^ If college athletics was at the competitive level of pro athletics, many more college players would make their way into the top flight pro ranks.

8/5/2007 4:07:43 PM

College football and basketball are amateurs billed as amateurs.

They're not pretending to be "Major League".

8/5/2007 4:15:19 PM

ok, well mls is the best soccer league in the united states being billed as the best soccer league in the united states. do you disagree?

8/5/2007 4:35:34 PM

Quote :

"if that ain't some unfounded pretentious bullshit, i don't know what is. next time you post try pulling your head out of your ass first"

Unfounded? Pretentious? Either learn what those words mean or pull your head our of your ass and read the fucking posts. Did american pro soccer just magically transform so it has the best soccer players in the world? Even these soccer loving fags wouldn't go that far.

^That's like being the best basketball team in the colonial athletics association. Who gives a fuck?

Quote :

"Right, but the rest of the world loves soccer, and like Americans and college sports, they're willing to accomodate inferior athletics in the name of geographic allegiance and historical rivalries. That's why Shrewsbury Town FC still pulls thousands of fans to every game, even though they play in the fourth tier of English soccer."

That's great. What does any of this have to do with American professional soccer?


[Edited on August 5, 2007 at 4:58 PM. Reason : I'm talking about american soccer, morons.]

8/5/2007 4:49:30 PM

haha, so far this whole thing has been a huge bust. I love it.

8/5/2007 4:56:15 PM

Quote :

"Did american pro soccer just magically transform so it has the best soccer players in the world? Even these soccer loving fags wouldn't go that far."

no league can say that, b/c unlike your beloved american football, there is more than one soccer league in the world.

8/5/2007 5:10:38 PM

There is also more than one football league moron.

8/5/2007 5:22:48 PM

^^Actually, that's not even a point that is relevant to anything, and it's fairly obvious you are trying to grasp at straws for something to argue about since you can't argue with the main point.


Americans want their pro sports to be the best. MLS doesn't even offer the best soccer in the world. Therefore, it's not popular in America. The fact that no league can claim to offer the best soccer only guarantees that Americans will never like any league of soccer.


[Edited on August 5, 2007 at 5:41 PM. Reason : sdf]

8/5/2007 5:33:07 PM

^^you're right, there are 3, nfl, indoor, and canadien

euro league is closed



verses the 10,000 or so soccer leagues, probably more

[Edited on August 5, 2007 at 10:24 PM. Reason : .]

Quote :

"The fact that no league can claim to offer the best soccer only guarantees that Americans will never like any league of soccer. "

you're hitting on the larger issue, that americans only want the best in the world, that arrogance is quickly deterriorating, we are no longer #1 in everything like we used to be,
we're not the smartest, riches, healthiest, most booming economy,
we're are slowly joining the world in many things most predominately the world market
so our soccer league is not the best
once people start recognizing that there are other countries out there, they will start to compare their soccer league to the other leagues, and they will demand improvement

(i shorted the explanation at the end)


[Edited on August 5, 2007 at 10:29 PM. Reason : ..]

8/5/2007 10:23:47 PM

You could bring all the soccer players from Europe over here, and professional soccer still wouldn't catch on in America. I really wish they would do this for like 5 years, realize that the majority of us just dont give a fuck, and stop trying to make us like it.

8/5/2007 10:36:19 PM

i dont care if you like it, i like it and i wanna watch it, unfortunately i cant afford to pay for the whole league

8/5/2007 10:38:01 PM

^^^ I'm not really going to argue with that since it speaks for itself. It's an interesting idea: it will take the decline of America for Americans to become interested in soccer. In a sense, that was the point of the original post that started this discussion.

8/6/2007 12:16:59 AM

well i would'nt say it takes a decline, it takes awareness of america to the rest of the world
the top 3 american sports, american football, basketball, & baseball are all made in america
its not about best or worst, its that americans only enjoy stuff they created

[Edited on August 6, 2007 at 12:54 AM. Reason : .]

8/6/2007 12:54:34 AM

so would all of you faggots who only watch the very best like soccer if the US was home to the best soccer league in the world?

so fucking dumb.

