The United States has produced some of the world's most recognizable athletes, even while playing almost none of the world's most popular games. Players like Michael Jordan, Alex Rodriguez, and Tiger Woods have all captured the world's imagination during their careers, but none in the way that Pele, Maradona, or Zinedine Zidane did.
The world understands football in a different way than the U.S. understands any individual sport, so the idea that simply incorporating the best athletes into the U.S. team would propel the U.S. to the top of the rankings is a little short sighted.
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There would have to be a very fundamental shift in the way the U.S. regarded their team and how they understood themselves. Sport is part of identity in Europe in much the way religion is in the U.S.
Additionally, there is an unbelievable amount of infrastructure at work in places like Argentina, England, and Germany to find and train the best young players, even before they are gobbled up by clubs like AC Milan, FC Barcelona, and the EPL's big four.
If, however, there was a concerted effort on the part of the U.S. to create such a program and to steal players like Dwyane Wade, Adrian Peterson, or Joe Mauer before they picked up a ball, bat or stick, the US would certainly field an interesting side.
Even fielding the all-talent team, and even if they were trained from an early age like European players are, the U.S. wouldn't automatically rise to the top. It would take a national focus driving the players on and, of course, a bit of good luck in the actual matches for the U.S. to finally hoist the FIFA World Cup trophy.
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2 months ago
just wrote an column on this very same topic
of course I agree with you point of views
2 months ago
Hahahhaha. Jordan was definitely bigger than any soccer player outside of Pele (who had the ability to make americans care about soccer for about a year)...........you forgot Muhammed Ali too.
" Sport is part of identity in Europe in much the way religion is in the U.S."
what does this mean? Sports is definitely bigger here, and even in identifying people; for instance you know a raiders fan will probably stab you in an alley, packers fans well they are packers fans, cowboys fans are obnoxious, generally love god, and will tell you over and over how many superbowls they have. Boston redsox and cubs? well you should know. I'm not doubting europes love for soccer but thats just soccer, this country has legions of fans for basketball, baseball, nascar, the NFL, MMA, hockey, extreme sports, and even the occasional MLS fan...........Moreover there are some countries in Europe that don't show the fanaticism about soccer as say the english; most notably France. In fact i find the soccer in south america and mexico to be much crazier then the majority of europeans.
I like soccer and it would be nice to see the U.S. try harder to be great, but it won't for many reasons......many of which I put in an article I wrote.
Besides most people around the world will be pretty damn upset when America wins a World Cup, so be careful what you wish for haha.
from 2 months ago
"Hahahhaha. Jordan was definitely bigger than any soccer player outside of Pele (who had the ability to make americans care about soccer for about a year)"
Pele played in America for 4 years, and the biggest league-wide attendances soccer ever got were the two years *after he left*.
from 2 months ago
There are certainly US fan bases that approximate the European intensity, but everything I've read on the subject indicates that European fans are more committed than their US counterparts.
When I said it was part of identity, what i meant was that cheering for a particular club is a more fundamental thing than choosing a team in the US. Example: If you're a Scottish protestant, you're probably a Rangers fan and you sure as hell aren't a Celtic fan. However, if you live in Dallas and cheer for the Texans, you're in the minority but nothing more than that.
Perhaps this is just a perception problem, I am, after all, not from Europe or South America. Even in the US, however, sports loyalties are become a much more integral part of identity politics and I'm under the impression that this has been the case in Europe for several years.
from 2 months ago
All good points; i'm not arguing one bit haha
2 months ago
The biggest problem right now is that so many Americans equate "athleticism" with raw power. That's certainly one kind, but there are other kinds, too.
from 2 months ago
No we like a blend of power, speed, and stamina, with a touch of violence (in regards to the NFL). Its not that people here don't think soccer fans are athletic we just like our sports better. We've always done things differently than europe in both society, economy, sports, culture, etc for better or worse.
However the one thing that is consistent among Americans who dislike soccer is the flopping, and pusillanimous play of many of them. The other thing is the african american community is not very fond of soccer and considering they make up the majority of both the NBA and NFL its hard to drive them away from that.
