- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: 3 things preventing soccer from gaining mainstream U.S. popularity
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:31 am to Srbtiger06
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:31 am to Srbtiger06
quote:
Doesn't happen overnight.
I realize this, but everyone here keeps clamoring to be more like Europe. Maybe the status-quo isn't the best solution for the US?
1
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:34 am to Golfer
The MLS becoming a top notch league is pretty much the only way soccer ever gets into the conversation with the big 4 in this country.
As long as the best games are played half way around the world at inconvenient times, the sport will never be more than a novelty.
The time zone issue hasn't gotten enough play as a favor in why this particular world cup has been so popular imo.
As long as the best games are played half way around the world at inconvenient times, the sport will never be more than a novelty.
The time zone issue hasn't gotten enough play as a favor in why this particular world cup has been so popular imo.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:34 am to Hester Carries
4: douche bag lifers
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:34 am to Golfer
quote:
I realize this, but everyone here keeps clamoring to be more like Europe. Maybe the status-quo isn't the best solution for the US?
You take young kids, keep them in a system for learning about the game, and they grow up more seasoned. The more you're around something, the better you'll get.
IDK how you change that.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:36 am to The Third Leg
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:37 am to petar
quote:
The Title IX argument is wierd and i don't know if it keeps soccer from being mainstream. MLB was more mainstream before the rise of college baseball.
True, but the NBA and NFL was not. Kids stop playing soccer in high school and focus on Basketball, Baseball, or Football instead because of the potential for scholarships in those sports and lack of potential playing soccer.
I think the other issue is simply that the MLS is basically a D-League as far as soccer leagues go. If you watch the NBA, MLB, or NFL you can say with pretty good confidence that you're watching the best players playing in the premier league of the world. You can't say that about the MLS.
Plus, there's the issue of where a kid could go to play soccer. If a kid gets a scholership, it's probably going to be someplace far far away, especially if he lives in the South. The only school down here is UAB. If he wants to play professionally, he's going to have to go to Europe to play in La Liga, the EPL, ect. Most Americans (particularly those in the South) don't want to go that far away from family.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:38 am to crazy4lsu
quote:
I think this is a good point. There are 200 schools playing D-1 soccer so there are plenty of outlets for good players. But designing youth development so that it mimics the NFL and NBA is a bad idea in my view. If we can find a combination of college soccer and MLS academies, then that might be the best option.
That article used Cameron as an example of the college system working. I think its an example of just how much worse it is. That botched clearance against Portugal was shite that should never happen in a U15 game, much less the world cup. That was an example of limited reps with his weaker foot throughout his life because the us system is based more around winning games than developing technique. We have some of the worst dribbling/first touch in the world cup. South korea even looked much more comfortable with their defense on the ball under pressure
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:40 am to kingbob
There's still enough societal pressure, why just read this thread, to discourage kids from continuing soccer, especially when they find out it's just as tough to "make it" as it is for all other sports.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:43 am to RedPop4
quote:
There's still enough societal pressure, why just read this thread, to discourage kids from continuing soccer, especially when they find out it's just as tough to "make it" as it is for all other sports.
Exactly. The cheerleaders are all banging football and basketball players, not soccer players. Soccer is considered a "girly" sport. Also, I would argue that it's much much harder to make it in soccer because you really are competing against the entire world unlike in football where you're really just competing against the U.S. and Canada.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:45 am to kingbob
quote:
Exactly. The cheerleaders are all banging football and basketball players, not soccer players.
I grew up near lake charles and at least a couple of us on the soccer team were banging cheerleaders lol
You're gonna see more and more white guys that wouldve played basketball or football playing soccer in the south for sure
This post was edited on 7/1/14 at 11:46 am
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:45 am to kingbob
quote:
potential for scholarships in those sports and lack of potential playing soccer.
Most soccer kids dont go this route and this route will only become less and less improtant as the academy system grows.
quote:
I think the other issue is simply that the MLS is basically a D-League as far as soccer leagues go. If you watch the NBA, MLB, or NFL you can say with pretty good confidence that you're watching the best players playing in the premier league of the world. You can't say that about the MLS.
Completely different issue, but with the modern game and how easily available it is to watch different leagues. Plus the global coverage it is getting helps alleviate this. Everyone is talking about the world cup. I was watching World Cup tonight and they showed tweets from Rhianna, Arian Foster, and Dale Earnhart jr. I could imagine a more diverse three to show tweets from about the world cup.
Everyone knows Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar these days. Kids know there is money to be made in soccer if you stick with it.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 11:49 am to CGSC Lobotomy
dumb aggie gonna dumb
Posted on 7/1/14 at 12:02 pm to CGSC Lobotomy
Issues that are limiting Soccer from being a "Mainstream" sport in the US is much more then what you have listed. I mostly watch Soccer when the World Cup comes around or I catch a good International Game as I am scrolling through the Channel Guide. So my perspective is from the outside looking in.
First and foremost most Americans have not grown up around Soccer. We've always known about soccer, but our promonent sports have been Baseball, Football and Basketball. Soccer will not truely grow until you have a growth in Youth Soccer that translates to High School and College Soccer numbers increasing. Our best Athletes end up in the MLB, NBA or NFL.
MLS has just over half the amount of teams compared to the NFL, NBA or MLB. So it is not saturated as much across the country as the other sports. People are more likely to watch a sport if they have a local team that they can cheer for. Like earlier mentioned until MLS gets a TV Contract with a big network it will never become mainstream.
