One reason why the USA doesn't like soccer

ukbob said:
To a degree you are right. There have been a lot of top coaches teaching the youth over there. They come over from England, charge for their lessons, take the money and return to England.
I have done a lot of coaching over there up to a semi pro level with the LA Heat. I had many a run in with Siggy Schmidt who became the Galaxy manager, we remain friends to this day. We had many discussions on how to get the best and structure a youth development program. It just will not work.
Someone stated that you need a mega star to play for a team there to gell the interest. That will not work either. In the past you had Pele, Georgie Best etc. Recently in the Premier League you have had several good players. You now have Brand Beckham. None of those made or will make the slightest difference.
You can discuss this till you are blue in the face. It ain't gonna happen. Soccer will never take off in America beyond the point it is at now. The reason is there are to many US national sports and the biggest factor is the media. They dislike the game with a passion. Just listen to Jim Rome.
There are brilliant players over there. I scouted and recommended players for consideration but the logistics of developing those kids to the required standard was just not economical.
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i completely agree, especially the last paragraph and i've been saying it just won't ever work here, but people don't believe me.
 
AlwaysRedwood said:
It's far below soccer. The gold cup had far higher ratings in the US than the Stanley Cup.
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In 2007, Stanley Cup ratings hit an all time low - they were twice as high this year. Also the Gold Cup numbers are inflated a bit because it was Mexico vs USA, aired on Univision, the Spanish language network - many of whose viewers probably don't tune in as much to MLS, or even ESPN's coverage of the Champions League. And I believe hockey also still gets far more fans in attendance at live games every season, so I wouldn't say soccer has yet surpassed hockey here - at least not in terms of TV viewership, as your post suggests.

MLS Cup Final 2007: 0.8 rating
Champions League Final 2008: 0.8 rating
Stanley Cup finals 2007: 1.6 rating, with a 1.8 (approx. 2m households) rating for the decisive Game 5
Gold Cup Final 2007: 2.5 rating, 2.83m households
Stanley Cup Finals 2008: 3.2 rating, with Game 6 drawing a 4.0 rating


Gold Cup Ratings Beat Stanley Cup, Stanley Cup ratings improve, American TV Viewership for Champions League Final Tops 1 Million, USA-Mexico match a ratings smash
 
Not to mention tennis, golf, wrestling, and boxing, all of which we are so very proud of inventing.

We're innovators.
 
ukbob said:
To a degree you are right. There have been a lot of top coaches teaching the youth over there. They come over from England, charge for their lessons, take the money and return to England.
I have done a lot of coaching over there up to a semi pro level with the LA Heat. I had many a run in with Siggy Schmidt who became the Galaxy manager, we remain friends to this day. We had many discussions on how to get the best and structure a youth development program. It just will not work.
Someone stated that you need a mega star to play for a team there to gell the interest. That will not work either. In the past you had Pele, Georgie Best etc. Recently in the Premier League you have had several good players. You now have Brand Beckham. None of those made or will make the slightest difference.
You can discuss this till you are blue in the face. It ain't gonna happen. Soccer will never take off in America beyond the point it is at now. The reason is there are to many US national sports and the biggest factor is the media. They dislike the game with a passion. Just listen to Jim Rome.
There are brilliant players over there. I scouted and recommended players for consideration but the logistics of developing those kids to the required standard was just not economical.
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That's the number one reason I tell people when they ask me why football won't take off over here. Nobody in the mainstream sports media gives two shits about football. It's either not mentioned or mentioned with a hint of distain and sarcasm. Jim Rome is the worst. He has an irrational hatred for the sport. So much that I think I remember him saying he wouldn't watch his kid play it. It'll take somebody who loves the sport to be high enough up to either be in control of a network or be a very respected and widely known journalist. To this point it hasn't happened yet. The majority are still anti-football. Until that day comes when we get serious, credible reporting and discussion regularly on Sportscenter, football will never really take off here.
 
I remember that cnut Rome commenting on Tab Ramos's retirement. He stated Ramos was called the Babe Ruth of American soccer (according to Rome). He pointed out Ramos scored 8 goals in his international career which would be "equivalent to Babe Ruth hitting like 30 homeruns." Then made some statement like this, "that's why soccer will always be a ridiculous sport." First off, Ramos was a midfielder not a striker so his goal total will be low. Secondly, not a person association with soccer (football) in the US has ever labeled Ramos "The Babe Ruth of American Soccer." And finally, it's stupid to compare international career to a league career, even more so when comparing different sports. Sounds like something Rome coined up just to take unnecessary shots at the sport, or perhaps some stupid journalist tried to overhype Ramos' career by adding that label.

His analogies are so ridiculous. He's just the guy in high school that could not play competitive sports beyond puberty. Most likely he was picked on and always wanted be part of the in-crowd.

Respect to Eric Wynalda...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Wynalda
During a discussion with the soccer blog Fulham USA on April 4, 2007 he made some disparaging remarks aimed at fellow ESPN broadcaster, and frequent soccer critic, Jim Rome. Wynalda was quoted as saying "Jim Rome can suck my dick! And he should be very afraid, because I’m the kind of guy, if I get too many drinks in me, I will club his ass."[2] He was suspended one game, and later apologized.
 
MrMarcello said:
Wynalda was quoted as saying "Jim Rome can suck my dick! And he should be very afraid, because I’m the kind of guy, if I get too many drinks in me, I will club his ass."[2] He was suspended one game, and later apologized.
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:lol: Attaboy Eric!

He's about as good as you'll find in the current crop of commentators in the states.
 


fecking hell what a retard. I can't believe he said football has zero fan interest. It's the most watched sport in the world. This guy deserves to be assasinated. Ape's like him are what make the rest of the world think that American's are lazy sports fans who at the sports games they like just sit on their fat arses drinking pissy beer and being led by a mascot into any chant. Except the stuff about American's is mostly true while his bullshit about "soccer" sounds like a crying little kid
 
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