Lol... Hope was just a East Washington redneck. It's wide open down there (and awesome btw). She stuck to her roots!
USA soccer
- Thread starter gobigbluebell
- Start date
<- is still a fan of Hope Solo and that is after knowing she's a raging c-word and seeing her nudies.
Thats the way I used to be years ago. They lost me though.
Still find it absolutely hilarious that they chose rapinoe as mvp of the big game, when it was clearly them keying on and double-teaming better players that got them there and got them the title
Being a crazy ass c-word.
Documents reveal new details about Hope Solo's actions last June
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Mark Fainaru-Wada, ESPN Staff WriterMay 29, 2015, 04:08 PM ET
https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story...-case-includes-reports-being-belligerent-jail
I mean whoever can forget the chick that took her shirt off when they won - that was the peak of USA women’s soccer
Italy-South Africa might have been one of the best games I have ever seen.
Watch it if you can.
Watch it if you can.
Off topic but went to see Messi in Cincy last night. What a treat watching the GOAT.
Great game and pretty good venue.
Great game and pretty good venue.
Was also there. Was high in a corner & had a great sight line view.
That over-the-hill Messi can come in to a weak MLS team and rip its best teams a new one shows how far off MLS talent is to Europe. Still entertaining & not complaining, but there's no comparison. Just a fact.
I'll disagree. While past his prime, he is still a decent player. His position, especially how Miami uses him, allows him to do what he does best without expending energy.
Tactically, the teams he has played against had leads and used poor strategy to close out the games.
Tactically, the teams he has played against had leads and used poor strategy to close out the games.
He may be past his prime because he's 36. But he's more than a "decent player". He's likely going to win the Ballon d'or for last year when he also won the Golden Boot at the World Cup. How can anyone claim that he's only "decent"?
Also, people underestimate the importance of Busquets and Alba to what Inter Miami is accomplishing. They are both also past their prime but far more skilled than just about every other MLS player.
Also, people underestimate the importance of Busquets and Alba to what Inter Miami is accomplishing. They are both also past their prime but far more skilled than just about every other MLS player.
I mostly agree. While it's great that MLS has expanded to cover a much larger national footprint, expansion has also diluted the talent level. I think there's also a wider range of quality amongst MLS clubs than you see in some other leagues. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say the quality level of individual MLS clubs runs from roughly the bottom 5 of the Premiership to mid-table League One. Just my opinion and curious to hear what others think.
MLS is what we got, and every U.S. soccer fan should support it and the minor league teams too. Never understood the "Eurosnob" mindset.
Back when MLS was only 12-16 clubs, I also heard talking heads compare it to the Dutch Honor Division, minus the big three clubs (Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven, and Feyenoord Rotterdam).
IMO, MLS isn't even even with England Championship. Best ten could play in it & do mediocre at best. W/o looking it up, I think the final points spread top to bottom in MLS is tighter than top Euro leagues, so overall more competitive. And that's with 30 teams vs. 18-20 over there.
Don't think expansion has diluted talent. Just bringing in players from other leagues that can't pay as much. Hence all the Latin America & Africa players. Very few Euros. Best MLS record FCC has zero Euros. I just look at average player salaries over leagues. MLS slightly below Championship.
Owners don't care. They're just in it to make money & thus have a salary cap way lower than the salaries in the top 5-7 Euro leagues. I'm OK with that.
So next WC is in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Are all 3 automatically qualified for the WC?
Is CONCACAF going to go through qualifying just to get 1 more team in?
Thanks in advance for the enlightenment.
Are all 3 automatically qualified for the WC?
Is CONCACAF going to go through qualifying just to get 1 more team in?
Thanks in advance for the enlightenment.
That's the ultimate millennial decision. Everybody from North America wins the bid.
They can play 2022 WC with all matches with 40 miles of each other but have to spread 2026 over an entire continent. LOL.
While you were sleeping, the USWNT was beaten by Mexico 2-0 in the Women's Gold Cup. Could have been 3-0 as Mexico hit the crossbar.
Uninspiring performance. Not exactly sure what is missing, but there is something seriously lacking. Unfortunately, Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, and Carli Lloyd are not walking through that door.
Uninspiring performance. Not exactly sure what is missing, but there is something seriously lacking. Unfortunately, Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, and Carli Lloyd are not walking through that door.
All those girls were crazy tough and this generation doesn't have near the competitive fire they had
I think you are right. I don't see toughness/fire like those girls in this USWNT version.
I don't see a pure #9. I see good technical skill in the back and mid fields, but then it bogs down in the front 1/3rd. I think we have several "decent" options as wings, but we don't have that go to striker........as you said above no Wambach, Hamm, or Lloyd. As an example, I think the announcers said that the US had over 60% of the possession but only managed 2 shots on goal against Mexico.
I also think coaching plays a role. While it could take a little time at first, I think things could stabilize when Hayes takes over in May.
I also have seen a huge revolving door with Vlatko and Twila......They've tried to play a bazillion players rather that just picking and sticking.
