ashmire13 wrote:But please don't tell me football is boring, not when you have baseball still being played...  

Baseball can be fixed with the random placement of landmines in the outfield.  Then we'd have some excitement.

I have to admit that I enjoyed the World Cup this year.  I don't know if I will end up watching any other soccer/football throughout the year though.  I think of it going to be like Olympic Hockey.  Every 4 years I really enjoy watching it but the normal grind isn't something I can enjoy (if I want fake fights, I'll watch wrestling).

red_bus wrote::lol: You can't fight it BM.  And the success of the US Football Team this World Cup was a great indicator. I predict the US may have a good chance at getting close to the final, or even winning, at the next one in Brazil in 2014.

You may not be far off the mark with this comment.  A few major changes will still be needed though.  A new coach being one of them.  I think Bob Bradley is a fine coach but everyone is pointing to the U.S. needing a foreign coach if they are going to make it to the latter stages of the tournament.  U.S. Soccer has already talked with Jurgen Klinsmann from Germany about coaching but he said no.  From what I read it was because he wanted full control of the team and was turned down.

Developing a love for the game in our children is a huge step.  Kids in this country with even a bit of talent for soccer will never get to develop that talent simply because the programs arent widepread enough in schools.  They focus on NFL style football, basketball, and baseball.  Odd though, when kids in the U.S. are very young (5 - 9 years) they are usually introduced to soccer.  But once they get past that 10 year threshold, soccer isnt readily available anymore (at least around here) and they usually move on to one of the above mentioned sports.  Hopefully, the powers that be can use this World Cup as a springboard for a major marketing campaign that will bring more interest for the sport in the U.S. and in our schools.

I also think it is a no-brainer for the MLS to start putting money into bringing in players from outside the country.  The David Beckham "experiment" was a success whether you like the guy or not.  It brought a serious spotlight onto the sport in the U.S. for the first time.  A lot of people who never gave a damn about soccer before were intrigued for the first time.  Sure, there are several foreign players in the MLS now but no one of the caliber of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, or Lionel Messi.  If Diego Forlan was loaned to FC Dallas for 6 or 8 weeks I would go watch every game.  

On the flip side of that....until more American players make their mark in the European leagues and bring back that experience to other players in the U.S. we will probably never have a championship caliber team.  Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Steve Cherundolo, Clint Dempsey, Carlos Bocanegra, and Tim Howard all started for the U.S. and all played for European teams over the last couple of years.  It's proven that if you practice and play with the best, it will elevate your own game.

I like to think about the success that the U.S. had at the Winter Olympics last year as an example of what a country with a lot of money and drive can accomplish.

King,

Here in the Midwest, we are seeing a soccer explosion amoung high school teams.  Two factors for this are:  soccer teams cost less than other sports and more chatholic influence here in the midwest.  Almost every high school now offers soccer.

Martin

JasonZavoda wrote:Honestly soccer is being hyped in the USA but it is doubtful that it will ever catch on.

Because of the large influx of immigrants (legal or otherwise) to this country we are quickly seeing a much larger fanbase for the sport that didnt exist ten or twenty years ago.  There were people at work having World Cup parties so people could all get together and watch the U.S. team play.  I never saw stuff like this during the last two World Cups.

Prufrock wrote:
Two factors for this are:  soccer teams cost less than other sports

What price a pair of football boots and a ball! It has to be one of the cheapest sports to take part in, considering the other equipment sports need and beyond that, you only need 'jumpers for goalposts!'  

ashmire13 wrote:
What price a pair of football boots and a ball! It has to be one of the cheapest sports to take part in, considering the other equipment sports need and beyond that, you only need 'jumpers for goalposts!'  

And shinguards... if you ever played soccer... er um... football... most definitely shinguards...  

Rugby is a real sport. More people should try that.

Kingofpain89 wrote: I'll be rooting for Everton.  

With the news of their new away kit for next season, you may want to reconsider that....

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/wor ... cle/17751/

Kingofpain89 wrote:
Yeah...its pretty awful.  I've read quite a few people are unhappy with it.  Can't be any worse than being a Tampa Bay Bucs fan during the 70's and 80's though.  Really gotta feel sorry for those poor bastards.  Ugly uniforms and bad teams.

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Heck could add the 90's into that too, though they were better.  'Chucky' got them a Superbowl win though.

ShaneG.