It has become popular at the HS level. That's a start. It will take ten to twenty years after it becomes popular in the pre-school/kindergarten level before the US can hope to become an international powerhouse in the men's side. And by popular I mean you need to consistently see pre-school/grade-school age kids playing pickup games on playgrounds and backyards.Originally Posted by improbus
In my neighborhood, there isn't a lot of soccer being played because most of the dads in the neighborhood are of the "I don't like soccer" mind and therefore have their kids signed up for basketball, football and baseball. Northeast Ohio is still very big on good ole American football. That being said, the local soccer fields are so packed it can be difficult to find space for teams to practice. And it's not all organized practices either, as kids often stay after to play quick one one one games or have goal shoot arounds.
Last night I took my 7 year old to his first "street soccer" session. Basically some guys from the local soccer club have volunteered their time to let kids come play on the soccer fields in pick up games for free. They provide goals and pinnies, but kids make the teams and the rules, no coaching or reffing by adults. He had a ton of fun and didn't want to leave even though I could tell he was dead tired. It was nice just watching the kids play, even if it was a bit sloppy with kids ranging from 5-10 involved.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
I think soccer has pretty clearly supplanted hockey in this country. Still a way to go to catch up to baseball/basketball/football but I consider there to be five major US sports now, with MLS in 4th.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
I haven't seen kids playing pickup baseball or football in decades. Got parks all around me. Only organized sports I've seen them playing on their own are soccer (runaway leader) and basketball. Occasionally I'll see a dad playing catch or showing a kid how to hit, but vastly more often they're kicking around a soccer ball.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
The EPL is a poor system for player development. German and Spanish clubs feature B teams that play in competitive leagues (most often in their national equivalent of League One or League Two). That's the way you do it. It's encouraging to see MLS moving away from the reserve league model preferred by the EPL.
Two other reasons why England is struggling: 1) It never embraced the "continental" style of play. Defenders just hoof the ball up the field and midfielders never learn how to hold possession. 2) English kids eat garbage and move around as little as possible. That nation is facing a youth obesity crisis on par with the U.S. We're able to get around it at a sporting level because we've got so many kids (and fat kids can play baseball and football). Soccer is a tough sport for an increasingly inactive and unfit society.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
I saw somewhere that MLS average attendance is already above that of the NHL and NBA, and is on par with France's Ligue 1 and the Netherlands Eredivisie. The difference that keeps those leagues ahead are the TV revenues. But that too will change as MLS expands and draws in more markets, commanding better TV contracts. Also, MLS attendance is still growing whereas attendance for those other leagues is fairly stagnant.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
Ask and ye shall receive.
http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/80001200?trkid=7157875
Looks like they haven't added the ones following the USMNT in their preparations for Brazil yet.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
I don't know if you could put the MLS at 4. Their TV ratings and their TV deal have gotten better, but I don't think they're ahead of the NHL. Even tho the NHL can get some low ratings, they still pull in good audiences for their showcase games. In terms of popularity/tv ratings, golf and NASCAR are in that 4-6 range as well.
I do think soccer will eventually get up there tho, since the popularity in younger demographics is improving.
Golf? I don't know anyone who watches golf anymore. Anyone I know interested in golf would rather play it than watch it. The only time I see it on TV is when I'm at the golf clubhouse or at my grandfather's assisted living facility. The sport had a good run when Tiger was at the top of his game, but there just aren't any compelling personalities in golf now.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
They have been down lately since Tiger has been out, but he's still big enough that he'll have a huge impact on ratings this coming week. It all depends on the leaderboard. The fact that golf is on NBC and CBS every weekend keeps it respectable.
Well, I have to say I'm really impressed by this team, the first US side that I can honestly say hasn't seemed like they were playing over their heads if they win. I'll stop short of saying they have turned a corner, but this leaves me very optimistic about where the game is headed for the US, they finally seem to be developing the skills and the understanding that are required to compete at this level. That second part is most intriguing to me because without the skills and touch it's difficult to slow the game down as it unfolds before you to see the subtle plays. Last night, I saw several runs and ball handling in tight places that caused me to forget my usual hopefulness that the US would just be able to capitalize on another teams blunders. Instead, they made many things happen and as the game evolved, after a very ugly start, they steadily worked on Portugal's weaknesses until it became clear that they would break through. I don't remember ever saying that about another US team.
Next Reds manager, second shooter. --Confirmed on Redszone.
Hoosier Red (06-23-2014),thatcoolguy_22 (06-23-2014)
That's a great point SunDeck. In previous years, it was so aggravating to miss an opportunity in front of the net. Not because that was inherently bad, but because there was little confidence that there would be another chance in the game.
Even after Bradley's shot was blocked, I wasn't worried because the US had been so efficient at creating chances, you knew one would eventually go in.
Golf is having a great year in television ratings, with the average 2014 tournament more than 50% higher in ratings than last season. It has really good personalities right now. It's not Tiger-dependent anymore.
The thing with golf is that it's a six-hour broadcast. You don't sit down for six hours and watch it. You catch parts of it here and there. It's very enjoyable. It's just like tennis. If you don't follow the personalities and know their styles and stories, then you may as well be watching robots out there. Tennis is void of American Stars, so it's hard to get into for most people right now. But, it's still very enjoyable if you get to know the world-wide personalities, and that in turn let's you enjoy the tennis more.
Imagine following the REDS if you didn't know anything about any of the players? How boring that would be. Even moreso when it comes to a sport like Soccer where scores occur less often than Tornadoes over the Plains.
Last edited by Kingspoint; 06-23-2014 at 03:20 PM.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
Golf is not having a good year in ratings. Its ratings are down pretty significantly vs last year.
Grape works as a soda. Sort of as a gum. I wonder why it doesn't work as a pie. Grape pie? There's no grape pie. - Larry David
Posting Permissions
|
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |
Reply With Quote