Why the US Men Will Never Win a World Cup by Beau Dure

the first bolded is true if you look at the surface numbers. If you look at the numbers in more detail, I think they would look a bit different. The participation/interest levels are quite high, as you point out, but we aren't going to get many top quality players from kids that are not "hardcore" soccer nuts. I think the best indicator of the "hardcore level" in a community is pickup soccer. At lunch, after school in the streets. I think it is pretty hard to argue that it has gone up a huge amount almost everywhere in my area...but that is a pretty low bar. Many/most areas still lag far behind the immigrant (mostly latino) communities in this regard. I have seen the difference first hand. My family is in a predominantly white neighborhood but I teach and have taught for the past 30+ years in largely latino schools. The difference is pretty obvious. The gap is closing, but it is still quite large.

The places you mention have high percentages of latinos (Araujo is from Sacramento?). If you look at LA and So Cal in general, the majority of the best players are coming from latino areas. IMO, where many of the non latino players benefit in LA is the "overlap" in competition due to the proximity of the latino and non-latino areas.

 

Exactly.

We have numerous country sized regions with populations and population densities that are similar to European nations as well as large metropolitan areas with several million inhabitants (Seattle, Dallas, Chicago etc) that can provide all of the raw soccer talent we can use but it will take time (IMO). As the soccer density improves, we will be more able to take advantage of those areas. Until then, excessive travel will be an unwelcome issue that we have to deal with

So Cal has a population of 24+ Million
Nor Cal pop 15+ Million
Dallas Fort Worth Pop 7+ Million
The greater New York population is 20+ Million
Boston-Washington Codrridor 50+ Million
Eastern seaboard pop 118 Million


Netherlands has a pop of 17+ Million
England has a pop of 55+ Million
Germany has a pop of 82+ Million
Italy has a pop of 60+ Million
Spain has a pop of 46+ Million


.

 

It seems odd to worry about club affiliations when the obvious consistent link is Kleiban. Many of those kids go all the way back to u11s before joining Chivas.

I don't get this slow build concept with LAFC. The club is just in its third year and already has a successful academy.

Unfortunately for USMNT fans that the LAG are too shortsighted and got rid of one of the best developers of talent in the US. We need hundreds or even thousands more coaches like him and MLS fans act like firing him was the only option. We should all feel better that the Galaxy have two people with strong connections to the mexican federation on their staff.

 

Because you ultimately cannot force people to like or watch a sport, no matter how much of it is shown on TV. They'll either like it or they won't.

Plus, soccer is also viewed by much of the country as a "boring," "low-scoring sport," where lots of effort is exerted, but you have little to show for it, unlike in Basketball or NFL football. America is an instant gratification society that wants everything now. Soccer is the fundamental opposite of that mentality.

That early Simpsons episode that mocked soccer was right about that.

 

I agree with your stance. That said, the current generations also don't want to commit lots of time watching a sport on TV or in person. This where Soccer has a huge advantage over American Football and Baseball. Soccer games take 2 hrs (not including single elimination playoffs/tournament games). You can easily plan/schedule around a soccer game. American football games can take up to 4 hrs, same with Baseball. Plus there are no commercial brakes, so it does keep their attention. To a lesser extent, Rugby is beginning to become more popular here in the states as well for the same reasons. Fluid game, done in under 2 hrs.

The older generations view Soccer and Rugby as foreign sports. Therefore they aren't interested in them. Plus those sports were derided during the time the older generations grew up, which heavily influenced their views of soccer as a competitive sport.

 

Lack of a professional game was a huge impediment. In the 1900's-1930's, when professional soccer was still in its infancy, we were plenty good at soccer. Lots of European immigrants and their descendants, that enjoyed the game and were good at it. Subsequent immigrants since then have continued to love the game.

What changed? Soccer outside the US became a mainstream, professional sport. Soccer in the US became completely amateur.

 

Same thing happened to Rugby Union, but unlike Soccer, Rugby Union was completely amateur in all countries until the 1990s.

 

Well, rugby lost in this country to football for that reason. And not metaphorically. Rugby was mainstream. Football, because they paid their athletes, took rugby over, both its fanbase and its players.

We'll see whether or not MLR is enough to get us above "decent Tier II nation"-status. We're good at 7's, but that's a different game altogether.

If we're talking about games finishing fast, 7's is the sport for you!

 

Don't forget Team Handball as well, which is getting a pro league in the USA in 2023...

 

Never heard of it. I do see that the NYAC has the most national handball medals, which is neat because my uncle and his family are members there.

Considering we're so far behind the rest of the world in this super-niche sport, I wouldn't hold my breath for any Olympic or World Championship appearances any time soon.

 

Considering how we're so far behind the rest of the world in Men's soccer, I'm not holding my breath for any Olympic or World Championship appearances any time soon, either.

 

It's lightning fast, high energytic, ferocious. I like it very much.
And the Orange women team recently became world champions. If you thought we're only good at soccer, think again
De Nederlandse handbalsters vieren hun overwinning op het WK handbal in Japan. Het team won met een punt verschil van Spanje. © ANP

 

Dunno if it was in here quality comparisons between mls and championship were made, but Wayne Rooney in a Voetbal International article was cited to say that mls and championship are about the same level, apart from in the cs better players are present.

 

Well, I said "appearances", not victories. To appear in the WC, we need to finish 3rd or 4th in CONCACAF.

In handball, we're not doing very well in regional tournaments.

 

Handball's amateur in the US for now, so that's not too surprising. As for soccer, USSF's incompetence is a major impediment to that.

 

Doesn't matter. We're still likely to qualify for major soccer tournaments in spite of USSF incompetence.

 

I covered the Icelandic handball team in the 2008 Olympics. They were a trip. Damn good, too.

 

I’m enjoying your posts... my POV: paradoxically, I think winning the WC will precede massive popularity but be the catalyst thereof.

On another note, has anyone read this book besides me?

 

My God, you’re intense.... shiver

 

It’s true. I’m intensely anti-racist.

 

Then I guess you win

 

It's not a win or a lose. I'm just serious about not supporting racists when I have a choice. Breitbart is easy to avoid so I do.

 

I have now actually read the book and I learned a lot of stuff I didn't know. My thought from above holds.

My biggest takeaway is that we really need to cut down the travel in youth soccer because there seems to be no real advantage in the great majority of situations and we need to push cheap coaching education.