Is Soccer in the United States Really Growing?

US Soccer Players ^ | Charles Boehm | February 26

[arthurus]

I have watched a few soccer games at my neighbor’s house and I call BS. Soccer is only good for post game riots.

[boop]

I LOVE that documentary. When the Cosmos paid Pele something like 1 million dollars US to play for one season it was the biggest contract in sports at the time.

Fun times, and it captures the mid '70s perfectly.

The closing song "Dirty Work" by Steely Dan just nails it.

[bramps]

Since I just came from watching an outdoor club tournament in New Hampshire on March 1 with games all weekend played from 8 am til 10 pm, I vote that it’s growing.

Also the New England Revolution certainly did their part to hurt American soccer when they recently let one of our best strikers, Juan Agudello, head to Stoke City.

A goal for the ages: (I was right next to the field for this gem)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhUJHKix070

[bramps]

Maybe the goal was a good example of team work, but please see post 43 for true brilliance.

[dfwgator]

And we found out what a jerk Chinaglia really was was.

[867V309]

And pretend you don’t have arms...

[Bob]

Soccer brings to mind high us school boys back in the day trying to get laid - a lot of running around and a whole lot of effort expended but no scoring.

[Political Junkie Too]

I'm sure there's a head or two in there somewhere.

-PJ

[Colonel_Flagg]

I’ll do you one better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNTM7iXEINw

Rangers vs. Dortmund, 1999 UEFA Cup. Twenty passes, stunning goal.

[Revolting cat!]

Wasn’t that offside?

[AlmaKing]

I’ll say it more plainly.

Soccer sucks and is downright un-American.

[Scoutmaster]

Are you suggesting that Mike Krzyzewski coaches soccer, too?

[nascarnation]

Saw stats in WSJ a few months ago that in the US, youth soccer and football are both trending down in numbers participating.

The only two youth sports trending up US nationally are hockey and lacrosse, although going up from very small numbers.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I shock many Europeans by telling them that they better hope soccer doesn’t get as big here like American football, baseball or basketball is now. Rather that just an occasional big name brought over here ( like Beckham ) all of the worldwide soccer clubs would suffer a major talent drain by players lured to the US by the big bucks. Few ever thought of that.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Or Pro Thunderball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15m_i6QPAXE

All 3 parts run for 22 minutes but it would have been an awesome sport

[trisham]

Soccer has coaches? Oh, you must mean *acting* coaches. Faking an injury does require some skill.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

That's a great one, too. People unfamiliar with the game don't understand the chess-like quality of plays like this. My parents were European, so I was raised with an appreciation for the game. American's are foolishly provincial when it comes to the world's most popular sport. Soccer really is "the beautiful game." It's not a communist conspiracy.

Some spectacular plays and goals:

Top 50 goals in football history
Ultimate Football Skills and Moves [HD]

No sport has highlights like soccer.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

I’ll see you Wilshere and raise you Dennis Bergkamp...

That was a nice trap right there...

Plus it’s worth it just to hear the Dutch commentator.

Lolz... Yes. Yes it was.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

That was sweet. I could watch soccer clips on YouTube all day.

I love the banana kicks and especially the bicycle kicks. I can't imagine attempting one. I was good at curving the ball, though. In a youth league, I scored three goals directly on corner kicks one season. I'm still proud of that ;-)

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Wasn’t that offside?

Offsides is determined by the player's position at the time the ball (the pass) is kicked, and "even is off." It's close, but it looks like he was onsides.