Are You a Fan of USA Mens Soccer?

[Pepe Silvia]

How many of you cheer for Team USA soccer? This question can be answered by everyone but it is directed mainly towards Americans on the forum.

Do you feel this team is representative of the talent pool of athletes that USA has to offer? What are your thoughts on the direction of this team under Klinsmann? Are you a fan of the Stars and Stripes' style of play?

Don't forget to vote.

 

[FCBarca]

Hard to enjoy the style of play of the US as they lack a real style, IMO...But I've rooted for them and several players over the years...The worst thing about the US men's hockey defeating the USSR at Lake Placid was having to endure the mind numbingly repetitive U-S-A chant for everything...Sing something else

 

[Djab]

I'm not American but sometimes am rooting for USA national team. Like their friendly against Germany or in the WC against Ghana. But I didn't root for you in 1998 world cup because America played against us then and I was a 3 years old kid.

Anyway, good luck for the USA national 'Football' team in 2014 cup.

 

[XaviMessiGirl]

Despite being American, I've never felt very connected with the national team. I don't equate football with nationalism so I don't feel like I need to be invested in how they do. I care more about players I like or those who play for clubs I like. I know a lot of people think this is the "wrong" way to feel (I argued with a few people about this during the last WC, but I don't think any of them post here anymore) but that's my opinion.

As for the style, I agree that I don't really see anything concrete or consistent. There is also still not enough quality to really be challenging on the world stage. However, as long as the sport is still low on the list of priorities in this country, I don't really see that changing. It is sad that there could be potential superstars in the US that never realize this. The vast majority of kids who play soccer quit before they're old enough to really tell and move on to other, more popular sports like basketball, baseball & American football.

However, I do think MLS as a league is making improvements (even if slowly). I'm interested to see where this new team in Florida ends up going & if they can attract good players besides ones whose careers are nearly finished. I'm also seeing a shift in the fanbase & atmosphere, the "family oriented" bit is still there but I'm also seeing glimpses of the European ultras atmosphere, at least in some cities like San Jose, Portland & Seattle. Going to an Earthquakes game now vs. going to one several years back, I definitely see a marked difference. More chants, more flags/banners, more organized groups. If I wasn't about to move to a city that has no professional club within a few hundred miles, I would probably be interested in going to more MLS games these days.

But basically, the way I see it - if MLS becomes an exciting league, more Americans will take an interest in the sport. If that happens, more will want to take up a career in it rather than just play as a childhood hobby. And when that happens, the talent pool will grow & we'll begin to see more quality in the national team.

 

[BerkeleyBernie]

USMNT has been unwatchable in the past. Still is.

Soccer in the US, until the "soccer mom" boom, was an East coast prep school sport, as exemplified by Bob Bradley and his ilk. They modeled their play on English hoof-ball, all forward play in channels, athleticism and grit. God-awful boring stuff.

Mostly excluded from that group were the more technically skilled players from US immigrant communities.

With the booting of Bradley and the hiring of Klinsmann, and several generations now having grown up playing soccer as kids, I expect the US to take a turn for the better over the next decade.

There still will be competition for great athletes from the dominant American sports. However, soccer will still be a sport in which shorter players can excel (unlike basketball and football), and the population of the US is so large that there are bound to be a few dozen top athletes who will emerge and will gravitate towards soccer.

No longer bound to the antiquated mindnumbing English game through the East coast prep school system, with the influx of players from cultures steeped in futbol, greater awareness of the European game, and the immense top-drawer resources of the US for the training and development of athletes, I expect the US to become a major soccer power and much more entertaining to watch in the coming years. Not this year, but I expect the following World Cup to show a glimpse of the future.

 

[FCBarca]

Nice Bernie...Yeah, the US could be a great footballing nation but the best athletes tend to mostly switch into the big money sports and the ones most highly mediacized in the country - NBA, NFL, MLB...There continues to be amazing players around the country because on the grassroot level, the sheer numbers alone guarantee that there will be gems...So even if they lack the training or schooling that the best footballing nations possess, they have athletes & talents in immigrant communities all over the country

I think it's very cultural and question whether the US will ever really get behind the sport like they do the others as it lacks the aggression and hype of the other sports that are glamorized there, IMO...The nuances of the game are largely overlooked or simply ridiculed by most sports fans in the US...My two cents anyway

 

[dakt]

I can hardly see football in US gaining popularity level necessary enough to produce good players/game. From mine POV, americans don't really enjoy sports where they aren't the best.
Hmm, I remember loving to watch NBA during the 90s...but I haven't been watching it ever since. I know maybe 3 players from the NBA today.

