture
2. Therefore top athletes migrate to our big 4 sports American Football, Baseball, Basketball and Hockey, and in the DMV, even lacrosse.
3. Those sports get the most exposure because they are the most populate, therefore, that's where the money is.
4. Because the money is there, infrastructure builds up around those sports.
5. And the development of athletes in those sports is more advanced than the development of soccer.

Also, and this is a very "US Centric" POV, Soccer is basically the only sport where the premier league is NOT in the US. The best Hockey, Basketball and Baseball leagues are all here. And nobody else plays American Football really at any high level. The best soccer league is the British Premiere League. Whereas athletes in the other sports all want to come here to play at the highest level, the highest level soccer players have to go elsewhere.

For this to really change, and I think we're all saying kindof the same thing here, Soccer would have to penetrate into one of the "big 4" sports, have media deals, and be "on" all the time. You probably need a few catalyst stars also which would advance the sport here. I'm not sure how that happens. Or if it should. I personally just can't get into it at all. Different strokes for different folks, I find it mind numbingly boring. But I LOVE watching baseball. So that's a little weird, but it is what it is.

The part that some Americans (I am one) don't seem to grasp is how dominant soccer is in other countries. It is THE sport that everyone plays from the youngest age. On top of that it is subsidized by the professional clubs in those countries to make it insanely cheap or free. In the US, we only do that for the highest tier athletes, and rarely until they are in their teens.

A country like the UK has probably 100+ clubs that subsidize youth soccer at the youngest of ages, spread all across the country. We dont have a similar system of coordinated development in ANY of our major sports. So increasing the profile of soccer to a bit higher would still have us significantly behind our competition!

 

[Conn]

It’s a whole different conversation, but the way private equity is ruining youth sports across the country is also going to have very negative outcomes for every major sport. We’re going backwards if anything, before we can go forwards. Not just in soccer

 

[Boone]

I don't think there are any major 'cultural' barriers to the US becoming a world soccer force. It's simply a matter of dilution. American kids are raised playing baseball, football, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, swimming, lots of sports. In many parts of the world, it's basically soccer and baseball. It's only natural that the most talented soccer players come from those parts of the world. We talk like the US can't even field a respectable soccer team - but that's a completely false narrative. We made the world cup. We advanced in the world cup. We just haven't gotten to an elite level on the world stage - but that is also true for many nations, even ones where soccer is the predominant sport. Our women's team has won the world cup.

I don't see the general environment changing. Soccer is a very popular youth sport - and part of that is today's parents don't want to subject their kids to the relative brutality of American football nor risk the injuries to their children that are more common in football - especially head injuries. Other sports will remain a major draw in America and that is going to continue to result in many of our most talented young athletes playing other sports.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

For whatever it's worth, I personally think this puts the GOAT in the NBA debate to bed:

Michael Jordan is the only player in NBA history to win the Regular Season MVP, Scoring Title, First Team All-Defense, NBA Championship, and Finals MVP all in the exact same season. He achieved this rare two-way dominance four times: 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998. (And in the middle he played baseball.)

That's insanity. Nobody, and I mean, nobody, is close to his level of dominance. In order to pull that off, you have to be amazing on offense, defense, win the championship.

Nobody has done that other than Jordan, and he did the MFer 4 times.

I don't care who you put up against him, past or present, they just can't compare. There are some arguments to be made for some folks, but nobody since Jordan has come close to his level of dominance. Some before can make a case