England are today's later game. Four years ago they decided to not call up their big name geriatric stars and went young. They took some painful lumps and didn't make it out of their group stage. Two years ago Iceland humbled them by knocking them out of the European Championships. But, Harry Kane is their young striker and he is one of the best. Four years on and it should be interesting to see them play. Saying that, knowing England...they will lose. Hopefully not. 6/28 is their game against Belgium and if they stay in contention to advance that could be a killer match.
The Belgium National Team are absolutely stacked. Even their bench are full of Prem players. On paper they look like they should be finalists.
They're my favorite European team. Go Belgium!
Belgium is my sleeper team. I watched them beat the US in a friendly when they were still very young about 4.5 years ago and again during the last World Cup. A very deep team with a lot of potential. Should make a run in the second round.
Panama's passing skills were very poor. But, that probably says more about the US team as the Americans could only leave with a draw when they played Panama.
Those who say they don't like soccer, or that it is "boring"...watch England's 2nd and winning goal against Tunisia and then try and tell me this sport isn't exciting! So skilled and the ball was perfectly placed. In the 91st minute too!
With American youth development banning the header I don't know how we will be able to compete with the world.
Easy? A perfectly placed corner that was headed perfectly to Kane who then headed it brilliantly into the net. Pretty freakin' awesome. Makes up for at least one penalty that should have been awarded to him.
With American youth development banning the header I don't know how we will be able to compete with the world.
Don't get me started... Too late.
We won't. Thank "soccer moms".
"I want my little Bowie to be safe."
For the most part, soccer in the USA has been a Suburban rich kid's game. As the country becomes more diverse that will probably change. But, around the world it is a game played by the poorest of the poor as well as the rich. Another reason why we have yet to be able to hang with the best of SA and Europe. Banning headers until high school, however, definitely wont help the development of the game in the US.
With American youth development banning the header I don't know how we will be able to compete with the world.
Don't get me started... Too late.
We won't. Thank "soccer moms".
"I want my little Bowie to be safe."
For the most part, soccer in the USA has been a Suburban rich kid's game. As the country becomes more diverse that will probably change. But, around the world it is a game played by the poorest of the poor as well as the rich. Another reason why we have yet to be able to hang with the best of SA and Europe. Banning headers until high school, however, definitely wont help the development of the game in the US.
If the US wanted soccer to start being special then they need to create a league that revolves around spring and summer, not fall.
That was a legit red card for Columbia. Very early in the match (3min), but it was legit. Too bad for them.
If he did it on purpose, that's awfully early to trade a player for a save. Heck, a PK was awarded and then you have to play the rest of the game shorthanded. It would have been smarter to let it go.
Great game so far though. Lots of up and down action.
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
MLS runs from March 3rd through October 28th this year.
Yep. The MLS learned they couldn't complete with the NFL and Basketball, it's time that the youth leagues take notice.
I do think that may change in the future. I think in my lifetime soccer will edge into top 3 or even top 2 most popular sport in America. It is already immensely popular here in the Pacific NorthWest. The Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps all pull tens of thousands of rabid, passionate fans at every game. The Timbers are currently building new tiers to their stadium to increase seating and the Sounders can sell out Seahawks stadium. So, Top 3 when it overtakes baseball and top 2 will depend on the future of American football and how they convince parents, in particular Suburban parents, that new helmets/rules etc. dramatically drop the risk of getting a concussion (but you still can't head the soccer ball!).
I do think that may change in the future. I think in my lifetime soccer will edge into top 3 or even top 2 most popular sport in America. It is already immensely popular here in the Pacific NorthWest. The Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps all pull tens of thousands of rabid, passionate fans at every game. The Timbers are currently building new tiers to their stadium to increase seating and the Sounders can sell out Seahawks stadium. So, Top 3 when it overtakes baseball and top 2 will depend on the future of American football and how they convince parents, in particular Suburban parents, that new helmets/rules etc. dramatically drop the risk of getting a concussion (but you still can't head the soccer ball!).
I tend to agree with you. If I were a billionaire, I might look into buying a soccer team over other sports franchises as it might have the most room to grow. Everyone thinks that Football is untouchable, but they are already starting to show cracks. At one time, Boxing, Horse Racing and Baseball were the biggest sports in the country. And now only Baseball clings to a top-3 spot. Things change over time, and you only have to look at the youth leagues in the country to see that a lot of "future generations" are growing up playing soccer over baseball or football.
The Dan Patrick show hit upon an idea, almost in jest, about how the MLS should roll out Relegation (like they do in other countries) as a way to make things interesting for the MLS. I actually think that would be a brilliant way to build up a fan base. You could put teams in just about every city across the country, and build a nice little organic fan base. But instead of being a minor league team that plays meaningless games and usually has all it's players go to major league teams within a year. Each team would still have a chance to promote their way to the big show. It think that would get fans a lot more invested in their local "minor league" teams.
The Dan Patrick show hit upon an idea, almost in jest, about how the MLS should roll out Relegation (like they do in other countries) as a way to make things interesting for the MLS. I actually think that would be a brilliant way to build up a fan base. You could put teams in just about every city across the country, and build a nice little organic fan base. But instead of being a minor league team that plays meaningless games and usually has all it's players go to major league teams within a year. Each team would still have a chance to promote their way to the big show. It think that would get fans a lot more invested in their local "minor league" teams.