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After returning from Cologne this past Saturday evening, we watched Germany rough-up France 2-0. Good game. Florian Wirtz scored 7 seconds into the game. Shots on goal were 6-2 in favor of DFB. Loved it.
www.espn.com
Germany 2-0 France (Mar 23, 2024) Final Score - ESPN
Game summary of the Germany vs. France International Friendly game, final score 2-0, from March 23, 2024 on ESPN.
In other news, the USMNT defeated Mexico (again) 2-0 (again) to win the CONCACAF Nation's League (for the third time in a row).After returning from Cologne this past Saturday evening, we watched Germany rough-up France 2-0. Good game. Florian Wirtz scored 7 seconds into the game. Shots on goal were 6-2 in favor of DFB. Loved it.
Germany 2-0 France (Mar 23, 2024) Final Score - ESPN
Game summary of the Germany vs. France International Friendly game, final score 2-0, from March 23, 2024 on ESPN.
We also won in the stands, for another 2-0 victory.
Looking forward to the Copa America this summer as well as the USA-Colombia friendly/tune-up in June here in the DC area.
Always love beating Mexico. But I sure hope those idiots throwing water bottles get deported.
I watch how soccer dominates the lives of families as their kids play multiple games per week and travel regionally and I cannot believe our men’s team is not dominant. I am really glad none of my kids played soccer.
It'll get better.....but it takes decades upon decades.
I grew up in rural middle Tennessee. In the 80's-90's there were a few rec leagues for young kids, but that was it. I, myself, I played until I was about 10 yrs old, but then didn't have any opportunity to play. There weren't any older rec leagues, no travel/club teams, no teams in the schools. You had to go up closer to Nashville for all other opportunities. So, without options, I went into basketball/football. As of 2010, there were leagues for all ages (including adults) where I grew up.....and many schools had teams. There also was no major league soccer and certainly very few games on TV.
It has taken 30-40 yrs for soccer to reach all corners of the US with opportunity to play and watch.
It is expected for soccer to surpass baseball in viewership within the next 5-10 yrs........and basketball within the next 20-30 yrs. In fact, if football (my favorite sport) keeps changing their own rules of play, they'll start hemorrhaging fans before too long.
I've seen here recently a big shift in the schools around here in the Bluegrass. For example a local smaller school has 6 girls playing middle school basketball.......and 9 playing high school basketball. This same school has 28 girls playing middle school soccer and 25 in HS. There are multiple schools around the area that are showing similar trends.
Now, personally, I don't know if we'll reach a point in my lifetime that US soccer will be dominant on the world stage. We just have too many other sports that we love. However, we certainly will be more competitive on the world stage over the next 30+ yrs. It may not become our #1 sport soon, we have a lot of advantages that other countries don't have: significant population, wealth, etc.
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My grandfather came from Europe. In the 80s he would say soccer would be king in the U.S. in 10-20 years. More kids play today. It certainly is more popular here than ever. But, I know HS soccer players who are now in college who never go see their college teams play.
Definitely more popular, but I have been hearing we will be a force on the world stage for the last 40-50 years, and that hasn't happened, and still isn't happening.
I have a buddy who went to elementary school in a South American country in the 70's. Moved back to the US in middle school. Said all he did while in those elementary years was play soccer. Played in back yards, in parks, and in organized leagues......PLAYED NOTHING ELSE!!
Admitted he wasn't very good, was one of the last ones picked, and never did anything extraordinary in organized games. Was not a stand out player in a good way at all. Came back to the US and got to play in a city league in the south, and instantly became DOMINANT. Played till he was in high school and was not only always on league all star teams, but was usually MVP of the league. Definitely admitted the quality of opponents and teammates was a lot less than what he faced in South America.
Personally, I think it will always be that way, no matter how popular the sport is. There are just too many options for American kids, and they do not live and breathe the game every single day like they do in South America and a lot of other countries. I have said it for years and years, there is a visible and noticeable difference in quality when you watch the USMNT play Mexico and other countries. Simply watch first touches and passes and imagination. Now yes, the USA has had the better hand against Mexico lately, and perhaps other countries are losing soccer athletes to other sports as well, but who knows. USA may do a lot of things with athleticism, but the quality is a lot better from other countries.
The occasional WC run is nice, but being a contender for the next 20-30 years is doubtful in my opinion.
I have a buddy who went to elementary school in a South American country in the 70's. Moved back to the US in middle school. Said all he did while in those elementary years was play soccer. Played in back yards, in parks, and in organized leagues......PLAYED NOTHING ELSE!!
Admitted he wasn't very good, was one of the last ones picked, and never did anything extraordinary in organized games. Was not a stand out player in a good way at all. Came back to the US and got to play in a city league in the south, and instantly became DOMINANT. Played till he was in high school and was not only always on league all star teams, but was usually MVP of the league. Definitely admitted the quality of opponents and teammates was a lot less than what he faced in South America.
