Osama Bin Laden > Landon Donovan

[Dr. Foosball™]

World Soccer Daily is reporting that Donovan has been invited to Copa and has turned it down saying he has other things to do (play for Galaxy). What a fcuking bitch! Why is he so afraid against competition? :mad:

[texgator]

World Soccer Daily is reporting that Donovan has been invited to Copa and has turned it down saying he has other things to do (play for Galaxy). What a fcuking bitch! Why is he so afraid against competition? :mad:

Donovan said weeks ago (if not months) that he wouldn't participate in both summer tournaments for the US stating that he didnt' feel it was fair to be away from his club for nearly 3 months. I don't think it's right to criticize him for that choice. If you want to access blame here, point the finger towards a league that doesn't suspend play during the summer international season.

[The Gribbler]

I dunno, that's a toughie...how do Osama's free kicks look?

[texgator]

He's tall, I'd think he'd be a better defender. Kind of like in the Clarence Goodson mold. I've heard he is an Arsenal fan...which just makes too much sense.

[Dr. Foosball™]

Donovan said weeks ago (if not months) that he wouldn't participate in both summer tournaments for the US stating that he didnt' feel it was fair to be away from his club for nearly 3 months. I don't think it's right to criticize him for that choice. If you want to access blame here, point the finger towards a league that doesn't suspend play during the summer international season.
I agree that the powers that be in MLS need to pull their head out of their arse and suspend league play during international competition. But until then, Bradley needs to lay the hammer down and say that if any of his players are not going to accept a spot on the national team, they will not be captain!

[TheDallasPerspective]

I agree that the powers that be in MLS need to pull their head out of their arse and suspend league play during international competition. But until then, Bradley needs to lay the hammer down and say that if any of his players are not going to accept a spot on the national team, they will not be captain!

No freaking kidding. Gig for Bean.

Club play and an American league are important, but they should be subordinate to NT play until the NT has some very high-level success. It will only take one deep run.

In 1979, nobody cared about hockey north of the 36-30. Only one thing brought hockey into the national spotlight: the 1980 US team and its gold medal run. After that, hockey began to catch on and 12 years later was making deep inroads into the south and west.

Soccer needs to learn this lesson. Only a string of high-profile national victories will give soccer the foothold it needs here. You think the nation wasn't ready to go crazy if we beat GER in WC02? Nine months after 9/11? The country would've gone NUTZ!

The trouble is, I think most Americans view the WC group stage as the "regular season" and only view the knockout stage as the "playoffs" ... rather than the whole WC tournament as a final competition that takes years to qualify for.

Americans believe that regular seasons "don't matter." All that matters is the playoffs. And only a long playoff run will capture the nation. And a long playoff run is only possible by prioritizing NT play. Years of MLS championships simply WILL NOT CAPTURE the imagination of the American public any more than years of NHL championships did. Sure, maybe in certain circles ... but not nationally.

If soccer wants to become a Big 4 sport, only a deep WC run will do it.

[WarrenAbao]

The trouble is, I think most Americans view the WC group stage as the "regular season" and only view the knockout stage as the "playoffs" ... rather than the whole WC tournament as a final competition that takes years to qualify for.

How many USA WCQs have you attended in person that enabled you to arrive at such a conclusion?

[Parrothead FC]

I could not be more tired of WSD (except that I need it to hear fluent English every day and have something to listen to while walking.) this was merely a pointless rant about something we knew months ago.

Donovan is not the person you need to be angry with if you think the Copa should be taken seriously. direct your anger at Sunil Golati and Bob Bradley, because they feel the exact same way Donovan does.

[TheDallasPerspective]

How many USA WCQs have you attended in person that enabled you to arrive at such a conclusion?

Attending WCQs isn't relevant to my point .. but to answer, probably more than you. Rather, observing American culture makes my point.

I think that the general American public disregards WCQs and doesn't even really pay attention until the WCF. The public expects USA to be at the WCF and if they don't make it, nobody outside soccer fandom cares.

To wit .. outside of the soccer culture, who paid attention to CC05 or 2004 Olympics? Where was the uproar about the USA failing to qualify for these tournaments? There wasn't one. But ... if USA failed to qualify for FIBA World Finals, you'd hear about it.

But even at the WCF, the general American public views the group stage as the "regular season" that they expect us to be in; and the knockout stage as the "playoffs." To a public that believes regular seasons "don't matter", attention isn't even really paid until the knockout stage. If USA doesn't get through, the general public's reaction is only disappointment. The accomplishment of just making the WCF is totally disregarded.

It is in the knockout stage that USA needs to shine in order to "win the crowd."

[Dr. Foosball™]

So, to sum up your post, ...Americans hate soccer...

we already knew this. ;)

[TheDallasPerspective]

So, to sum up your post,

we already knew this. ;)

No crap. I couldn't drag my friends to a MNT game without promising them chicks would be there. Chick-friends are easy ... they don't pay attention to the game anyway and they hope to meet someone with "soccer abs." Pretentious, shallow floozies that my chick-friends are.

You guys can promise chicks, can't you?

[JohnR]

Why is he so afraid against competition? :mad:

Apparently, he's not afraid of FCD.

[Dr. Foosball™]

Apparently, he's not afraid of FCD.
what dat mean?

[WarrenAbao]

How many USA WCQs have you attended in person that enabled you to arrive at such a conclusion?

Attending WCQs isn't relevant to my point .. but to answer, probably more than you.

