Open Mic: U.S. Making Strides Towards Making Soccer Successful

How different would the American sports landscape look if soccer were as popular as it is everywhere else in the world?

The "beautiful game" is the number one sport worldwide and adored by millions, just not in the United States.

However, the game is slowly growing, and according to the U.S. Embassy's Web site there are 18 million soccer players in the states. Of those 18 million, 78 percent are under the age of 18.

Where would the U.S.A. soccer team rank amongst the world’s best if its top athletes grew up playing soccer?

Which athletes from other sports would make great soccer players (i.e. could Dwyane Wade or Kobe Bryant hold their own in goal)?

I think that the recent surge in soccer playing is evident in the national team, just not the senior team.

In the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the U.S. won their division, which included Brazil, and reached the quarterfinals where they lost to Austria by one.

Members of the U-20 team include Freddy Adu (Benfica), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen), and the Josy Altidore (Villarreal)—the ten million dollar man. With three players already playing abroad, and many more to follow, it is clear that there is a youth movement in U.S. soccer.

Thus when these players begin to earn CAPs on the senior team, the U.S. world ranking is bound to improve, and with it, perhaps, the popularity of soccer domestically.

Among current popular American athletes I would have to assume that Kobe Bryant would be one of the best as a soccer player.

Basketball is comparative to soccer in the amount of running and overall physical activity required, and since Kobe grew up in Italy I'm certain he picked up a few tricks and could probably hold his own on the pitch.

Brian Urlacher is another athlete that I think could play a bit of soccer. I've seen Urlacher pluck passes out of mid-air and dive five yards to tackle an opponent; I think that he would have the skills needed to defend the goal for 90 minutes.

Which sport has the best pound-for-pound athletes from a physical perspective? Which sport takes the most mental toughness to excel at?

Pound-for-pound there is no sport that requires as much strength as water polo.

The players never touch the bottom and swim the length of the pool as many times as soccer players run the pitch, without a doubt I would say that water polo players are the strongest.

Aside from that, I would venture to say that soccer players have the most stamina, but don't need as much muscle mass as other athletes. Where muscle mass is concerned, I would give the nod to football players, they just seem to get bigger every year (but they may be due for a baseball style steroids scandal).

As far as mental toughness goes there is no doubt in my mind that baseball players are the winners.

Baseball is like a chess game; making the right play or hitting the right way can change the game irrevocably. When you consider the mental strength of closers to hold the balance of the game entirely on their pitches, it is easy to call baseball players the toughest mentally.

Which star athletes have the skills necessary to succeed in other sports? Do you believe tennis players would make strong baseball hitters, and hockey players talented golfers?

I think the beauty of sports is that they require different skill sets to master each one. For instance, soccer skills do not translate to hockey or football.

I don't think that success in one sport, even sports as similar as football and rugby, would allow for success in another. Michael Jordan did his best to prove this during his stint with the White Sox.

If an athlete possess the talent to compete in multiple sports (e.g. Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders) than that is an incredible individual athletic achievement.

Why would a top young American athlete opt for soccer or rugby if he could make NBA dollars or play in the NFL? Will this cultural dynamic ever change?

If soccer were to play a larger role in the pantheon of American sports I believe that kids would be more attracted to it: partly for the game, but also partly if players received contracts like LeBron James or Alex Rodriguez.

Unfortunately, the team average for salaries in the MLS is $100,000 and several players make the minimum of $11,700.

That means that you could go see the Chicago Fire play, then afterwards visit a restaurant and be served by one of the players that played earlier.

However, as a current youth soccer coach, I believe that many kids are not turned off of soccer by the low salaries and lack of media interest.

Soccer is low scoring and in the video game instant gratification world that kids today live in, everyone wants to score, several times.

I am not completely pessimistic, I believe that more kids want to get involved in soccer, and hopefully soccer can begin to enjoy as much success in America as it has abroad.