8/6/2007 1:30:43 AM

I would watch the style of play that I enjoy.

For example, I find the Spanish style of play boring as fuck, so I don't watch La Liga. There's an argument to be made that La Liga is the best league in the world, but I really don't care.

8/6/2007 1:33:34 AM

that is fine, and understandable.

saying you don't like mls b/c it's bad soccer is a legitimate argument. saying you don't like mls b/c it's not the best soccer in the world, is not.

8/6/2007 1:37:02 AM

Quote :

"well i would'nt say it takes a decline, it takes awareness of america to the rest of the world the top 3 american sports, american football, basketball, & baseball are all made in america its not about best or worst, its that americans only enjoy stuff they created"

Yeah, because golf was invented in America

8/6/2007 1:44:48 AM

I don't watch MLS because it's not the best soccer in the world and I also have no attachment to it.

I watch USL-1 and PDL because it's local and I have an emotional investment in my local teams.

I watch the EPL because it's, in my opinion, the best league in the world.

The interest is completely different in each case.

8/6/2007 1:48:49 AM

Quote :

"so would all of you faggots who only watch the very best like soccer if the US was home to the best soccer league in the world? so fucking dumb."

A league could only be the best, dumbass, if it had the support to pay for the best talent. So yes, if the US had the best league, people would have to be watching it. You might as well ask "If communism worked as it was intended, would people be happy." The answer to the question is meaningless.

Furthermore, you don't understand that having the best league is only a necessary condition to ensure popularity in the US, not a sufficient one. Try not to get too confused puzzling over that.

8/6/2007 3:09:03 AM

# 2.3/6 FOX SAT MLB Baseball
# 1.7/4 ABC SAT NASCAR Busch USG Durock 300
# 1.4/3 ESPN SAT LA Galaxy vs. Chelsea
# 1.3/3 CBS SUN PGA Tour John Deere Classic
# 1.0/3 CBS SAT PGA Tour John Deere Classic
# 1.0/2 NBC SUN Golf American Century
# 0.9/2 NBC SUN Hy Vee ITU World Cup
# 0.8/2 ABC SAT NASCAR Countdown
# 0.8/2 ABC SUN WNBA All Star Game
# 0.7/2 CBS SUN Tour de France Highlights
# 0.7/2 CBS SUN Grand Prix of Germany
# 0.7/2 NBC SAT Golf American Century
# 0.6/2 CBS SAT SPT SP
# 0.6/1 ABC SUN British Open

8/6/2007 11:52:43 AM

Quote :

"Yeah, because golf was invented in America"

no, but it was introduced to america a very long time ago, its more of a hobby than a sport anyways

but if you want an example of how america doesnt give a rats ass about the rest of the world
look at the oscars, grammy, your nightly news

if you go to england, they have movies from all over the world, the news covers the whole world,
thats why i think americans dont like real football!!!

8/6/2007 7:24:10 PM

america would do well to have less dickwaving and more international culture.

8/6/2007 7:27:46 PM

^exactly. thank you

8/6/2007 9:20:21 PM

most worthless arrival ever!

8/6/2007 9:27:06 PM

Quote :

"saying you don't like mls b/c it's bad soccer is a legitimate argument. saying you don't like mls b/c it's not the best soccer in the world, is not."

Why? Most golf fans ignore the non-pga tours. I don't think anything is wrong with wanting to see the best. It's why minor league baseball isn't on tv.

8/7/2007 9:18:46 AM

Arguments for/against soccer that use other sports as evidence don't work because there's really nothing like the soccer in America situation. There are way more options to MLS for a soccer fan than there are for -- a football fan, college and NFL -- a baseball fan, minor leagues, MLB, college -- basketball fan, NBA, college, WNBA?, does anybody watch/follow European leagues (is it even possible)

Soccer fans can realistically follow - Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Primera, MLS, USL, college, and if they're diehard enough, they can probably find a way to follow pretty much any league in the world on the internet.

