After 74 pages, one would hope that people would read through the thread a bit before commenting. :sigh:
I read it.... was NOT impressed. Although did learn a good amount of black players playing in the EPL. It was interesting facts.... mixed in with unorganized points and opinions.
Understood. However, if I recall correctly, the book's premise is discussed in the first few pages of the thread...
Rec soccer - had a token black kid on my teams Recess soccer - a half dozen good players probably jamaican African Now... Half the kids playing in my playground were black. I've even seen the black kids play some cricket and many homes have a hoop
this is why football in the usa sucks and doesnt grow... black people dont play soccer? WTF is that question, everyone plays soccer, please!!!
I hope that this is sarcasm and that you realize that the book, which was written by a black man, is about the fact that black people do play soccer.
this should not be discused when everyone knows that black people do play football, your greates player actually is jozy altidore, a black player.
It stupid Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, john Lennon wanted a world without races.....stop thinking in races, it doesn't matter of what color is a player, he is human begin Im proud of be black
In fact for me abidal is the best player in the orld, but FIFA is full of racist and choose that tiny man called messi All people hate us
Good Lord, why are some people incapable of grasping the premise of this thread? Before you post nonsense about how it's racist to say blacks don't play soccer or report this thread, take a few minutes to actually read the first post, where you will learn that this thread is about a book, written by a Black soccer player, about the MYTH that soccer isn't a "black" sport in America. I hate to close a thread that at times has had some great discussion, but it seems like every couple of months somebody stumbles across this thread and reacts to what they THINK it's about instead of taking a few minutes to figure it out. And we have to waste time setting the record straight and getting the discussion back on track.
Again I think that's a dumb book. More blacks play soccer than the American sport ice-hockey. Black people don't play NHL. WTF?
It's probably less the case now, which makes the book less relevant, but among the general public (including American blacks) this perception still widely exists. More importantly, the sport still struggles to find a strong foothold among American blacks with parents that aren't from soccer nations. It begs the question why more blacks haven't adopted the sport, given the dominance of blacks in other field sports.
Great stuff. If we look at soccer penetration in the US (beyond AYSO) I think its fair to say that travel plays a large role, whether it be via immigration to the US or Americans traveling and studying abroad. As a demographic, African Americans have lagged behind others in the US in terms of international travel and study abroad. IMO, international travel is an important way to understand its significance and to see the game played on a high-level. So, relative to other groups its possible that this is a reason African Americans start from a lower knowledge base about the game and so have lower adoption levels. Maybe the US Soccer federation should ask BET to show 2005 Brazil or 1998 Nigeria instead of late night infomericals or Friday After Next, After Next, After Next.
Some newbooties just went with the title and didn't read the first page or what the book is about. I didn't read the book, but love the idea that is presented. Also, I think it's true... to a certain extent.
Ummm, Mandela and King (don't know about Lennon) didn't want a world without races, they wanted a world without racism and racial inequality. Pretending race doesn't exist isn't the answer. That just makes the problems invisible. Case in point: Latin America.
Spoken like a true Everton supporter. Get lost cerdito. Some of the most well travelled and open to culture brothas I have known over the years are military guys. They will often speak of getting to know the land, its people its sports scene. However, this experience often does not gravitate others from the community to understanding the value of getting to know other languages or people. Thus, association football while appreciated by ex military folks gets lost in translation upon returning to the U.S.