So, David Beckham in Los Angeles..

[UZI Suicide 0]

Is this going to make any difference in American Soccer? I don't follow the sport at all but I know at least in L.A., I've heard more about soccer in the last month than I have in the last five years. I can admit that it's at least made me interested - I'll probably watch his first few Galaxy games and then go from there if I'm still into it. Is he really going to "save" soccer in America or what?

[Guest]

Yes. At the very least he'll spark an interest that gets people to watch games with better talent.

[Guest Smues]

They'll be initial interest, but I doubt in the longrun he's coming to America will do much for the sport.

[Guest •]

Soccer will never take off here, and that's fine by me. We've been having this discussion for nearly thirty years. Unlike our big four, we do not have the world's best talent. David Beckham won't change that. The sport is not part of our country's cultural fiber. Being a Cubs fan means something, in a broader sense. This is not the case with the Columbus Crew. The one thing I will applaud MLS for is getting soccer-specific stadia built, which is a huge step, because they were just playing in empty NFL venues, which looks low-rent. Now that they have their own places, they can appear to be stable and upwardly mobile organizations, and they can rent them out for other non-sporting events or youth soccer tournaments, which can give them some revenue. However, the truth of the matter remains: Nobody Gives A Fuck About Soccer.

[Star Ocean 3 0]

The important thing is if the Galaxy can make the playoffs.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Well, now I know what the soccer team in LA is called, so that's a start.

[Sideburnious 0]

There'll be initial press over in the UK about it. I wouldn't even be surprised if they showed the first game, but eventually interest will dissappear unless something contraversial happend.

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

I think the only thing it will do is prompt other older players to come for the money once they can no longer compete in the more competitive countries. I had heard Zidane had been considering it and Cuauhtemoc Blanco from Mexico is coming over. While most of these transfers won't bring in new fans it will be good for the soccer fans who watch other countries to be able to see some of the past stars locally.

[Guest •]

I like the ancillary stuff about the Premiership: the history, the riots, the socioeconomic ramifications of which team you like, the songs, the Englishness, and the riots, but soccer isn't a very fun game to watch at all.

[hyperchord24 0]

If anyone not already a fan of soccer is going to watch, they’re going to watch for him to score goals, you know, like Jordan, James, Favre, etc. But he doesn’t score goals typically (that’s just not his role). Fans expect him to be “bending” it all the time and scoring, especially since ESPN is inundating viewers will highlight packages of him scoring like he does do it all the time.

 

However, he’s already made back the money the galaxy is going to spend on him through licensing deals, jersey sales, season tickets, etc.

 

Of course, who knows if he’ll last? He may simply not be able to take the heat. European soccer players (that is, soccer players who play in Europe) have been known to not be able to play it hotter, more humid cities like Houston, LA, or the like.

 

[Sideburnious 0]

He was in Madrid for the last few years though, so heat shouldn't be too much of a problem for him.

I will agree with fan expectations. He's probably not going to get a lot of goals and so people will wonder why he was signed in the first place. He's more of a playmaker than a goal scorer.

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

But even a good playmaker who gets everyone else scoring would be considered big. If LA starts scoring more goals per game and he is a direct result, the announcers should be able to sell it.

[Guest Vitamin X]

For one thing, L.A. is not humid in the slightest. It's dry heat, and tolerable to play sports in, provided you hydrate properly.

 

I somewhat disagree with Czech. Soccer could very well be a big part of this country's big sports, particularly with the waning interest in hockey. I think the U.S. just won something in the Copa de Americas or something, so I mean, I've certainly heard their team IS getting better, but MLS needs to expand to cover a lot more ground in cities that may not have professional teams yet. There's a lot of minor leagues, like Portland's local team, the Timbers, I think they play in the.. united soccer league? although, their games are pretty awesome. There's this guy called "Timber Jim" leading the hardcore section of Timbers fans called the Timbers Army who wields a live chainsaw during games and chops off a slab of log every time they score a goal.

He used to be an actual lumberjack, apparently.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I would watch soccer more if Philadelphia had a team.

[Guest •]

Maybe it's CWM.

 

I still disagree with you, though. Soccer won't replace hockey for most fans in hockey's core cities. At the risk of sounding like that dumbass LessonInMachismo talking about "goal games," soccer = hockey - violence - pipe organ, and what fun is that? (EDIT: funny you mention Philadelphia, Al: I can't see the celebrated Philly sports goons embracing bad soccer. The other possibility is that they make it very, very fun) The catch-22 with expanding to zero-sport towns is that while you're creating valuable one-sport towns like the NBA and NHL have, chances are that means you're in Omaha or Albuquerque or something, which will be seen as settling for crappy markets. They'll make inroads in cities with big Mexican populations, and that's about it. I don't care what sort of gimmick they have at minor league soccer games in Portland; Nobody Gives A Fuck About Soccer.

