European Attitudes to American Soccer

[reds4ever]

Theres a cracking Budwieser ad running on English TV at the moment taking the p1ss out of American attitudes to soccer, saying they'd introduce 'sudden death multi ball' instead allowing draws etc. pretty funny.

[Colon™]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
DanS may be trolling, but I think that's part of the hype I've described in my opening post that Europeans may be reacting to, which makes them look more snide towards American soccer.

Sniding? Nooooooo, what makes you think that?

[DanS]

Originally posted by Colon
You also used to be pretty certain Somalia is a terrorist's hornet's nest.

You need only look at paid attendance, TV deals, stadium deals, etc. to figure out where this is headed. We have something that works for the US market (whereas we didn't before).

As stated, it's dissimilar to the way other countries do it. For instance, every college has a soccer team.

[Agathon]

The Americans are getting good. Sure, the domestic league is not world class, but their international squad gets better every year and they are producing some excellent players.

Somewhere in an American ghetto, there's a black kid who will be the next Pele. When he turns up, American soccer will explode.

[Az]

Originally posted by reds4ever
Theres a cracking Budwieser ad running on English TV at the moment taking the p1ss out of American attitudes to soccer, saying they'd introduce 'sudden death multi ball' instead allowing draws etc. pretty funny.

[Bereta_Eder]

why does it matter to americans if they're good or considered good in football?

[BeBMan]

A bit more competition can't be that bad.

[Imran Siddiqui]

What, you don't think Freddie Adu is that person?

I'm getting flack on other forums for being too concerned how Europeans percieve American soccer, but I think it is important that the big dog respect you and your players.

[alva]

Originally posted by reds4ever
They show American soccer late at night in the UK, I've watched the odd game the standard looks about equal to the English first division (which confusingly is really the third division, don't ask!)

I really like the way every competition's name either champions league or premier or bestest league while we're already talking about guys with beer belly's that would make Michael More proud.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by DanS
You need only look at paid attendance, TV deals, stadium deals, etc. to figure out where this is headed. We have something that works for the US market (whereas we didn't before).

As stated, it's dissimilar to the way other countries do it. For instance, every college has a soccer team.

I know you are trolling Dan, but attendance isn't that great (less than hockey used to pull in by a good margin). Stadium deals are actually good (though some teams still play in multi-purpose stadiums which has adverse effects, such as the non-retangular field at the last D.C. United match). The TV deal?! MLS PAYS ESPN to broadcast games... it's supposed to work the other way around.

Oh, as for colleges having soccer teams, by the time they get out, they are usually too old to develop into uber-stars in Europe. Adu, Gaven, Beasley, Donovan is the prefered European way (get 'em before they go to college).

[SpencerH]

I think the American soccer team has made great strides forward and I like to watch them. I think the american commentators about the american soccer team suck ****. Strangely, I dont remember any european comments about the team. Maybe thats their comment in itself!

[BeBMan]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
What, you don't think Freddie Adu is that person?

I'm getting flack on other forums for being too concerned how Europeans percieve American soccer, but I think it is important that the big dog respect you and your players.

Well, honestly... that shouldn't really be a prob. I remember from various international tournaments that most people enjoyed it when the (so-called) underdogs beat the "big guys", or achieved at least good results, or simply played great, but lost. Those teams often won a lot of sympathies. That was the case with teams from different continents, it didn't matter where they came from.

[DanS]

but attendance isn't that great

I think you're selling the league way too short. Over 15,000 people are paying over $20 per match on average. It's a sustainable business that has a lot of years of steady growth ahead of it, as they try out new markets and discard markets where it didn't work out. Who would have thought that a town like Columbus, Ohio could support a soccer team so well, for instance.

[Az]

MLS PAYS ESPN to broadcast games...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by DanS
I think you're selling the league way too short. Over 15,000 people are paying over $20 per match on average. It's a sustainable business that has a lot of years of steady growth ahead of it, as they try out new markets. Who would have thought that a town like Columbus, Ohio could support a soccer team so well, for instance.

How is that countering that attendance isn't that great? It's a good number and will sustain a league, but it's not going to produce a France or England within 30 years. 15,000 is a decent number, but before we start thinking of world domination, we gotta get that number to 30,000 average, at least. That would indicate a growing popularity of the sport.

Of course, the MLS still hasn't matched the attendance of its first year (which was close to 17,500 per match).