Black People Don't Play Soccer? -- the book

and lets be very clear. this is not just for blacks, also for hispanics.

we dont want just hispanics or black players playing and coaching soccer.

we want the best and most competitive blacks and hispanics playing soccer.

the biggest, strongest, fastest... yes thats what we need to be dominant.

we dont want geek soccer players anymore. they dont win crap.

yes we need tom bradies, de la hoyas, and mike tysons to play soccer.

 

I don't think so.

But he is the father of Gil Scot-Heron whose most famous claim to fame is writing the classic "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

Presumably he wasn't talking about the team in New England.

 

In fairness to Iverson, I think he meant the Hampton 'hood he grew up in, not the US.

And, I don't know of many, if any, soccer players that have come out of that area. And perhaps that's the author's point, or at least part of it. Hampton/Newport News has produced a LOT of great athletes that have gone on to do quite well in the NBA, NFL, even baseball and track.

Perhaps when soccer takes off in neighborhoods like those, we'll see some changes. Because for all the gains in recent years with blacks in higher-end American soccer, most of them are still coming from the suburbs. They might not be upper class suburbia, but they aren't coming from Compton or Oakland or Liberty City or Anacostia or Hampton, either.

 

I think the reason why your book(even without people reading it) is creating these comments, is because of the approach you take that NFL and NBA players are the "superathletes" and most of them are African American and because of this African Americans are the "secret weapon", and the soccer players in America(whether black or white) are not "superathletes". And the real reason why i think soccer players and the game of soccer have the real "superathletes" is because, how many out-of-shape/ or overweight soccer stars are their....0. In NFL and NBA how many out-of shape/"fat" people are thier in those sports, tons! Think of it, When Chad Johsnon a "superathlete" runs by 10 NFL players, half of those players are way too big to be considered "great Athletes" when Jozy Altidore dribbles by 10 soccer players, all of those 10 players basically are just as athletic and in shape as Chad johnson. So it basically shows that soccer has much more harder athletic competition within the game.


So I think even with the United States having every single youth sports player playing soccer, we wont be a power, because of the level of coaching and the fact that we dont have our 6-year olds dribbling soccer balls in their basement 3 hours a day like they are doing in Brazil,Argentina,Etc. to create that "ronaldinho" like touch.

 

I would disagree with this.

It all depends on what your definition of athleticsm is. If it's pace and stamina, then yeah, your average NFL lineman isn't a great athlete. But strength, balance and making really quick decisions well are all athletic attributes and all football players have those.

I personally don't know of many fat hoops players but the ones that are and can still play in the NBA are typically out there because they have some other athletic gifts, likely great eye-hand cooridination or fantastic muscle memory or what not. Those are athletic traits, too.

In Major League Baseball, there are plenty of players who would be considered total lard-asses on a soccer field, but they still have great athletic traits. The explosiveness and eye-hand coordination needed to hit a baseball or the concentration and aim needed to pitch in the bigs are amazing athletic feats.

Again, it all comes down to what athletic traits your talking about but there are plenty more aspects to athleticism than just being able to run swiftly and gracefully and jump high.

I'd also point out that even in his prime fitness Diego Maradona wasn't that fit or svelt. But he was still a great athlete and, more importantly, a tremendously great soccer player because of his skills with the ball.

If it was just a matter of being tall and fast, we'd send a track team out on the field and the US and Jamaica would play for the World Cup every 4 years.

 

Well its my point about soccer players they seem to have the "total package" and for me having the total package = "super athlete" While some out-of shape NFL players or NBA players have certain athletic traits, they dont have all or as much as soccer players. Which is why i would give soccer players the edge of being called the "superathletes". The more complete you are all-around the more lilkely your the "superathlete".

 

now you are being ignorant.. yeah thats your definition of a super athelete, it doesnt mean that soccer players are super athletes. I doubt the best Soccer player can pull of a devin hester type kickoff return in Full speed in pads. as much as a Football player trying to outdribble thru 3 or four defenders and the Gaolie to score a point. each athlete have traitis for their particular sport. and it require good practice.

 

To me, soccer players atheltic shape is comparable to cross country runners/long distance track runners.

 

Let's see Beas in the weight room.

Let's see Chris Rolfe leaping.

Let's see Brian Ching in a sprint.

All these guys are very good soccer players and very good athletes. But I bet they couldn't hang with a lot of NBA and NFL players in the skills I mentioned.

And we have no idea what kind of eye-hand cooridination they may or may not have. Some might be able to be quite good hitting a ball or shooting hoops or pitching. Others, not so much. You have no clue how total their package is.

Fast, well-balanced, strong, fit? Yes. But that isn't a total package.

 

Pretty much sums up my point.

 

nope, most baseball players are fat.

fat nfl players are not great athletes.

most nba players are too slow to play soccer.

not all soccer players are great athletes but most soccer players are better athletes than any other athletes, why? bc you need a tremendous amount of excersizes and carido to play soccer.

im being honest and serious about it.

tom brady is a great athlete, a 340 lbrs defender is not a great athlete.

shap oneil is fat. manny ramirez is fat. period.

 

I agree with everything you said, I never meant imply the opposite with that quote.

 

its not like every brasilian player is like Ronaldinho, or like every US basketball Player is like Kobe or LeBron.......... Ronaldinho is a rarity, much like jordan and kobe.


Traditonally our american sports Baseball basketball football etc. we play hard and ruff and gutsy. that how we are raised, well most of us, look at the pickup games for hoops on the streets of new york, or the Football games in Small town texas, WE give it our all put it on the line, its the warrior spirit as Americans we pride ourselves and our athletes present that.