I've attended almost all of USA's home WCQs since 1996. I was going to use the passion that I see from the American fans attending these games as my basis for you underestimating how much Americans care about the WCQs, but since you're now using the term "general American public", I'll refrain from that argument.

I think that the general American public disregards WCQs and doesn't even really pay attention until the WCF. The public expects USA to be at the WCF and if they don't make it, nobody outside soccer fandom cares.

Yup.

[SeventhRowScreamer]

Donovan probably feels the club weight on his shoulders. They win the title in 2005. Donovan misses much of the summer with the Nats in '06 and they go to last place. Even if his abscence was not to blame for their crappy season he may feel like it's his fault. If he's feeling guilty about last summer then he probably doesn't want to repeat with time away from club.
Not that I give a crap.
I want Cooper and Ching up top with little Donnie attacking from behind them. And I'm talking about attacking the soccer ball...not anything else.;)

[URS on the Warpath redded]

I agree that the powers that be in MLS need to pull their head out of their arse and suspend league play during international competition.

Honest question, douchebag, but are you a native of Arkansas?

But until then, Bradley needs to lay the hammer down and say that if any of his players are not going to accept a spot on the national team, they will not be captain!

Of course, the plus to not having Landon for Copa America is that we may be able to learn to play without him in a big tournament since you can guarantee that he's going to disappear in at least one game of any given tournament, especially if Tristan is having cramps that week.

Hey, here's an idea, someone kill Jack Warner and take over CONCACRAP and set an unchanging schedule for El Cupa del Golda so that it's held at the same damned time of year on a regular cycle and not in January on one cycle, and June the next.

[TheDallasPerspective]

I've attended almost all of USA's home WCQs since 1996. I was going to use the passion that I see from the American fans attending these games as my basis for you underestimating how much Americans care about the WCQs, but since you're now using the term "general American public", I'll refrain from that argument.

My bad, I should've been clearer, I always meant "general public." I'm thinking, soccer will never be as popular as football or basketball, or as much a part of the national fabric as baseball, but it can be as popular as auto racing and extreme sports, which have a casual following as well as a passionate following.

In other words, casual racing fans will buy tickets to TMS and sell it out. No such fan exists in soccer right now ... to wit attendance at PHP for the USA-GUA friendly. The fans there were fun and passionate, but the venue wasn't close to sold-out, and in one of the USA's best soccer cities, this isn't good.

International basketball (FIBA) seems to be blazing some trail in familiarizing Americans with international sporting bodies ... and strategies for players and rules and coaches and national programs seem to be entering the American vernacular now that the rest of the world is catching up to USA in basketball.

This can only help in the understanding of FIFA and how it works ... personally, it took me a while to start grasping GC, CC, CA, MLS, EUFA, Champions, Copa Sud, etc., etc., and how all that fit together. It is a little confusing to someone being introduced to soccer.

But I always got WCF and how that worked. So I think that's the competition we should emphasize, not necessarily to the exclusion of every other competition, but with the end goal of winning the WC always in mind.

[TheDallasPerspective]

I've attended almost all of USA's home WCQs since 1996. I was going to use the passion that I see from the American fans attending these games as my basis for you underestimating how much Americans care about the WCQs, but since you're now using the term "general American public", I'll refrain from that argument.

My bad, I should've been clearer, I always meant "general public." I'm thinking, soccer will never be as popular as football or basketball, or as much a part of the national fabric as baseball, but it can be as popular as auto racing and extreme sports, which have a casual following as well as a passionate following.

In other words, casual racing fans will buy tickets to TMS and sell it out. No such fan exists in soccer right now ... to wit attendance at PHP for the USA-GUA friendly. The fans there were fun and passionate, but the venue wasn't close to sold-out, and in one of the USA's best soccer cities, this isn't good.

International basketball (FIBA) seems to be blazing some trail in familiarizing Americans with international sporting bodies ... and strategies for players and rules and coaches and national programs seem to be entering the American vernacular now that the rest of the world is catching up to USA in basketball.

This can only help in the understanding of FIFA and how it works ... personally, it took me a while to start grasping GC, CC, CA, MLS, EUFA, Champions, Copa Sud, etc., etc., and how all that fit together. It is a little confusing to someone being introduced to soccer.

But I always got WCF and how that worked. So I think that's the competition we should emphasize, not necessarily to the exclusion of every other competition, but with the end goal of winning the WC always in mind.

Edit: sorry again for the double-post. stupid Arkansas computer.

[Dr. Foosball™]

Edit: sorry again for the double-post. stupid Arkansas computer.
WTF is that supposed to mean? It's the retard in Dallas that can't find the "delete post" box. ;)

[Parrothead FC]

In other words, casual racing fans will buy tickets to TMS and sell it out. No such fan exists in soccer right now ... to wit attendance at PHP for the USA-GUA friendly. The fans there were fun and passionate, but the venue wasn't close to sold-out, and in one of the USA's best soccer cities, this isn't good.

good point. one of the fundamental assumptions you're making is that NON-casual race fans are also buying those tickets; that's taken as a given here. but it needs to be pointed out that that's also not happening in soccer right now. the real problem, as I see it, is that many soccer fans in America (even the American ones) don't follow the USA or the MLS. they buy into the notion that the USA plays in a joke Conference and that it's bad soccer, and they choose to stay at home on international weekends and watch England, Italy, Netherlands, etc. we have to have the soccer fans buying tickets to soccer matches before we worry about having casual fans.