I'm not saying everybody should like soccer and that even though it's not the best, you should still love MLS if you already like soccer. It's just the difference in quality of players is evident in every level of sports that are already popular in the US (college < minors < majors) whereas in soccer, it's not. The argument about the best league in the world is an endless and annoying one. To each his own.

8/7/2007 9:55:36 AM

if soccer was played in america 50 years ago, there would be no NFL.... /exaggeration

8/7/2007 11:59:18 AM

Quote :

"if they're diehard enough, they can probably find a way to follow pretty much any league in the world on the internet. "

thats true with any sport though...if i was die hard enough to care i could follow dozens of european or latin american basketball leagues, for example

8/7/2007 12:15:05 PM

^ I never knew that... they actually have places to download games/watch streaming games?

8/7/2007 4:34:24 PM

Beckham may make his MLS debut at DC United tonight as a sub. Expect to see him in the 2nd half if he does play.

8/9/2007 7:40:05 PM

and there he is

8/9/2007 8:36:55 PM

And guess what. Nobody cares or is probably watching. Outside of people who were already soccer fans, which isnt many. NFL is on, and thats all that matters. No sports fan is gonna watch a shitty MLS game over NFL preseason.

/hype

This shit has already become a huge bust and lost whatever momentum it might have had.

8/9/2007 9:07:11 PM

actually...i'm a much bigger football fan than soccer, but i watched soccer from the moment beckham went in til the end of the game. if it had been regular season football, might've been a tougher call though.

[Edited on August 9, 2007 at 9:09 PM. Reason : lolz same time!]

8/9/2007 9:08:57 PM

and the award for "i have said the same thing 50 times in one thread" award goes to ^^

[Edited on August 9, 2007 at 9:09 PM. Reason : ]

8/9/2007 9:08:57 PM

^ seriously. be a bigger dbag RoyalFlush.

8/9/2007 9:12:54 PM

Quote :

"and there he is"

had a decent cross to start off too. i think hes going to be frustrated with the lack of finishing american soccer has right now considering his role on his teams

8/10/2007 12:28:22 PM

yea you could definitely see him get frustrated a few times

8/10/2007 1:43:23 PM

well they were a man down last night, im thinking him and donovan will have a good year next year together...i dont expect much from beckham the rest of this season since he just played a full season in spain

8/10/2007 2:09:43 PM

so did Man U get rid of him cause he was washed up?

8/10/2007 2:44:21 PM

man u got rid of him because beckham and SAF had a disagreement or something, i remember a story about a shoe thrown at beckham, i cant really remember all of it right now, but i also think they just wanted the money they could garner from his name as well...beckham isnt even washed up right now let alone back when he was with man u

8/10/2007 2:46:12 PM

Quote :

"beckham isnt even washed up right now "

he's past his prime right? and how the fuck long does it take for a sprained ankle to heal? has he played in 2 months?

i guess based on a few posts up that he finally did play in the last day or two

[Edited on August 10, 2007 at 2:56 PM. Reason : .]

8/10/2007 2:55:57 PM

that really depends. i would say hes probably just past his prime as far as keeping up with faster, younger players and such. But his trademark is set plays and long balls. long passes and setups/assists out of the midfield as well as corner kicks and set plays. think of a really good field goal kicker in football. i could be wrong but i would think age doesnt affect them as much as say a wide receiver who relies on speed.

that help at all?

8/10/2007 3:00:50 PM

actually yes, thanks

8/10/2007 3:01:51 PM

Beckham is the soccer equivalent of a quarterback. He can lob the ball down field with such such precision which is why he's so revered. Not many players have the same long ball placement as he does. He may not be quite as fast as he used to be (although he's still fast), but he's still a top midfielder.

8/11/2007 4:18:58 AM

And he can BEND it!!!!

8/11/2007 6:06:15 AM

http://www.arcadestreet.com/play-really-bend-it-like-beckham.htm

8/11/2007 7:55:46 AM

Beckham first half highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JYDzr-j4MM

8/11/2007 11:05:37 AM

you mean running back and fourth on the sideline?

8/13/2007 12:38:01 PM

^

8/13/2007 12:59:06 PM

^^ hey look, you got the joke.

8/13/2007 2:23:09 PM