No Adu thread in a while so.... I happened to watch part of the Kraft Nabisco LPGA tournament this past weekend and caught a glimpse of 13-year old phenom Michelle (I think) Wie. The announcers were gushing over her ability (she drives the ball about 300 yards) and were saying how playing in these tournaments at such a young age is only going to help her down the road. So, do you think the public would have the same kind of reaction to Senior Adu? I mean, if he were to play professionally in MLS or elsewhere, would the American media say it is great for him or would they say he's being put into too much pressure too early?
Positive Story The media would eat up the story of teenage Freddy playing in MLS. Same way it did with Wie, Tiger, Kobe, etc. If he played at all and played fairly well, Freddy alone would probably double the mainstream coverage of U.S. soccer. Betcha if Freddy were on to the team, the U.S. National game vs. Venezuela wouldn't have gone unmentioned in Sunday's Chicago Tribune. A 22-page sports section, and not even a box score.
Except Kobe and Tiger weren't 14 years old. Not that I want to start a male vs. female argument, but I think the media would be much more harsh on Adu if he were struggling than Wie. Although you can't really compare them too much because of the whole team vs. individual aspect. I was just wondering if I was the only one who thought the media might be too willing to jump on him if he struggles. Not that he's a pro yet anyway...
Hopefully they will say there is too much pressure too early instead of being happy for him. It's okay for boutique sports to have kids playing them because they are not really that important. We worry about kids playing serious sports.
Am I first to spit one of these out? The girl's 13, but almost six-feet tall. Someone should run a bone scan on her to verify her age. There's no way she's that young. P.S.--I heard she was Freddy's baby mama!
My sister is 12 and stands 5'9 (and growing)...most girls stop growing at 13 or 14. Guys can grow into their 20s. Also Wie is an American, so I imagine birth records are not an issue.
The LPGA is a much bigger deal to the world of women's golf than MLS is to the world of soccer. The LPGA is women's golf at its highest level. MLS is a long long way from being soccer at its highest level.
Wie is cute, has nice legs and looks good in shorts. Yes, I realize it's patheitc to be scopin' a 14-year old, but they put her legs on SportsCenter so what am I supposed to do? Adu only looks good in shorts when he's moving really fast and scoring goals and making jaw-dropping plays!
wie doesn't have 28 year olds trying to break her leg on the course. slightly different to play golf or soccer...