Most do not have an understanding of the game. They see a score of 2-1 and assume that the game is very low paced or boring. When in all actuality it is a very uptempo, fast paced game.
Anyhow, lets go USA I hope to see us move on to the Group of 8!
First and foremost most Americans have not grown up around Soccer. We've always known about soccer, but our promonent sports have been Baseball, Football and Basketball. Soccer will not truely grow until you have a growth in Youth Soccer that translates to High School and College Soccer numbers increasing. Our best Athletes end up in the MLB, NBA or NFL.
MLS has just over half the amount of teams compared to the NFL, NBA or MLB. So it is not saturated as much across the country as the other sports. People are more likely to watch a sport if they have a local team that they can cheer for. Like earlier mentioned until MLS gets a TV Contract with a big network it will never become mainstream.
Most do not have an understanding of the game. They see a score of 2-1 and assume that the game is very low paced or boring. When in all actuality it is a very uptempo, fast paced game.
Anyhow, lets go USA I hope to see us move on to the Group of 8!
Posted on 7/1/14 at 12:05 pm to CGSC Lobotomy
quote:
3. Timekeeping. Right now, the ref is in charge of the clock. The indicator on screen is an approximation but not the official time.
You do know the clock only starts one time in each half in the most obvious way possible? It's not like the indicator on the screen won't be exactly the same as the ref.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 12:19 pm to CGSC Lobotomy
quote:
3. Timekeeping. Right now, the ref is in charge of the clock. The indicator on screen is an approximation but not the official time. If you had an independent timekeeper who stopped the clock every time there was a stoppage in play, the halves would end at EXACTLY 45 and 90 minutes.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 12:30 pm to jivy26
quote:
MLS has just over half the amount of teams compared to the NFL, NBA or MLB. So it is not saturated as much across the country as the other sports. People are more likely to watch a sport if they have a local team that they can cheer for. Like earlier mentioned until MLS gets a TV Contract with a big network it will never become mainstream.
After recent additions, there will be 22 (could be 23) teams in the next few years. Although, there could be an argument that this isn't exactly great for the quality of the league since the talent would get saturated. The MLS did just grab a huge TV contract.
This post was edited on 7/1/14 at 12:31 pm
Posted on 7/1/14 at 12:38 pm to DestrehanTiger
quote:
The MLS did just grab a huge TV contract.
ESPN and Fox Sports..I was more pertaining to NBC, CBS, ABC or Fox. Either way they will require a much larger audience to get there. MLS is only 20 years old so it has grown a lot since its inception.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 12:38 pm to CGSC Lobotomy
I have to disagree on your major points.
1. There are plenty of other ways to advertise aside from tv advertisements during timeouts.
2. College soccer is not the future of professional soccer in this country. The professional teams will develop youth systems to attract and build top players.
3. I am intrigued by this point I keep hearing from soccer naysayers on timekeeping. A football game is comprised of 4 15:00 minute quarters, but can last anywhere from 2:30 to 5 hours in real time. And there are all kinds of rules for stoppages during a football game (in college, clock stops for first downs but only to move the chains; the clock runs or stops based on whether the player was in-bounds or out-of-bounds; the clock runs or stops based on run vs. pass; quarterback can spike the ball to stop; there are timeouts; there are challenges; there are reviews; Time can be added back or taken off after review; there is a 2-minute warning in pros). In soccer, it's 45 minutes with no stoppages, plus the amount of time to be added. The time to be added is displayed to the world by the fourth official and is usually only a couple of minutes. Other than just being different from other sports, I don't understand the grief over it
1. There are plenty of other ways to advertise aside from tv advertisements during timeouts.
2. College soccer is not the future of professional soccer in this country. The professional teams will develop youth systems to attract and build top players.
3. I am intrigued by this point I keep hearing from soccer naysayers on timekeeping. A football game is comprised of 4 15:00 minute quarters, but can last anywhere from 2:30 to 5 hours in real time. And there are all kinds of rules for stoppages during a football game (in college, clock stops for first downs but only to move the chains; the clock runs or stops based on whether the player was in-bounds or out-of-bounds; the clock runs or stops based on run vs. pass; quarterback can spike the ball to stop; there are timeouts; there are challenges; there are reviews; Time can be added back or taken off after review; there is a 2-minute warning in pros). In soccer, it's 45 minutes with no stoppages, plus the amount of time to be added. The time to be added is displayed to the world by the fourth official and is usually only a couple of minutes. Other than just being different from other sports, I don't understand the grief over it
This post was edited on 7/1/14 at 12:40 pm
Posted on 7/1/14 at 12:42 pm to Sheep
quote:
At age 20, Jonathan Spector played for Manchester United. Geoff Cameron played for West Virginia at age 20, Stuart Holden played for Clemson.
Cameron was a diamond in the rough
Spector had 3 caps total for United and was loaded out most the time but was still seen as the future until his career took a dive
Stu played two years of college and said frick this he realized he needed to become a pro
quote:
My point? There are good players everywhere on this damned planet. People need to stop looking at "Europe" (especially Europe as the 12 most recognizable clubs) as the end-all, be-all, fix-all for soccer - American soccer in particular.
Of course there are good players everywhere but the college ranks at this stage is not where US Soccer needs to focus. Majority of the time a 20 year old professional who has had professional training for years in a youth set up will be light years ahead of his counterpart playing college ball. Of course there are outliers but most the time its not the case.
Posted on 7/1/14 at 12:45 pm to kingbob
quote:
Most Americans (particularly those in the South) don't want to go that far away from family.
thats a sad sad mindset to have in life
Page 4 of 6
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News