 

[XaviMessiGirl]

I think it's very cultural and question whether the US will ever really get behind the sport like they do the others as it lacks the aggression and hype of the other sports that are glamorized there, IMO...The nuances of the game are largely overlooked or simply ridiculed by most sports fans in the US...My two cents anyway

Yep, more often than not, when a non-fan finds out I'm passionate about the sport, their first reaction is something like "oh, that game where everyone rolls around like they've been shot? How can you enjoy that?" To an extent, I can understand why someone who is used to following more physical sports would have that opinion, especially in the past few years when diving/feigning injury has become a tactic among an increasing amount of players. But it's still irritating that it has such a reputation among the "non-initiated".

There is so much about football/soccer that you just don't see in many other sports. The tactical aspect is on a whole other level to anything else, there are so many philosophies a team or coach can subscribe to that really make watching a multitude of games enjoyable. I follow ice hockey & baseball here in the US, but I almost never watch any other games besides my local team, because I don't find the sports captivating enough as a whole to maintain a vested interest in them outside of my own team. Football is a different story.

 

[Chainsaw]

How did you become a fan at the first place Lindsay?

 

[FCBarca]

Yep, more often than not, when a non-fan finds out I'm passionate about the sport, their first reaction is something like "oh, that game where everyone rolls around like they've been shot? How can you enjoy that?" To an extent, I can understand why someone who is used to following more physical sports would have that opinion, especially in the past few years when diving/feigning injury has become a tactic among an increasing amount of players. But it's still irritating that it has such a reputation among the "non-initiated".

There is so much about football/soccer that you just don't see in many other sports. The tactical aspect is on a whole other level to anything else, there are so many philosophies a team or coach can subscribe to that really make watching a multitude of games enjoyable. I follow ice hockey & baseball here in the US, but I almost never watch any other games besides my local team, because I don't find the sports captivating enough as a whole to maintain a vested interest in them outside of my own team. Football is a different story.

I remember meeting the family of my brother's girlfriend (Both of whom were finishing up at Stanford) and asked them if they were following the World Cup...The father laughed and said 'That communist sport'?

 

[XaviMessiGirl]

How did you become a fan at the first place Lindsay?

Happened to meet someone who was really into it, who initially got both me & my mother interested. Only watched the PL at first, then later on started watching other leagues like La Liga & Serie A.

It used to be so hard to follow, because it's only in recent years that the sport has become more easily accessible here (even if through pay channels most of the time). And I didn't know about streaming sites until I started reading this forum. It sucks because I missed out on seeing a lot that other fans my age got to experience. People are often surprised when they find out I've only been following the sport for a decade, since I tend to have a bit of an "old-school" opinion on many issues.

 

[Ghost]

They have potential.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

No longer bound to the antiquated mindnumbing English game through the East coast prep school system

I agree whole-heartedly with your post but this part stuck out to me, and I'm curious to hear from you or anyone else on why USA will no longer be bound to the ivy league recruiting system?

 

[footyfan]

Is this thing about the Ivy League and east prep schools true? I got accepted to multiple Ivy League schools and they didn't give two shits that I played football. But then again, I was an international student.

I think the US really does have the potential to improve and become a global power. The infrastructure is excellent, they are only missing the culture.

 

[BerkeleyBernie]

I agree whole-heartedly with your post but this part stuck out to me, and I'm curious to hear from you or anyone else on why USA will no longer be bound to the ivy league recruiting system?

I don't know the ins and outs of player development in the USA, from youth to adult. But Klinsmann is clearly a break from the past, and brings more international awareness, willing to seek/develop technical players instead of merely athletic ones. I'm sure the old English influence will take awhile to die out, and caucasian Americans likely watch more EPL than anything else. God knows I have to put up with clueless teammates in every game I play for whom the midfield doesn't exist and every touch is best launched into the box (no matter the distance, the lack of target players, or number of defenders), or dribbled down the touchline in a straight line to die a death in the corner or with a useless cross to some popup goals. But I hope the influx of non-preppie players will start to change the culture.