FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

[Keirik]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Nothing actually moves-the needle except success and the ability for any US player to make a living overseas in prominent clubs. We can all wish our players are all in the mighty mls league but it’s just not realistic.

What US needs is the next Clint. The next villain that can put a dagger right through the game. We aren’t near a World Cup but we are near playing very competitive games and getting result that CAN BRIBG IS CLOSER TO THE ROUND OF 16 and hopefully round of 8 where anything goes afterwards.

[dickey1331]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

The US has its best chance to win the World Cup in 2026. Its at home and we will have the best team we’ve ever had.


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[dickey1331]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Wow Saudi Arabia is beating Argentina.


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[dickey1331]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

What an upset


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[jb12780]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Who had Saudi Arabia winning today?!


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[cjonesfan921]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Argentina ‘should’ still advance but it won’t be easy. Mexico and Poland will be tough adversaries and assuming a tie in their game, can really have the upper hand.



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[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Our best young athletes don't pursue soccer. They mostly enter football and basketball. I'd like to see a few elite American athletes pursue soccer. It seems like the soccer farm system here is still more of a closed system (family history of playing, or more tilted towards middle class).


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Your last point kinda answers your first point. There’s a few other factors at play too but I’ll save that for another thread.

[jeebs9]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

I keep seeing these article. I can't imagine not drinking at a sporting event.

Wales FA condemns removal of fans' rainbow bucket hats before their World Cup match against United States https://www.espn.com/soccer/wales-wa...efore-usa-game http://espn.com/app

[Brahvocado]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

For the first point, I'm not sure either. Maybe a strong world cup showing doesn't move the needle. I'd like to see the answer to that question.

On the second point, its not so much about media coverage or TV viewership. Our best young athletes don't pursue soccer. They mostly enter football and basketball. I'd like to see a few elite American athletes pursue soccer. It seems like the soccer farm system here is still more of a closed system (family history of playing, or more tilted towards middle class).

So guess I lied, there is some patriotism at play lol. I don't want to be content with "hey we got an American player playing for a top EPL team!!" I want an elite American athlete to be one of the top players in the EPL. Don't care as much about growing MLS into another NFL or NBA money machine.

Soccer is definitely growing, some big hubs have formed that finally realized how much a pay to play system holds back overall development.

I’d say you’re wrong about our best young athletes mostly entering football and basketball. The amount of youth football players nationwide shrinks pretty dramatically every year, sports analysts have been predicting for a while now that American football is moving towards a genuine problem. Soccer has been the opposite, its growth has been very steady and the two sports look like they could reach each other sooner than we think.

Basketball is basically running away with it. The big 3 sports in the US (basketball, baseball and football) were always somewhat close to each other, but now it’s actually pretty disingenuous to mention either of the latter two with basketball because it’s not even remotely close. Basketball has such a big lead at this point and the gap is only going to get wider.

[Krebstar]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Just throwing this out there, because many pages back I saw reference to it, and it's only going to continue:

To anyone who has the mindset of "Well what did they expect?" at the continuous reports of supporters or journalists not being allowed in, confronted, etc, regarding anything resembling a rainbow or that is LGBTQ+ supportive, I'll tell you what they expected.

They expected that maybe, just maybe the bigots could hide their hate and ignorance long enough for people to believe that maybe some kind of progress was being made, in even the slightest form. If not that, they expected to do what they've achieved, which is to continuously point out the hatred and ignorance that FIFA lies in bed with over and over, so the story doesn't die.

Just because something is expected doesn't make it right, or mean it should be ignored, accepted, or brushed off as "that's how they are, we shouldn't expect anything different" because frankly, you expect something different.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

I’d say you’re wrong about our best young athletes mostly entering football and basketball. The amount of youth football players nationwide shrinks pretty dramatically every year, sports analysts have been predicting for a while now that American football is moving towards a genuine problem. Soccer has been the opposite, its growth has been very steady and the two sports look like they could reach each other sooner than we think.



Basketball is basically running away with it. The big 3 sports in the US (basketball, baseball and football) were always somewhat close to each other, but now it’s actually pretty disingenuous to mention either of the latter two with basketball because it’s not even remotely close. Basketball has such a big lead at this point and the gap is only going to get wider.

See, I feel like this depends on where you’re at because living in DC and Atlanta, you would not think that’s the case at all. And I imagine it would be the same anywhere else in the South.

Basketball is starting to become more of a CC Sport, especially at the youth level and that’s not a good thing to say.

My thing with Soccer is that I don’t think they’ve done a good job investing beyond their core market(middle class/suburbs). Don’t get me wrong, I believe they are trying but I think don’t think they’ll have much success beyond the people they already have attracted.

[Tovarich]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Weak penalty, but then I got over it because I'm all for the refs screwing Mexico with all the help they usually get. Then I'm kinda glad the penalty got saved. Ball don't lie as they say in basketball.

[ggsimmonds]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

My thing with Soccer is that I don’t think they’ve done a good job investing beyond their core market(middle class/suburbs). Don’t get me wrong, I believe they are trying but I think don’t think they’ll have much success beyond the people they already have attracted.

I don't know how much interest there is for it outside of that core market. It has pockets across the country where its big, but outside of those pockets its not a "cool" sport to play. Thats where I think a strong showing at a world cup could help.

[jb12780]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

My issue with soccer here is at the moment it’s an upper/middle class sport only.

I used to date a girl who worked on the women’s side of the game, but told me the cost to get in the academies that are worth a damn than can get you scouted either(mens or women’s) are thousands of dollars.

A kid from the south Bronx who is the next Messi is never going to get noticed, and fall through the cracks.

Klinsmann saw this, wanted to revamp the entire system here in America, but the old boys at the USSF shut him down completely.


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[KG]

Re: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

See, I feel like this depends on where you’re at because living in DC and Atlanta, you would not think that’s the case at all. And I imagine it would be the same anywhere else in the South.

Basketball is starting to become more of a CC Sport, especially at the youth level and that’s not a good thing to say.

My thing with Soccer is that I don’t think they’ve done a good job investing beyond their core market(middle class/suburbs). Don’t get me wrong, I believe they are trying but I think don’t think they’ll have much success beyond the people they already have attracted.

I have a lot of friends who coach youth football in our area Pack and they've said that the participation levels have decreased a lot. High schools still don't have too much of a problem filling up rosters but we'll see how that is in the near future. I imagine in certain states like FL, CA, and TX and poorer demographics the safety concerns won't dissuade parents from signing up their kids. US Soccer made heavy investments in latino areas within big cities.

Weak penalty, but then I got over it because I'm all for the refs screwing Mexico with all the help they usually get. Then I'm kinda glad the penalty got saved. Ball don't lie as they say in basketball.

I thought that was a stone cold pen and I was glad they called it. The Mexican defender was pulling his shirt and then he dives in front of Lewa and doesn't even get a touch on the ball.

Your last point kinda answers your first point. There’s a few other factors at play too but I’ll save that for another thread.

I'll just say it because if I get banned I'm running to Steve lol but the disparity happens in historically poor black neighborhoods where it's all football and hoops. I have a lot of uncles and older male family members that are baseball fans and grew up playing it but said that there are hardly any more baseball fields in DC so you see that a lot of young black kids only see hoops and football as a way out/college. It sucks because I think about all of the elite athletes that don't make it in hoops that would be more athletic than 99% of our USMNT players. I think about DII and D3 PGs I used to play with that had the physical traits to be a professional soccer player but just didn't get exposed to the sport.

We're def progressing as a country though in soccer even if the results are still stagnant.