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re: I know it’s cliche, but our best athletes would dominate Soccer.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:10 am to 632627
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:10 am to 632627
Do you think America would spend the money to pluck these coaches if it was our most popular sport? In this hypothetical we would now be printing BILLIONS to spend on soccer….
We have individual humans that will spend 5 million on one fricking college football player…..
Some of y’all need to wrap your head around this hypothetical. It’s a hypothetical that soccer now is college football and the nfl wrapped into one for this country
We have individual humans that will spend 5 million on one fricking college football player…..
Some of y’all need to wrap your head around this hypothetical. It’s a hypothetical that soccer now is college football and the nfl wrapped into one for this country
This post was edited on 7/7/26 at 8:14 am
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Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:10 am to sgallo3
quote:
Its because 11 players from Norway beat the best brazil could offer up
Lol, it was literally their 1 athletic freak in the whole country that beat Brazil almost single handedly
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:16 am to 632627
quote:
You can’t just turn it on like a faucet.
It takes investment. We have started the process, but it's not clear how much we will ultimately invest. Our next generation should be better as a result of this prior investment.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:16 am to Ralph_Wiggum
quote:
Soccer is a skill set that is different from our ball sports where we use our hands like football, basketball, and baseball. Eye-hand coordination is not the same as the coordination required for soccer.
I agree that many of our athletes in FB, hoops, and baseball could do well in soccer. There is absolutely no guarantee that LeBron would dominate in soccer.
You are missing the point. It doesnt have to beLebron specifically, but for every athletic freak with the skillset for football in the US, there is his counterpart with poosibly a soccer skillset sitting at home with his kids.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:20 am to SlowFlowPro
This argument is correct but it’s being made incorrectly.
Could we dominate soccer if our culture was focussed on it? Probably
Would it be LeBron James doing it? Probably not
It would be some random guy who maxed out as a small D1 receiver or SG who is 6’1” - 6’3 190lbs of muscle, we wouldn’t do well with a bunch of 6’7 dudes out there who can’t cut and change direction the way the smaller guys can.
Think Antonio Brown type of athletes (but not him specifically
)
Sure we could sprinkle in a few huge guys to muscle up in the box, but not many. Really we should get a 6’7” freak to play goalie. Hell part of me thinks we should pluck an NBA bench player now and spend the next 4 years training him to play goalie
Could we dominate soccer if our culture was focussed on it? Probably
Would it be LeBron James doing it? Probably not
It would be some random guy who maxed out as a small D1 receiver or SG who is 6’1” - 6’3 190lbs of muscle, we wouldn’t do well with a bunch of 6’7 dudes out there who can’t cut and change direction the way the smaller guys can.
Think Antonio Brown type of athletes (but not him specifically
) Sure we could sprinkle in a few huge guys to muscle up in the box, but not many. Really we should get a 6’7” freak to play goalie. Hell part of me thinks we should pluck an NBA bench player now and spend the next 4 years training him to play goalie
This post was edited on 7/7/26 at 8:21 am
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:21 am to lsupride87
quote:
This is a hypothetical that America became hyper obsessed with soccer like other nations. If that happened we would absolutely spend the money and effort to setup a system similar to the other world elites. The fact you truly don’t beleive that is mind numbing to me honestly
I don’t think it’s as easy as you’re so confidently claiming though. We’re such a big country that I think there are diminishing returns at some point. England has a huge talent pool and has stud athletes on their squad.
Every stud athlete in the country can be at a national training center in a 3 hour train ride. Because England is the size of Florida.
To truly set up a national system here that was on the same page you would have completely overhaul or get rid of all these other regional and national leagues pulling all sorts of clubs from around the country trying to get their cut. It’s a tangled shitshow because we’re so damn big and there is so much money to be made pulling in different directions.
This post was edited on 7/7/26 at 8:23 am
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:21 am to RemouladeSawce
quote:
You don’t have to take my word for it. Cross the Atlantic and be laughed out of a pub yourself
Lol, those Europeans are as smug and stupid as you are. Of course they would laugh. They think all Americans are fat white MAGA rednecks. Theychave no fricking clue.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:21 am to Tiger in NY
quote:
Lol, it was literally their 1 athletic freak in the whole country that beat Brazil almost single handedly
Mind you this is a nation of 6 million who, every 4 years, completely dominates the Winter Olympics.
