You know, it’s really a shame to see the impression most Americans have about soccer. There is just very little understanding of the game, and that transfers into the non-competitive nature of our play in the world competition.
Yes I do realize that America has made it into the World Cup several times in a row now. And I realize that we have done better than we have in so 40 or 50 years. But we hardly are considered a challenge to the best nations in the world. In fact, the common expectation is that while we may qualify, we are just going to be out in the first rounds.
An example of what I mean comes from this video clip. It’s with Shaq and a few other players goofing around. It is comical, but it also explains why we are so bad as a nation at soccer.
The point is that soccer is not serious. That it’s something you do as a joke. That anyone can do it.
I’m not picking on Shaq. But it’s just the cavalier way in which soccer is presented to the nation that I am addressing.
We have more resources, people, and ability than almost every nation in almost every sport you can name. We can train the very best in the world on a regular basis for anything we choose. And we win against everyone in the world almost at will.
But soccer eludes us. Because we don’t care enough to try. I just don’t get it.
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