 

This is Maradona in his prime, and wearing slimming stripes. He has little man boobs and a bit of a gut.

He was all of 5-6 and a little overweight.

Was he a great athlete?

By the standards some of you are using, no.

But he was one of the best soccer players ever. Why? Because of the skills he had that are unique to this sport, hence despite his physique he was a great athlete.

Just like Shaq or Derek Jeter or any NFL offensive lineman is a great athlete because of the attributes they have that make them great at their respective sports.

 

These 'best athlete" or "superathlete" excuses are a big disrespect to the Americans that chose to play soccer. If an American chooses soccer as a career then all of sudden he is a third rate athlete?

 

No.

 

Why all this debate about athletes when technical ability is much, much more important? What the US really needs is an overhaul of the coaching sytem, a transition from the big goals, big players and a lot of tournaments. They need to play 5 or 6 aside until the age of 12, and simply need better coaches too.

 

Exactly my point!

Its what our American Media (ESPN) wants us to think, and they are doing a very good job at it, which is sad.

 

Not so mucha third rate athlete, but a third rate star. If I was an multisport american athlete who coming out of high school had a BBall scholarship from Duke and a soccer scholarship for UVA, I would without thinking pick the Duke scholarship because it provides a much better chance at becoming a millionaire. The league minimum in the NBA is a salary most MLS players could hope for.

 

When I was growing up in the DC area, there was this total bad-ass soccer player and athlete a year or two younger than me who was an absolute legend to any kid who stepped on the field in select league soccer or little league baseball or kids hoops.

The kid could dominate all three at that age AND as a kicker, he was - and is - deaf. (And to fit this thread, black.) Curtis Pride.

He aas on the US youth national team at the innaugural FIFA U16 WC (before they changed it to a U17 event) in the mid 80's. (He scored 2 goals at the tournament, including the game-winner against Bolivia). But did he play college or pro soccer? Not at all.

He played basketball at William & Mary - his parents wanted him to get a good education - but he wasn't on scholraship. That's because after his senior year of HS he signed a minor league contract with the NY Mets and spent his summers during college playing minor league ball.

I don't think he picked up a soccer ball again and certainly never played a match that mattered after HS. I didn't know him well enough to know why he gave up soccer but with no pro league at the time, it was a pretty easy answer to figure out.

And even had there been a league, he likely wouldn't have made as much money as he did in baseball. And that's despite a career as a baseball journeyman. He played parts of 11 seasons in the bigs for six different teams but spent far, far more time in Triple-A. Despite that, he probably has a nice chunk of change stored away plus an MLB pension so financially, he's doing pretty well.

Were MLS around when Pride was coming out of HS, would soccer have had a chance? I don't know. But as long as the salaries in baseball and hoops and football are so much higher, most of the players with choices are gonna choose other sports just because of the money and notoriety that those sports provided that American soccer doesn't and probably won't for many years.

 

and this is a true nfl athlete.




not there is nothing funny about him. he is fat, and he is not a great athelte.

there about 50 players on every nfl team. i can guess that about 15 of those players look like him. its embarrasing for sports!

and there you go, great athletes.



nope, call me what you want, a great athlete have to have ripped abs. chubby fatties are not great athletes.

shaq oneil is not just fat but slow.

most bk are too slow, the only reason why they look good on bk is bc is so easy to score. and they have like 300 time outs.

not a 400lbs is never going to score a goal in soccer, too hard to do it, you have to be in a GREAT physical shape.

there you have you great super athletes, go show this to espn and to jim rome and collin cowherd.

this are real people with real fat bodies not that crap americans do putting women bags on argentinas players.

 

I have never understood why so many people on this site are obsessed with what other men look like without their shirt on, its quite disturbing (unless you swing that way of course).

 

well i fu.ck chearleaders, not ugly a.. girls, yes great athletes dont f.. chubby girls.

and if you get mad, you must be a fatty too.

 

Exactly right. I think a black soccer revolution will be largely a suburban one. You can't equate "black" with "poverty" anymore; the black poverty rate has fallen to 24%, down from 33% in 1990. With superlative "middle class" athletes like Jordan, Kobe, and LeBron the poverty/athletic thing shouldn't be the controlling metaphor to view black participation in soccer: rather it should be viewed in terms of creativity.

It is a historic fact that widespread Black American participation in an activity almost guarantees the nature of that activity will change. In sports think basketball, NFL etc. In culture think jazz, rock and roll, and rap music. All of these things are now nearly unrecognizible from the original. The black american creative tradition IMO is what will make the real difference in soccer, not simply the athletic ability (but you have to remember that more and more coaches -like Mourinho-want everyone 6'2", 190 so the atheletic size doesn't hurt).

I don't think the creativity, while eminating from the black community is exclusive to it, but rather a very different way of looking at the game than our traditional Anglo-only approach.

Hell, it worked for Brazil...

ps. if you can't afford to read the book, go to blackpeopledontplaysoccer.com
where the author provides an excerpt of each chapter. Bravo Robert!

 

another thing i wanted to add.

you for being white may not recognize it but we do.

pele is completely black with a portuguess latin culture.

Ronaldinho and Ronaldo are not black, they are what we call pardos.

They are mixed: black, natives and white.

Not Ronaldo Nazario or Ronaldinho are not mulatos, mulatos are half black half white, you can tell by looking at the shape of their faces that they have indigenous background too.

Now, Pele I dont think has any other race. But again, in Brazil they had what they call the "white" Pele, someone that for Brazilians was just as good as Pele and yes he was white.

Ever heard of Zico?