You would definitely have to have a lot more teams in not only big cities but also smaller cities too. In England there are multiple leagues, but the 2nd division is still way behind when it comes to talent and money. So the teams that tend to get relegated and promoted still struggle to elevate out of the danger zone and it can often be a flip flop...relegation/promotion etc. At the end of the day there are a handful of clubs in the Premiership with so much money that it makes it hard for the others to compete with them. That's why it was so brilliant a few years ago when Leicester City FC surprised all!
In the '90s Man City were the working class team equivalent to the Browns and Man United were the dominant club. City eventually got bought up by a billionaire who immediately brought in world class talent and completely flipped them around to the club they are today.
Yeah, I think it should work similar to the system they have in England. Even with the flip-flopping you would have, you still have people invested in the smaller teams that have a chance to grow big. You would probably also get a lot of fans that would like their hometown team, but then also root for one of the big fish in the big cities.
Honestly, it would work similar to how NCAA football is. You'd have your big teams that would always be on top, but there's still a chance for your local team to get big someday. With things like minor league baseball, you know your team isn't going anywhere. Your best players will get promoted within a year and even a Championship is pretty hollow. With a Promotion/Relegation system, it would keep things a lot more interesting at all levels.
They would just have to figure out how to handle things like the draft, free-agency, salary caps, etc. You wouldn't want to get your New York/LA teams relegated to the bottom, but you wouldn't want them to completely dominate the payrolls either.
Agreed on both accounts. Generation Y loves soccer and basketball more and more while the NFL and MLB loses them. Half of the MLB's fan base is over 50. They're dead in the water. Once the MLS copies the other leagues, with regulation leagues, and no salary cap, they'll be taken more seriously. It'd be great to see Star players play in the US during their prime and not when they're fossils. This is coming from a man who has seen Kaka play multiple times in the MLS in person. I think that the world cup will push Gen Y over the hump on soccer.
I think MLS should look into what works for all leagues and pull those into their model.
I like relegation from the English leagues because it keeps all teams in all leagues relevant. There's no tanking for draft picks, and every game throughout the season matters, right up until the end.
I like how the NCAA handles recruiting of new players, and how it has teams in cities across the country. NCAA football is big, because Alabama has a team, Kansas has a team, Idaho has a team. It's not 32 teams, and they're all threatening to move elsewhere.
I like how the NBA has a luxury tax. You could take implement something like that where rich teams can spend money, but there's a limit as to how much they can spend, and some of the money is filtered back down to the smaller teams in the league. You don't want a situation where teams in your big media markets are awful and are relegated, but you also don't want a situation like you have in England or Spain where there's a handful of teams that dominate, and everyone else is just column fodder.
They need to pull all of the best ideas together and make a unique league. That's what's going to set it apart from everything else and make it popular.
I do think that may change in the future. I think in my lifetime soccer will edge into top 3 or even top 2 most popular sport in America. It is already immensely popular here in the Pacific NorthWest. The Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps all pull tens of thousands of rabid, passionate fans at every game. The Timbers are currently building new tiers to their stadium to increase seating and the Sounders can sell out Seahawks stadium. So, Top 3 when it overtakes baseball and top 2 will depend on the future of American football and how they convince parents, in particular Suburban parents, that new helmets/rules etc. dramatically drop the risk of getting a concussion (but you still can't head the soccer ball!).
Not only are the Timbers adding 4k (ish) seats with the new section of the stadium, but there are almost 20,000 people on the waiting list last I heard.
Not only are the Timbers adding 4k (ish) seats with the new section of the stadium, but there are almost 20,000 people on the waiting list last I heard.
I am surprised it is only 4,000 additional seats. I drive past the stadium every day and it sure looks like a bigger project. I think the next step is to do something at the South end by the MAC. The current stands are small and they could easily go higher. Guess that depends on the MAC as it may be their property?
Argentina v Croatia about to start. On paper Argentina should dominate, but they underperformed against Iceland and Croatia are always pretty solid. Argentina now in a must win situation...this should be a really good match.
It's actually been a very physical match. Yes, there has been some diving, but a lot of elbows, knees and cleats are finding homes where they don't belong too.
Despite that being the fault of the goalie, what a freaking kick to put it in the back of the net!
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
Well, keep in mind how difficult it is to score in soccer...1 goal is like 2-3 touchdowns.
1-0 to Croatia at the moment...the goal was a gift from the Argentinian goalkeeper. To be fair, it should be about 3-2 at the moment as both teams have whiffed on potential opportunities to score.
Argentina's back is seriously against the wall. When was the last time they didn't make it out of the group stage? Especially disappointing given the talent and fire power they have on their team.
Iceland v Nigeria is now a crucial game for Argentina. They need Nigeria to win. But, with 4 goals conceded it isn't looking good for them.
Portland...2nd half of this game was great. Argentina were shut out, but it was full of tension and desperation, which allowed the game to really open up for Croatia. Great defense by the Croatians too!
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