2 months ago
"Jordan was definitely bigger than any soccer player outside of Pele"
He wasn't. Hell even today Beckham is more famous than Jordan ever was, and Beckham absolutely sucks. There has never been shrines built dedicated to Jordan in the far east. There are actually 3 built for beckham...why I don't know. I
2 months ago
That is so wrong its unbelievable; you need to touch up on your sports history and lose the soccer bias for a second. First off people around the world on every contient know who michael jordan is; now when you consider at the time he played basketball wasn't an international sport as it is today that says something. Jordan is the very reason why basketball went global, he was the centerpiece of the Dream Team; whose main purpose was to spread basketball outside our borders. O and he also launched Nike to what it is today.
Besides no one here gives a rats ass about beckham; his only fans are people who adore celebrities, girls who think he's hot, and girls who read about him in US weekly. In fact even England grew tired of Beckham; he is more a product of marketing than anything else because as you and I both know he was never at any time the best player in the world.
from 2 months ago
No, both of you are about equally wrong. There are a dozen soccer stars at least that are known all over the world on a similar scale as Jordan.
"Jordan is the very reason why basketball went global, he was the centerpiece of the Dream Team;"
--> This points to something you don't understand--it took *decades* of groundwork before Jordan could make the game global. There have been pro teams in Europe for 40 years, and college coaches have toured Europe teaching clinics for even longer than that.
People think this stuff just appears overnight, so they think if soccer hasn't done it already it never will. But the first part of that just isn't true, so the second doesn't apply.
from 2 months ago
But he was the catalyst. And your missing my main point. Soccer is and was a global sport shared by basically everyone but the U.S.; basketball isnt or wasn't the game itself is not even 100 years old. Jordan was able to make a comepletely foreign sport reconizable to the world.........it would be like a cricket player becoming a household name in America........
from 2 months ago
No, I'm not missing your point at all, I'm saying it's superficial. It's *not* like a cricket player becoming a household name here, because there would have to be decades of effort building the game up from the bottom first. Before Jordan ever came along, most Italians knew who Dino Meneghin was.
from 2 months ago
I Agree, "Jordan is the very reason why basketball went global", but soccer was global before he was born, so what? Obviously guys like Pele and Maradona are more famous, they are known by billions as is beckham, ronaldinho..etc. And although I absolutely hate Beckham and her talentless husband (snap!) and adore Jordan, I couldn't imagine Beckham not being more known than Micheal Jordan in a global viewpoint. He's been more of an cultural icon than an athlete for a while now anyway, every single asian wants to suck him off whenever he tours there.
That's not a slight against Jordan, he is in fact my personal favorite athlete of all time, more so than any soccer player. I actually believe he was perphaps the greatest overall athlete ever, and have huge respect for what he did for the game of baskeball... he truly elevated it. I respect that tremendously and he is really the reason that the entire sport started being taken seriously outside the US. Its kind of sad that someone like Beckham is so famous, I wish he would die. God I really dislike Beckham.
from 2 months ago
I figured this was easier than trying to respond to all the individual comments:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/31023-Jordan-Or-Pele-Who-Had-The-Greatest-Impact-
2 months ago
Spenser,
No, maybe speed, but Americans can't really argue they appreciate stamina.
from 2 months ago
Wait what about speed?
I certainly don't know Americans that don't appreciate stamina in regards to sports and athleticism........and if they do they're retarded.
2 months ago
The Americans that don't appreciate stamina are the ones who question soccer players' athleticism, since soccer requires more stamina than just about any other team sport.
from 2 months ago
Well those people are idiots. Soccer is obivously athletic, and i've never heard that brought up as a reason against it; thats what i was saying
from 2 months ago
Even if they didn't care about stamina, why would they question the athleticism? How often do you see an out of shape soccer player...ever? Hell even the most unathletic position of central midfielder like Zidane and Makelele at least don't look out of shape...Makelele is 35 years old and still looks in pretty good shape:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39469000/jpg/_39469213_makelele300x300.jpg
from 2 months ago
Who is questioning it?
2 months ago
"Before Jordan ever came along, most Italians knew who Dino Meneghin was"
Thats not a very good example considering he was Italian; americans are aware of landon donovan and tony meola we just dont really care. Jordan's popularity was cross cultural. Besides Muhammed Ali was bigger anyway haha.
from 2 months ago
That's WHY it was a good example. It's about building the base of a sport for decades.
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