Belgium beats the US

[ctc]

>we were all mostly into the NHL, unsurprisingly.

Canadians watching HOCKEY?!?!? Insanity I say! Now CURLING.... there's a sport!

Don C.

[Adam West]

I knew they lost and laid low....they also lost to Costa Rica a day or so earlier on U.S. soil (I was waiting for someone to post this).

There is a huge soccer following in the U.S. (82,000 fans don't pay $100+ per ticket in D.C. to watch a friendly between Barcelona and Manchester United). There are a few reasons (in my opinion as to why it is not as popular as other sports). 1. We are one of few countries with a lot of professional sports (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB) vs. most of the remaining world which has soccer and not much else 2. We do not have a winning team. We are accustomed to winning. It is difficult to follow a team that is a perennial loser 3. Most adults (from my experience) do not fully understand the rules as evidenced by watching them yell at referees at youth soccer games 4. MLS is a 3rd tier league and has only a handful of stars playing in the league. Aside from those few, you really are watching semi-professional players.

[Adam West]

I've often heard people comment that one advantage to soccer's popularity is that unlike a lot of other sports you don't need a lot of equipment - it's cheap to play. All you need is a ball and a field.

That is why it is popular in every country. I would also argue it is one of the most difficult sports to play due to eye/foot coordination and having to think on your feet (there is no stoppage to the game with the exception of injuries). In most other pro sports, you can become a pro athlete if you are gifted. I have watched sprinters who have never played football become successful pro players or really tall players who have never played basketball join the NBA but there is no way possible that I can think of to be gifted with speed, height, etc and become an elite pro soccer player (maybe a goalkeeper) but that's it. Also, I grew up playing soccer and looking back, most of my teammates were the son's of parents who immigrated to the U.S. so I really think it is just starting to catch on in the U.S. My coaches generally were the dads willing to pick up a book and learn the rules. Today's youth coaches actually played the game when they were younger. As these younger soccer players get older, they will continue to follow the sport as I did and eventually, we will have a world class professional league and world class team. Most countries are 60-70 years ahead of us in developing players so we simply can't build a competitive team over night. I do think the groundwork has been laid to make us a serious contender in 10-20 years. I do know there is an argument that the best athletes go on to play football, baseball, etc. but soccer is the largest youth sport in the U.S. Believe me when I say we will have the best soccer team in the world but will probably take us 10-20 years to catch up with the rest of the world.

[Brazoo]

That is why it is popular in every country. I would also argue it is one of the most difficult sports to play due to eye/foot coordination and having to think on your feet (there is no stoppage to the game with the exception of injuries). In most other pro sports, you can become a pro athlete if you are gifted. I have watched sprinters who have never played football become successful pro players or really tall players who have never played basketball join the NBA but there is no way possible that I can think of to be gifted with speed, height, etc and become an elite pro soccer player (maybe a goalkeeper) but that's it. Also, I grew up playing soccer and looking back, most of my teammates were the son's of parents who immigrated to the U.S. so I really think it is just starting to catch on in the U.S. My coaches generally were the dads willing to pick up a book and learn the rules. Today's youth coaches actually played the game when they were younger. As these younger soccer players get older, they will continue to follow the sport as I did and eventually, we will have a world class professional league and world class team. Most countries are 60-70 years ahead of us in developing players so we simply can't build a competitive team over night. I do think the groundwork has been laid to make us a serious contender in 10-20 years. I do know there is an argument that the best athletes go on to play football, baseball, etc. but soccer is the largest youth sport in the U.S. Believe me when I say we will have the best soccer team in the world but will probably take us 10-20 years to catch up with the rest of the world.

That makes a lot of sense to me. As a spectator soccer seems deceivingly simple, but more complex to appreciate than the other sports I'm more experienced at watching. I've seen games with hardcore fans and they're mesmerized by a game that to me looks like not much is going on in. I know I lack the experience or understanding to appreciate it the same way.

[Gorn Captain]

Belgium number one! Yeah!

Wait...I hate soccer....

Why do we excel at something I truly dislike?
I want us to excel at cagefighting....

[Hector]

This pretty much explains everything...

Wikimedia Error

[Adam West]

Here is my layman explanation of the difficulty of explaining how hard soccer is to learn. Assume, you are athletic but have not played any sports in your life. Take a basketball and from the free throw line, see how many tries it takes you to place it in the net. Now, take a soccer ball and without using your hands or any part of your arm, place the soccer ball in the net. A high level professional soccer player can do this by the way with nearly as much ease as a professional basketball player is at shooting free throws.

[Wee67]

Today's youth coaches actually played the game when they were younger. As these younger soccer players get older, they will continue to follow the sport as I did and eventually, we will have a world class professional league and world class team.

As Usual, you've pretty much nailed the development issue. Many people thought once we had a generation or two of players we'd be able to compete with the rest of the world, but you also need coaching. I don't think I got a good coach until high school and I didn't get a position coach (goalie) until the university level.

Another aspect that held soccer back in America was the lack of a TV contract to promote the sport to the masses OR gain any sort of strong revenue source to support a pro league. Part of the reason lies in soccer's continual play- no time for commercials! Networks did not want to pay big money contracts and then not make any money selling advertising. Now, there are many means to sponsor matches that didn't exist years ago. ESPN, Fox Sports and some others are now paying good money for soccer rights.

As people become more exposed to soccer and, even more importantly, the exciting fan base, more and more people will trickle into following. It won't be a stampede mind you, but I've seen the fan base noticeably grow over the last 30 years. I can remember wearing my Barcelona jersey and no one recognizing. Now I see others wearing teams from all over the world. Sure, not nearly as many people as those wearing Yankee caps, etc. but a lot more. I remember having almost no one to talk to about the World Cup when it was here in '94. Last year I had to get my place VERY early at that bar in Philly to see the U.S. take on England and the entire block was closed to off for the crowds.

[Wee67]

And note how I completely avoided the topic of the U.S. loss to Belgium.

[Meule]

And note how I completely avoided the topic of the U.S. loss to Belgium.

[Hector]