re: I know it’s cliche, but our best athletes would dominate Soccer.

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Wasn’t Odell Beckham Jr. involved with one of the young national teams back in the day, but eventually decided not to pursue it? If I’m wrong someone correct me, but I seem to remember hearing something like that.

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That's correct. But I say he made the right choice given his career earnings (albeit he apparently has poor money management ).

Drake Davis apparently was one too but he probably chose wrong.

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Drake Davis

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Dude was my preseason breakout offensive player one year. Boy was I dumb.

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Young? Sure. From birth? Nah.

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I was responding to your comment about a 14 year old Bo Jackson. That's way too late to start.

Perfect example is Alex Freeman, son of Antonio Freeman (NFL WR). The son obviously received the genetics but he started playing soccer when he was four years old. You need a lot of these physically gifted guys playing from a very young age to play at the highest level.

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Unless our greatest athletes have a ball attached to their feet from the time they learn to walk then there's no chance. The game is more than being a great athlete. It's about skill and touch.

This is like "Man I bet Alabama would beat the Cleveland Browns"

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This.

Soccer players outside of the US play soccer in the streets with cans, in the hallways with tennis balls, in the yard with soccer balls, in the classroom with paper balls - everywhere they go. There's a reason it took Belgium 1 minute to score after we tied it. They do that because everybody else is playing with them, even if they aren't soccer players. Lebron James in his prime can't kick a ball with spin like they can. Lebron James in his prime can't dribble a ball like they can. And if he grew up loving soccer, the only place he'll get to practice soccer is on a field with other soccer players. Soccer is their sport. Almost everybody plays it, to some degree or other. Their golfers and tennis players play soccer. Their nerds play soccer. Our best athletes wouldn't be surrounded by soccer the way their players are.

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The entire world is losing its mind over a 6'5 Norwegian just physically dominating and scoring over everyone and im supposed to believe a physcially/athletically in his prime LeBron wouldnt do literally whatever he wanted if he was given soccer training from the time he could walk like all these other countries do?

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The world is losing its mind because he’s a goofy likable motherfricker and his degree of skill is almost never seen with that height. He is the exception

His goal scoring co-leaders are 5’10” and 5’6”. The former less than 170 lbs, the latter 150

It’s never been athletics, no matter how many times this thread is stubbornly made

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and his degree of skill is almost never seen with that height.

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so combining the skill with height and athleticism matters? Interesting

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The pay ceiling in soccer is higher than football

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What

There are 5 soccer players in the entire world with a higher salary than Brock Purdy

Pulisic’s wages are like $5m/year. He’d be outside of the top 1000 NFL players

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Yes I’m sure that fricking Bo Jackson could never be near the player that some random Norwegian is if he started playing soccer at 14. He just couldn’t figure out how to deal with Jurgen Bunblefrick who is 5’8 145 pounds.

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I don’t know dick about soccer, but I’m pretty sure you don’t just pick up soccer at 14 and become elite. No matter who you are.

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The pay ceiling in soccer is higher than football, but it is hard to say how good he could have been in soccer

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Not in the US and that’s an issue.


How are you going to tell a kid like tyrann Mathieu hey you have a natural athleticism and sense of space you need to get in an academy so you have the chance to make more life changing money than the life changing NFL money but be in Europe potentially in Italy or Spain where you don’t speak the language and your family would potentially never see you play.




Who says yes to that

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The greatest soccer player of all time is 5’7 fwiw. Wish more smaller stud athletes in the US played soccer instead of riding the bench in sports where size makes a huge difference

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I think the problem is a lot of elite 5’7 baws aren’t riding the bench in sports, they are dominating through and into high school in sports where lack of size eventually does eventually set your ceiling. That same kid in Europe though only ever plays soccer.