Well, the US men’s soccer team lost last night and will not qualify for World Cup 2018. They had plenty of opportunities but couldn’t make the cut.
Now it’s 2022 in Qatar.
Now it’s 2022 in Qatar.
The world most popular game in not popular in the US so I don't think too many people here care.
I'm always puzzled why American men's soccer fares so poorly on the world stage. Our women's soccer teams wipe the floor with the rest of the world!
Also, we pour more resources into sports than the GDPs of many nations. It's not just playing fields and gymnasiums; it's also the number of trainers and dieticians and physical therapists keeping the competitors in peak condition.
For the last World Cup, Brazil built a bunch of new stadiums, the expense for which sparked a lot of internal controversy. However, the all-time biggest World Cup was the one held here 23 years ago. We built zero new stadiums for it.
Why? Because we are awash in facilities. There are college athletic fields that dwarf the national soccer stadiums of many countries. I remember reading back in 1994 that foreign media outlets coming to America were flabbergasted, not just by the number of existing arenas but also by the auxiliary equipment such as media feeds which were invariably far more extensive than they would have had at the largest overseas stadiums.
Even if football/baseball/basketball/hockey dominate our sporting budgets, there's still an enormous amount left over to support lots of other sports: track, wrestling, gymnastics, weightlifting, tae kwon do, swimming, lacrosse, etc. It's why half of the athletes in the Olympics who represent other nations do all their training in the U.S.
I've heard the argument that the Big Four suck up all of our best athletes, leaving lower-tier sports to compete with lesser talent. It may be technically accurate, but I don't believe it's at all relevant when it comes to explaining why the US (men's) team routinely loses to teams from countries with one percent of our population.
Oh well, I'll still watch the World Cup next time around, even if our guys aren't in it. Maybe it's better that way; less painful since I don't have to worry about when we'll be booted.
I've heard the argument that the Big Four suck up all of our best athletes, leaving lower-tier sports to compete with lesser talent. It may be technically accurate, but I don't believe it's at all relevant when it comes to explaining why the US (men's) team routinely loses to teams from countries with one percent of our population.
Dr. Lerth: As far back as I can remember (1970's when the Cosmos drew > 50,000 fans several times for soccer), soccer has been the up and coming sport in the USA. But it never happens. Never! There are many reasons for this, and I believe that soccer will continue to be ignored by most in the USA. I can't tell you how many kids I grew up with who played soccer as children and then completely ignored it in favor of MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL as adults. They now have their own kids who have done the same exact thing! The amount of times as an adult anyone (anyone!) engaged me in a conversation about soccer (family, friends, neighbors, work colleagues) approximates zero.
As to womens soccer, yes the USA is overwhelmingly dominant, but the sport is even more ignored than men's soccer! That is not a healthy sign for a supposed world-wide sport.
Three months ago, Boston University researchers found that 87 percent of all deceased former football players, and 99 percent of former NFL players, exhibited CTE.
I can't tell you how many kids I grew up with who played soccer as children and then completely ignored it in favor of MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL as adults. They now have their own kids who have done the same exact thing! The amount of times as an adult anyone (anyone!) engaged me in a conversation about soccer (family, friends, neighbors, work colleagues) approximates zero.
Looking to the future...
The reason is simple - it is football - and should be called 'football' not soccer
My point exactly. It seems incredible to me that these stats are not enough to stop the action right in its tracks, but I'm convinced people (prospective players) will come to their senses eventually. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate football as a game at all - it just seems that it is too dangerous to be viable.
I'm always puzzled why American men's soccer fares so poorly on the world stage. Our women's soccer teams wipe the floor with the rest of the world!
That was a really awful match they played last night. They obviously thought they were home free after beating the pants off Panama last week. But you have to actually play every game. And objectively, the USMNT has many more world-experienced players (playing in England or Germany for example) than they've ever had.
So Iceland is in, and USA and Netherlands are out. It'll be a long 4 years.
IN many of these smaller countries (such as the ones my parents came from), soccer is the ONLY choice beginning at that age, and something that is played year round, not just a "season". There are not others trying to recruit the best players into more "popular" sports because in many cases there are not other popular sports.