Why care?
Thursday, 19 July 07, 07:39 AM
People in the U.S. are crazy about lazy 10 second action sports like american football and baseball. The MLS is getting much less than it would want in popularity and profit. This is why americans just are not into soccer. You can't make someone do what they don't want to do.
My small soccer squad of kids under 16 is full of new kids that have barely ever played soccer. That's how you increase interest in soccer. By informing kids yourself, not posting summarys of profits of each MLS game on ESPN. I doubt bringing David Beckham to Hollywood will popularize the sport. It just makes it more interesting to people who like the sport already.
My U-16 team is far better than it was at the beginning of the season. It shows progress for the growth of the passion of the game. Freddy Adu is heading for somewhere in Europe and we are left to look for another "face" of the league. It is good for the MLS to have Beckham, but it just seemed sad to me watching it all over the news. I just needed to get that all off my chest.
Please I except all comments on my point of view.
Like this blog? Help spread the word:
I agree. I also do not understand why america dislikes futbol so much. I mean some people criticize the game by saying that it is to long, boring and low scoring. Well I have tried to watch a
baseball game for many years and I have not been able to watch an entire game (boring). What is the appeal I do not understand. It will take alot of work to make the beautiful game work in the US.
People have to appreaciate a futbol game that will end at 0-0 but was still a great game. Beckham is a good player but not the best. He is good but he is not Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi or Ronaldinho,
etc, etc ,etc. I think the US is looking for a guy that also has sex appeal and will bring alot of people for his looks. I mean I think they can pay somebody like Tevez that much money and to my
opinion he is beter than Beckham but he will not have the same marketing appeal that Beckham brings.
Ok guys a little history lesson. there was this league called the NASL. it lasted in the US from 1968 to 1984. in the early time period of the NASL attendance was low around 3 to 5 thousand in the
late 60's it increased to around 6 thousdand in the mid 70's and then a gentleman by the name of Pele ( mayber you heard of him) joined the New York Cosmos and attendance went from 7k to 10k in one
year and subsequently topped out at 14k on average around the league Can becks have that kind of sucess...maybe but be mindful that the reason the NASL folder was b/c the big stars kept playing in
europe and the guys who could have been great soccer players started making a lot of money playing the big three in the US. as long as the big three have the revenue our best atheletes will go to
those sports. Imagine if Jordan would have played soccer
Tevez has not (yet) won the European Champions League... and since that is considered the benchmark in world club football, he would have no appeal to 'new fans' of MLS.
i see it in two ways. Becks lifting the lowly Galaxy team OR a trophy (or two) by the US national team. Becks = he may still have some tricks under his sleeve from the last 4 months of play with Real
and England, and that may carry on and rub some of the magic (err, luck) to his Galaxy teammates and lift the trophy at end of season. US Team= Gold Cup, e... not as prestigious as Euro, but if they
could have added the trophy from Maracaibo (highly unlikely), an unbeaten run for Gold at the '08 Olympics, and maybe, just maybe a Finals appearance 3 years from now in S.africa (winning it all is
pushing it), one can say Futbol finally = football / baseball in the U.S.
SoccerCell - the NASL was nothing but an excuse for Americans to get into soccer. Great players like Beckenbauer, Pele, Johann Cruyff and others joined it because they knew those were the main
influential players that went all around the world..... gee.... don't you think is happening again, in some way??
I agree with JLUis. SoccerCell, Pele did make the fans go from the tens of thousands, to the hundreds of thousands and the millions, as well. But, that was Pele. The best football player EVER! He
could do those type of things. Beckham, is no better than a f*cking USL player. The only reson he is so known, is because of his free-kicks and his ability to bend a ball better than anyone on the
planet. MAYBE even Ronaldinho, but like I said, MAYBE. Becks is NOT a God, so all Beckham fans need to get that out of their f*cking heads. Trust me, if Beckham couldn't bend a ball so good, like he
does, he would NOT be so known, as he is. That is ALL FACT!
29 Comments
First off - Bravo for keeping the Soccer Culture alive and showing these kids what's this sport about. However, I think every sport needs an "extra" to bring in people that might not be as interested
as those who have a passion for it. Beckham is considered a "god" [which I don't think he deserves such title] amongst his fans but I believe that with his skills might open the interest of those who
doubt soccer in this country.
gretzky did with hockey before ... beckham could be the same. and if he does, jimmy kimmel said "so nobody would be watching soccer 15 years from now."