Personally, I think it will always be that way, no matter how popular the sport is. There are just too many options for American kids, and they do not live and breathe the game every single day like they do in South America and a lot of other countries. I have said it for years and years, there is a visible and noticeable difference in quality when you watch the USMNT play Mexico and other countries. Simply watch first touches and passes and imagination. Now yes, the USA has had the better hand against Mexico lately, and perhaps other countries are losing soccer athletes to other sports as well, but who knows. USA may do a lot of things with athleticism, but the quality is a lot better from other countries.
The occasional WC run is nice, but being a contender for the next 20-30 years is doubtful in my opinion.
I think his timeline was too quick, but he's not wrong.
Looking at MLS Attendance Over the Years
With the start of the 2019 Major League Soccer season this month, I found data on MLS team attendance per season since the league began back in 1996. I took that data, brought it into Tableau Public and found some really positive trends and tidbits, which isn't surprising.
koresoftware.com
If you look at the average MLS attendance since 1997.....it dipped....even stagnated for a decade, but the last 10 yrs have shown an upward trend.......and this includes adding 11+ more teams in the last decade and skyrocketing prices. Not to mention being able to get aged superstars like Messi....
Clubs are springing up all over the place which drastically boosts early development. While they aren't are demanding or intensive as they are in other countries, it'll benefit in the long run.
The US has population to draw from. As an example, France as a population of 68 million.......whereas the US is 332 million. I doubt we ever reach the per capita that France is, but we might be able to do it with volume.
The US also has massive immigration. Most people who immigrate to the US are soccer/football first fans who will raise their families as soccer fans.......this takes generations.
Follow the money.......as more and more fans flock to the sport, drive up TV contracts, sell more t-shirts, and attract more investors, the product will improve.
Something that gets overlooked with soccer is it's inability to change. Because it's a world sport, it's very, very difficult to make changes within the sport......thus preserving it. If you're old enough, you've seen the slow death of baseball as America's past time. And, I'm sorry to say it, but we'll start to see a decline in football over the next half-century because they keep changing it.
I probably have about 30-40 yrs left in my life. I don't think the US will ever be the likes of Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, France......especially not in my lifetime. But I think we can reach the level of England, Spain, Uruguay in my lifetime. A team that gets out of the World Cup group stage more often than not.....maybe gets another win or two fairly often........and maybe makes a final once a century. Right now we're historically ranked around 12th as far as countries of the world for all time. Getting up to England/Spain/Uruguay would mean cracking the top 10.
American football is on a downward trend in terms of participation at the youth level. It's not a heavy change, but it's significant enough to be noticeable. Other sports have taken its place.
Soccer, lacrosse, and even volleyball now.
Sponsorship money evaporated for the MLS for a while because all of the viewership was with other sports. What has been the biggest boon for US soccer has been streaming services, youtube, and availability of European soccer. Seeing the quality of play in Europe and the lack of significant injuries compared to US football has really made that a viable option for many, especially in areas where people don't have a football stadium/park in which to play. Being able to watch countless soccer training videos online has also been great for the sport.
Football here has always been about raw physical gifts and raw ability/strengths, where European and South American football has been about training, and advanced skills. Speed helps, don't get me wrong, but a player can make up for some lack of speed with other attributes.
Soccer, lacrosse, and even volleyball now.
Sponsorship money evaporated for the MLS for a while because all of the viewership was with other sports. What has been the biggest boon for US soccer has been streaming services, youtube, and availability of European soccer. Seeing the quality of play in Europe and the lack of significant injuries compared to US football has really made that a viable option for many, especially in areas where people don't have a football stadium/park in which to play. Being able to watch countless soccer training videos online has also been great for the sport.
Football here has always been about raw physical gifts and raw ability/strengths, where European and South American football has been about training, and advanced skills. Speed helps, don't get me wrong, but a player can make up for some lack of speed with other attributes.
I don't have data to dispute this, but I see a TON of kids (including girls) starting to play in flag football leagues.
I'd argue soccer is leveled off due to the travel requirement.
MLS revenue from sponsorship, season tickets, and merchandise is all up
“We have an audience that’s young, they’re multicultural, they’re tech savvy,” one MLS exec said. “Marketers are really drawn to that.”
MLS sponsorship money is booming
MLS revenue from sponsorship, season tickets, and merchandise is all up
“We have an audience that’s young, they’re multicultural, they’re tech savvy,” one MLS exec said. “Marketers are really drawn to that.”www.marketingbrew.com
MLS sponsorship money is booming
Now, yes, as others have stated above. But what killed it in the early 90s isn't affecting it now. That was the monopoly on eyeballs that the NFL, NBA, and MLB enjoyed because of limited viewing options.
Streaming has helped soccer and hockey immensely
Back in the 80s and early 90s it was a rare and special treat to get to watch the Sting play live on TV, and that was with poor broadcast quality. We lived for the World Cup years. Would binge watch all the games with my buddies. Thank God for VCRs (may they rest in piece).
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