[2GOLD 0]

 

America won't give a damn about soccer until we can win at it. What's the point of us getting excited about the sport when the minute we get on the world stage we get made look like everyone else's bitch? Until we can seriously compete in the World Cup, and I mean late round run, we will not care as a country. We just aren't going to get excited about a sport we know we aren't even in the top 20 of.

 

Also, I'm tired of hearing about Posh. She looks like an alien creature now.

[Guest Vitamin X]

remember when the American team was ranked, what, 3rd or 5th in the world?

 

Yikes.

 

The point I was making with the minor league team here is that there IS a market for them, and if they had more marketing behind them (like say, from MLS? If they bought the USL, that would be a step up..) and of course, television exposure, it'd be successful. Hockey's starting to wane because they've lost the tv exposure.

 

And there are certain limited sports towns that could use soccer teams. Put them out in the suburbs and make it a family thing- it's incredible how many kids grow up playing soccer in this country, especially in areas like that.

[Guest •]

Now that's a good point. Just aim for being affordable family entertainment, like other minor leagues. Any aspirations to be more than that are strictly delusional, though. The Fire will never mean one-tenth as much as the Bears do.

[A Happy Medium 0]

We were in the top five in world rankings when they were drawing groups for the World Cups. There were eight seeded teams, and the U.S. were not one of them. We got screwed there. Also, we landed into the group of death with the eventual champs Italy.

 

A funny fact is that we were the only team not to lose to Italy. It could've been a 2-1 win had a goal from DeMarcus Beasley not been overturned. Also, I consider that the game where Bruce Arena lost his job. McBride was gassed and had fresh stitches in his face. You have Johnson on the bench, who would've had much better luck getting behind the tired Italian defense with his tremendous speed.

 

 

David Beckham is not going to make soccer in America huge by himself. He's the first player to come over. If it works out, you may see a lot more well-known Europeans coming over. Also, with the "Beckham Rule", every team in the MLS has two players which it can designate for salaries greater than the salary cap of about 2.5-3.0 million dollars. The good news is that Beckham can still play, and should be able to make a big enough difference so that the oncoming verbal fellatio from broadcasters doesn't seem too forced. He should also be able to handle some pretty hot conditions, too. I was able to hold up pretty well from a midfielder in the 95 degree heat of Bavaria.

 

Maybe Zidane comes out of retirement if Beckham works out. The country already knows him for the headbutt of a thousand deaths. This has a shot of working out.

[Brett Favre 0]

Either way, the US got beatdown in their group again this time in the Copa America.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Either way, the US got beatdown in their group again this time in the Copa America.

 

The US took a bunch of young MLS players, while everyone else brought their top stars. A beatdown was expected.

 

Besides Beckham it would really help soccer in the US if Freddy Adu can lead the US to the Under-20 World Cup title in the next few weeks. They are in the quarter-finals and have the talent to win the whole thing. Freddy has been one of the top 2 or 3 players in the tournament so far. A victory would show the country that soccer has a promising future.

 

I don't know if Beckham can have a big effect nationally but in L.A. he can be HUGE if he can connect with the Hispanic community. Thanks to them, soccer is very popular in L.A. For example the USA-Mexico game in February got a better rating than American Idol did that same night. I'm Mexican-American and live in the most hispanic part of L.A. and all people talk about here is soccer.

 

IMO what the MLS and the US national team need to do first to grow is to connect with the Hispanics, who already love soccer. Sign more players from Mexico, Central and South America, get players with Hispanic backgrounds to play for team USA to win their support. Try to win them over first then try to get the rest of the country to follow.

[Brett Favre 0]

Not everyone took their top stars. I know Brazil and Venezuela didn't for sure. The US isn't even that good to begin with to talk about bringing in the stars.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Not everyone took their top stars. I know Brazil and Venezuela didn't for sure. The US isn't even that good to begin with to talk about bringing in the stars.

 

The US took no one. Brazil was missing it two best players. Mexico went without 3 starting defenders. Everyone else brought it's top talent.

 

Trust me the US has stars, would it have been enough to get out of the group stage? I think so

[Brett Favre 0]

Over Argentina and Paraguay? I dunno. Maaaybe Paraguay.

[Guest]

Soccer's already passing hockey in this country.

