I was going to do an Irish-American team - but a far more interesting breakdown would be by class. An upper middle-class 11 and a working class/lower middle class 11. I'm afraid I don't know enough about these guys backgrounds to break it down properly. (Although I know Berhalter is upper middle class because he's from a wealthy suburb of NYC. And JOB grew up rich, right?) To me, the influx of working class kids in the Nat team is the best sign the sport is growing. Because soccer is still really seen as an upper class game in the US....well, at least among most whites & blacks.
Really? Give me a day, wait, a week, to get you an all Hispanic team...Better yet, let's wait until the first Chivas USA season ends next year
ok, Walker might not no hispanic, but dude his Spanish is pretty damn good....and i happen to be a native speaker.... just my opinion....
So guys we cannot find a reliable goalie for the All-Hispanic team.. It figures! .....Just a couple of additions to the team...Might not be a great bench (especially since Claudio is famous for his frailty) but i was thinking of Llamosa (he is naturalized,but he qualifies) How about this Gregorio kid? (read about him for YA boards) Where is he from (background-wise?)
Berhalter is from Tenafly, NJ, right? That's a pretty standard suburban town not a particularly wealthy one as you state.
Now all we need is for Segroves to put together an All Native-American team, and this thread will be complete...
my all black team would be: Thornton Pope - Gibbs - Sanneh - Onyewu Cobi - Adu - Convey (naturalized black) - Bease Buddle - Johnson
************ it. Better to risk rep points rather than too let this opportunity get away. How would the "All-Blacks" make out against Spain with their fans making their monkey sounds like they made for the England team yesterday? Thorton has to play goal over Tim Howard. Tim is better, but is only half-black (mom is white). Anyway, would you take Thorton over Bo Knows Goalkeeping in KC? I think the Hispanic team would rather go open goal rather than have Rimundo in the net. Donovan speaks fluid Spanish. Stick him on that squad.
Thanks for the lecture. Anyway, it's awsome to see that so many people are receptive to a topic like this. We're all proud to support any player who plays for the national team, regardless of what he looks like, but the next step for Americans is to be able to ditch our insecurities and be able to have open discussions about race without fear of sounding racist or being labelled racist. This thread (started by a very brave Dutchman) shows that we are heading in the right direction. So without further delay, here's the ultimate all-black team: ---------------------Howard -----------Pope-----------------Onyewu Sanneh-------------------------------------Gibbs ----------------------Clark West-----------------------------------Hmm...Let me see ---------------- Andy Williams* -----------Eddie J----------------Buddle *= on loan till Freddy can take the reigns
I remember after we beat Portugal on goals from O'brien, Donovan and McBride, Tommy Smyth said something like, "The US got goals from 3 Irishmen and we[Ireland] can't get any to score for us.
I've heard him do an interview in Spanish during the Confed Cup. His Spanish isn't that good. It's about as good as some kid who took 3 years of high school Spanish and maybe got A's, but I wouldn't say fluent. Whenever he got confused, he just kept saying, "Vamos a ver. Vamos a ver" over and over.
What I wished was that the SE DC community leader who proclaimed that she was against building a soccer facility (DC United SSS and surrounding rec fields) in her neighborhood because it wasn't a Black sport could have seen last night's match. More correctly, it is not an urban sport in the U.S. I suspect that of all the sports in the US, soccer and baseball offer the greatest mix of nationalities and ethnicities working as one. That's one of the cool aspects of soccer...it's pretty representative of what we have become as a nation.
Not on a soapbox. I just feel that this type of post is not relavent. If they have the talent and are American citizens, regardless of their color I will support them and cheer when they score a goal or defend an attack. They can be all white, all black, or all hispanic. They support the USA, that's all that matters to me. But if most of you have to nit pick on this silly subject, that's your problem.
Other Asian-Americans in pro soccer include: Steve Shak (where is he now?) Ryan Futagaki (last seen playing for Chicago Storm in MISL) Chuck Kim (German lower divisions?) Viet Nguyen (Seattle Sounders) The list grows longer depending on whether or not you call Iranian-Americans and Arab-Americans "Asian". ("GO YOU BACK TO EUROPE JUST LIKE TURKEY!!!") There are a bunch in the A-League and MISL. All that said, I remember doing a breakdown of US citizens playing in MLS last season and finding that no group's numbers in the league were significantly different from the general US population at the p=0.05 level. Whites and blacks were both overrepresented, and Hispanics and Asians were underrepresented, but none to a statistically significant degree. What this means: at least ethnically, MLS does a good job of representing the people of the United States. No other sport in the US can say this.
Well they play in the Asian Federation. Where are those from the Oceanian Fed? Elliot, Nelson and Oughton don't count as they aren't New Zealand / Americans. Any Aboriginal / Americans? How about children born to US scientists while stationed on Anartica? Enough for a team?
I would just like to point out that I think this thread is hilarious. Fascinating to see your minds at work. Some of your minds, anyway. Pure comedic genius on the diverse ethnic XIs. It was to my understanding throughout my schooling that Iran is in Asia. So then Esky is Asian. I'd rep alot of you guys if I could. Convey - Naturalized Black!!! !@$!@!
Sometimes, being color-blind doesn’t mean we have done away with discrimination. It just means that we are blind, or blindly optimistic. If we can discuss the percentage of ethnic minorities in executive positions and high-rank government positions, I don’t see why we cannot ask if they are well-represented on the MNT and, if not, why. The thread starter made it clear that, in doing the fun little exercise, he just wanted to know whether or not the stereotype of soccer being a “white” sport in this country has been subverted and if there is any progress made in incorporating diverse groups. If asked in a constructive way, why would these questions be inappropriate or irrelevant? It might not be important to some whether or not the MNT is lily-white or multi-ethnic. But for many from minority groups (ethnic, class, gender…etc.) traditionally under-represented in certain fields, it is mighty important to know that the doors are open and the opportunities are there. A kid from Hawaii can look at Brian Ching and know that, even if he’s from a remote island, he can still dream of playing in MLS one day. A community organizer can take a look at Michelle Kwan and think that, in addition to offering language classes and holding karaoke contests, they can get the kids to learn to skate and might just uncover the next great skater who would otherwise become a mediocre doctor. As an Asian myself, I have always paid extra attention to Asian American players and have hoped that we are not just identified as potential paying costumers but also potential athletes. Unfortunately, as other posters have noted, Asian Americans are very much under-represented, not just in soccer but in other sports. (Even if they are there, they tend to be invisible – note that the talks about how “diverse” the 2000 Winter Olympic team was usually don’t cite Kwan or Ohno. Asians, such as Ichiro or Yao Ming, are a different case. Those are big stars that help to sell American sports leagues to foreign markets.) I look up to non-Asian American players and admire their skills and/or characters, as I have always admired the class shown by the likes of Reyna, McBride, Pope, and Stewart. But there’s always a special place for Chung and Ching. Because, 10 years from now, when my nephew is old enough to think about his future, I want to be able to point to athletes, entertainers, artists, politicians, engineers….etc. etc. who’re from similar background and tell him he can be just like them. Trust me. It’s important to know they are there. (Sorry for being so serious in a fun thread. I just needed to get it out.)
Somebody should do the lineups of an American team with players who speak with an American accent vs. those who don't.
Mandated diversity sucks. I could care less if the team were 100% pale as snow or 100% dark as night as long as they were the best team we had.