this may be off/topic but the type of guys who play college hockey or go pro, are they more likely from a middle-class background?
Wow, 1k in equipment... Only richest can afford it, or people madly determined that their kids become hockey pros. Number of kids involved does not lie.
I hadn't had read this comment before. Don't get me wrong but you wasted your time thinking about how to eliminate Panama.. It can never happen, based on FIFA's CONCACAF - CONMEBOL regional divisions. I can't ask you to cheer for Panama, but as you may know if you follow CONCACAF's last years, we enjoy being the underdogs... A lot! Peace!
Yeah. That's it. We point out that Canada isn't anywhere near as good, and it's "arrogance." How can anyone NOT be arrogant, being better than... Canada .
I rest my case. USMNT A team losing to Trinidad B Team...and you talk about being justified to be arrogant? Now it's just funny ready posts like theses ones.
And MY point is that YOUR point rings plenty hollow, considering where YOUR side is at. You’re the one who came in here, right after team USA failed, and suggested this thread should be closed, as though both nations are somehow equally terrible. Or that our defeat somehow means Canada had magically improved itself all of a sudden. If you’re so bad that a team that just suffered a spectacular failure can still point out how bloody awful YOU are, maybe you need to pump the brakes on just who you’re talking shit to. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
My uncle's a big figure skating fan (I don't know why, he likes figure skating and cycling, he's a weird sports fan), and that's one of the reasons that the US figure skaters can't really compete on the World stage. Coaching and ring time are absurdly expensive (like, 400-500 dollars A DAY). But in Europe, and particularly Russia, who dominates, figure skating is heavily subsidized, which allows for waaay more Russians to get the coaching and practice that they need. Add to that, it allows them to start training at 4-6 years old, rather than 14-16 like here in the US. Mainly because parents can't afford decades of training, but the richest ones could afford a couple of years, after their son/daughter has proven themselves at the sport. It doesn't track entirely with soccer, but it's not an unreasonable parallel.
And you reflect exactly why the USMNT lost this WCQ campaign. The whole USSF and some of its fans (like you) are living in the past, refusing to realize that maybe, just maybe, everyone else in CONCACAF have improved and made progress and that the USMNT aren't as good as they used to be. Not too long ago saying that Costa Rica was #2 was taboo on this forum but now, most are left with no choice but to admit it. As of today, things have changed. That's what US commentators are talking about since the end of the Hex campaign Regarding Canada...We have improved but there's room for more. Repeating over and over that Canada is terrible prove my point. That some people still live in the past and aren't aware of the progression of the rest of CONCACAF. You just need to watch Honduras against Mexico to see that beating them isn't the walk in the park that so many fans here think it is. Taking Trinidad lightly was a mistake as they were playing very well against Mexico until they got beat in the last 20 minutes, but I won't bore you with the details as your post reflects how little football you watch in regards to the region.
Your team sucks. So go solve your own problems before you tell us what to do. Even if you had a point it would still be the blind leading the blind.
Right back at you, why do you think I keep saying that I dodn't see a point to this thread? So it's ok to criticize other nations but somehow it's "forbidden" for others to "criticize" you? I believe that's called "exceptionalism"... If you're going as far to create a thread dedicated to criticize 1 nation in particular to hit the point you're "superior", you better expect some criticism to come your way as well. I'm just amused how some have very low tolerance for criticism, even when constructive. Quite amusing!
The OP wasn't even criticizing Canada, but rather seeking information about various aspects of Canadian soccer. Plus since the hex has wrapped up I've seen plenty of fans of different countries stopping by various U.S. forums to give their input, and most have not been met with any hostility. Amazing how non trollish posts are in turn taken in good faith!
This was my first "observation" of the USMNT on this thread, actually complimenting the US team. It went downhill when I had the "nerve" to say that Costa Rica was #2 in CONCACAF. My bad for saying the truth
And you can't see why Costa Rica as #2 would cause debate at the time you brought that point up, before the U.S. lost the home qualifier to them and before being eliminated from the hex? Congrats, though, you called it. U.S. sucks, Canada is awesome now.
Canada has not even been to the Hex since when, 1997? That is about as close to qualifying as say, India. That is bad, really bad. The 1986 qualification looks like a complete fluke.
We just process criticism differently. It wasn't a jab at the US, it was pointing out that CONCACAF was changing, other nations are/were improving and more attention needed to be given to up and coming nations. I don't deny it rubbed some people the wrong way, however, everybody saw it coming, except the USSF and its fans. I see it through the comments on this forum, there's a lack of awareness of where each teams (clubs/leagues and National teams) are today in CONCACAF. People needs to be more like Europeans and South America, where fans actually watch other nation's matches and are very aware of what's in their backyard. Hey I still stand by I said initially, USMNT is a hard working team that gets the results it wants "most of the time". On their best day, it's a good team and I stand by that...doesn't mean the rest of the confederation is thrash and aren't improving as this hex campaign has made obvious. Canada? Not awesome, just improved. Better organization, better coaching, more talented players than before most importantly, an awareness of why we've been bad since post 2000 up until Montagliani era, who's action plan is actually starting to show results. So, not awesome, but in the right direction
Generalizations like this are where the trollish tone comes into play. Plenty of U.S. fans showed concern going back years. I'm on record saying that the U.S. has overachieved in the last 20 years given the domestic culture of the sport, where it's still largely disliked and/or ignored across the U.S.
1986 was a fluke? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_CONCACAF_Championship Mexico got the automatic qualification by being the host. The other spot went to which ever nation won the 1985 CONCACAF Championship. Canada won the whole tournament. Sorry you feel that this was fluke because the USA were unable to win their group ahead of Costa Rica. FYI, pre-1990 Canada was a good soccer nation and the 2000 team won the Gold Cup beating Mexico and Colombia. Canada has been really bad post 2000 to around 2014-2015 under Montagliani era. It's an improved team and program.
If anything, the CSA should put a star above its crest - if Uruguay get to claim that pre-WC Olympic gold medals count as world championships, so should Canada.
So the highlight of Canadian national team history is qualifying for the 1986 World Cup, where Mexico did not participate in qualifying, and then losing all 3 games and scoring no goals at the World Cup? Sad...