“1 athletic freak”
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:23 am to Tiger1242
The ideal of a LBJ (the elite of the Tier 1 athletes) is just how big of a freakshow that would be. A 6-9 Haaland would be quite the weapon, and our freaks have the ability to do that. The point of that dream is that those guys have the athleticism to cut, are fast for the size, and have the coordination to have touch/ability on the foot.
This isn't going to happen, but it's sort of a dream.
Now, is it possible that a Tier-3 small forward may be able to do it at 75% of the athleticism of LBJ (which is close to Haaland and superior to Zlatan) one day? Yes.
This isn't going to happen, but it's sort of a dream.
Now, is it possible that a Tier-3 small forward may be able to do it at 75% of the athleticism of LBJ (which is close to Haaland and superior to Zlatan) one day? Yes.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:23 am to 632627
quote:and why dont you think this would be the case if soccer was our #1 sport?
You can’t just turn it on like a faucet. It’s ingrained in culture and Europe is littered with the best coaches at the best academies.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:26 am to Adam Banks
quote:
You are talking about potentially billions in investment with little to no return as the elite players in this lifetime aren’t going to spend their primes in MLS
People with that kind of money don’t set a billion on fire.
First, in this scenario, the MLS would be infinitely more popular and profitable.
Second, why did 2 billionaires just pony up for Pochettino's $6 million/year contract if they dont want to set their money on fire?
Berhalter was making $2 million. One relatively small increase in coaching salary already made a huge difference in just that last 4 years.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:26 am to St Augustine
quote:
To truly set up a national system here that was on the same page you would have completely overhaul or get rid of all these other regional and national leagues pulling all sorts of clubs from around the country trying to get their cut. It’s a tangled shitshow because we’re so damn big and there is so much money to be made pulling in different directions.
To maximize, we'd have to set it up like France with regional academies.
France has 15 FFF academies + Clairefontaine
We could do 50+ if we wanted to invest in soccer (and had the youth athletic population to do it)
This would be in addition to whatever the MLS could scrape up.
And, like France, our elite youth would go elsewhere to finish their development. Very few French stars do this in Ligue1
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:28 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
It takes investment.
The Olympics have been a good test lab for this theory.
The host country always has a big medal and performance boost. Some of that is adrenaline from competing in front of a home crowd but most of it is due to the fact that these countries start investing heavily as soon as they are awarded the bid 10 years prior.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:28 am to Tiger in NY
quote:
One relatively small increase in coaching salary already made a huge difference in just that last 4 years.
Naw
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:29 am to AUFANATL
quote:
The host country always has a big medal and performance boost. Some of that is adrenaline from competing in front of a home crowd but most of it is due to the fact that these countries start investing heavily as soon as they are awarded the bid 10 years prior.
Our investment has nothing to do with this and started over a decade ago.
We have developed real academy systems with MLS teams and have started sending more young players to Europe early in their development.
The question is if we take the next step in investment.
Also, we aren't bad, currently. We're in that 12-20 range depending on the health of our team.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:31 am to SlowFlowPro
In this hypothetical is the American travel ball parent mindset changing as well?
Like are parents going to be willing to let local clubs focus on technical ability instead of barnstorming around the state to play one off matches 3 hours each way?
Like are parents going to be willing to let local clubs focus on technical ability instead of barnstorming around the state to play one off matches 3 hours each way?
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:32 am to Rrrrroger
quote:
dominates the Winter Olympics.
Winter Olymics? Not exactly the paragon of events exhibiting true athleticism. The most athletic sport in the Olympics is hockey, and Norway most certainly does NOT dominate.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:32 am to Adam Banks
quote:
The reason LeBron is used is because he is massive AND can cut on a dime AND has shown elite spatial awareness for himself and others and timing of himself and others.
I understand LeBron is a rare freak athlete with elite skills but why don’t guys like Jokic or Giannis dominate at soccer? Olajuwon switched from soccer to basketball late. And don’t say they’re not as good as LBJ because they are still elite players that have dominated in the NBA.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:33 am to SlowFlowPro
Yes exactly, I think Lebron, Michael Jordan, etc would look a little stiff on the soccer field. They’re unbelievably coordinated for the size they are but I’m not sure they would look that way on a premier league soccer field. They play a sport that rewards explosiveness and straight line strength as much or more than shiftiness and agility
This post was edited on 7/7/26 at 8:34 am
Posted on 7/7/26 at 8:34 am to Tiger in NY
quote:
Winter Olymics? Not exactly the paragon of events exhibiting true athleticism. The most athletic sport in the Olympics is hockey, and Norway most certainly does NOT dominate.
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