 

And the US is pretty good. Top 10 in my book. Let's see, they lay the asswhoop on the Mexicans every time they play them in this country, ran over every team in the Gold Cup, played Argentina good for about 65 minutes without our top players, and did the same to Colombia with the backups to the backups. Yeah, we suck.

 

Freddy Adu is one of the best under 20 players in the world. Progress has been made, all it will take now is more media coverage. SOCCER IS NOT BORING. It's not a weak man's game either, many players play rough as shit and don't give a fuck what other people think. I thought soccer was boring when I was a kid, but it's not. There's more action in soccer than in most sports. I like to watch displays of natural athletic ability. I think I get that when I tune in for a match. I get more enjoyment out of watching a soccer match with none of my favorite teams in it than I do of any other sporting events without my favorite teams in it. The things that players can do to the ball are incredible. Part of the problem with the game in the US is that the best matches in the best leagues aren't on basic cable with English language broadcasting. You have to pay extra to get those channels, which I do, but how are new fans supposed to find the access that the NBA, MLB and NFL provide? They can't.

 

You watch the Paraguay match, CW. That was the most bullshit game I've seen in a while. The goalie was on speed or something, he was getting to the ball so fast to make those saves. Plus we couldn't finish. But that's not the point.

 

I went to see the US play Trinidad & Tobago about a month ago. It was during the Gold Cup, so they had a game played before the US match as part of a doubleheader. It was El Salvador v. Guatemala. I can honestly say that during that game, it was the best atmosphere at a sporting event that I've ever been to, and it sold me on the game for life. I've been to Charger games, Laker playoff games, Kings playoff games, USC games; they couldn't even touch it. It was that fun. Hell, the 30,000 seat Home Depot Center was louder than the Coliseum.

[razazteca 0]

Since this whole deal is to sell shoes I ponder if the impressionable childrens out there will be running to Footlocker at the mall to buy the new Adidas instead of that shoe that their favorite rapper is shrilling. Right now the coverage of soccer is sporadic at best with very little coverage of MLS on ABC/ESPN. Now if the addition of the most overhyped man in the sport can get some attention to the league then great maybe it was worth the money but I think the citizens of USA are more interested the celebrity aspect of this than the actual game itself. Will all the tabloid loving Jerry Springer fans and soccer moms actually drag the family to the games, I don't know about that but they sure as hell be watching that reality show on NBC. I don't think the general fan actually cares about soccer unless it is World Cup season and only then will they watch the games due to patriotic fanfare.

 

So basically unless Beckham gets on Sportcenter on a daily basis with clips of him winning games off of penalty kicks I don't think this will do much to help the sport or MLS much. Hell I think Arena Football is getting more coverage than MLS at the moment!

[Brett Favre 0]

Okay, maybe I exaggerated a bit on the US, but I'm just a little disappointed in how they got eliminated so early. After they beat the crap out of Mexico, I thought they were going to advance with Argentina.

 

No one is saying Soccer will become more popular than the three major sports, but if the US keeps progressing, there's no doubt in my mind they will get attention.

[BruiserKC 0]

I love soccer...I played it in high school and in college. However...soccer in the US is going to be a hard sell for most of the fans. The biggest thing going against it (in addition to it not having its roots here) is the fact the scores are so low. In baseball, football, and basketball these days its all about wanting points on the board. Hell, people now call a 2-1 baseball game or a 10-7 defensive battle in football boring.

 

But soccer can have a fairly decent following if it doesn't get too blown away by the celebrity hype. It needs to remain a sport for the common man. They need to keep prices for tickets affordable, which can be an advantage with the way prices for other events these days are getting higher and higher.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

He should slip and call it football one more time and then Ray Lewis comes out and plants him into the ground..

 

 

 

[Guest •]

I love soccer...I played it in high school and in college. However...soccer in the US is going to be a hard sell for most of the fans. The biggest thing going against it (in addition to it not having its roots here) is the fact the scores are so low. In baseball, football, and basketball these days its all about wanting points on the board. Hell, people now call a 2-1 baseball game or a 10-7 defensive battle in football boring.

Yeah, stupid people.

 

The difference between low-scoring baseball and low-scoring soccer is that baseball's low-scoring games, to me, indicate the presence of quality pitching and fielding, rather than an absence of scoring. You can point to all the strikeouts and caught-stealings and big fielding plays that happened in the sequence of a baseball game. In soccer, you're just kind of running around for 90 minutes. Sure, you'll get a few impressive saves, but for the most part, you're just running around for 90 minutes.

 

None of this matters as to why it's a hard sell, though, because the bottom line is that we're not watching the world's best players on our beloved teams. They're meaningless teams of meaningless players. Major League Soccer would be lucky to compete with minor league baseball.