Comments on: Did the Beckham project succeed in the U.S.? http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/did-the-beckham-project-succeed-in-the-u-s/ Wed, 15 May 2013 02:45:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Futbol http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/did-the-beckham-project-succeed-in-the-u-s/#comment-47169 Sun, 10 Feb 2013 04:07:31 +0000 http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=8467#comment-47169 Simply put; the increase in the Hispanic population -mainly Mexican ; has definitely added to the growth for the sport in the USA.

]]> By: Saby http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/did-the-beckham-project-succeed-in-the-u-s/#comment-46672 Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:34:10 +0000 http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=8467#comment-46672 TO Art,

yours is a very good. balanced and objective comment. It doesn't diss either football(played with the hand) or football(played with the foot).

Its nice to get sane and rational posts once in a while, thanks for that.

]]> By: Art http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/did-the-beckham-project-succeed-in-the-u-s/#comment-46603 Sat, 12 Jan 2013 12:28:31 +0000 http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=8467#comment-46603 Much of this debate seems to have moved on from how successful Beckham has been helping the MLS grow to become the same old US v the World argument about football(gridiron) v football(soccer)...

As an football fan in England (that is a fan of both Man Utd and the Oakland Raiders). I started watching NFL when Lyle Alzado was playing. Heres my view. I enjoy both sports to watch but to play they are not for the same bodyshapes.

Lets be realistic – if Landon Donovan had prefered football to soccer with his frame even if he had bulked up how many positions could he have played on a football field at the top level he has reached in soccer – none, he's not big enough to be a cornerback... Lionel Messi is now seen as the best soccer player in the world but as a full grown adult probably would barely be big enough to make a top US high school football team unless he bulked his top half to be a scatback. Similarly Jason Pierre-Paul would not be suitable for soccer short of central defender or goallie and then he would have to be leaner than his frame would probably allow.

I'm guessing the reason for some or these disputes is that in the US soccer was first popular with girls and therefore not seen as a "proper" sport for guys whereas in the rest of the world it always was a guys game first. To be honest you should be proud of the fact that the US female soccer team led the way in promoting female soccer more across the world.

I wouldnt discourage the shorter, leaner guys (espacially kids) from taking up soccer in the US as surely its the sport their bodies as best suited to – it must be better for them to play some sport than none just because they are too small for football.

]]> By: dan http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/did-the-beckham-project-succeed-in-the-u-s/#comment-46473 Sat, 05 Jan 2013 20:40:43 +0000 http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=8467#comment-46473 Drewiswrong is just, well, wrong. We don't need the rest of the world in order to be "relevant." In fact we don't need the rest of the world at all when it comes to sports. the rest of the world can keep their second rate "sports."

]]> By: illuminated genius http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/did-the-beckham-project-succeed-in-the-u-s/#comment-46457 Fri, 04 Jan 2013 23:32:55 +0000 http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=8467#comment-46457 For soccer-football to get bigger in the USA there has to be a more competitive league. Europe and South America are the powerhouses in the club sport. I think in the future with enough money, there will be strong club teams in the USA competing against the elite in club soccer around the world. Soccer-football is the biggest and most competitive sport on the planet. Americans don't call it a real sport, but why does the whole world play it then and not American sports? You ever see a NFL world title anywhere? The world series in Baseball, NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup are NBA world titles, MLB World Titles, because in the professional club sports there is "No real world titles in clubs for these sports in America". America is stuck in the matrix. Soccer-football is big because it is a international sport played by 200 countries world wide.

]]> By: Nnoruka Udechukwu http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/did-the-beckham-project-succeed-in-the-u-s/#comment-46305 Tue, 25 Dec 2012 02:00:49 +0000 http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=8467#comment-46305 I do not really know what makes Beckham such a celebrity. Surely it cannot be because he is such a spectacular soccer player. Yes he could once "bend it" but I really do not put him up there with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, zidan, C. Ronaldo or Messi. I have seen great soccer players like Platini, Socrates, Croyff, Addiles Von Basten et al. You notice I didn't go as high as Pele or Maradona.

]]> By: Alex Gago http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/did-the-beckham-project-succeed-in-the-u-s/#comment-42794 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 05:44:52 +0000 http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=8467#comment-42794 The much fear of soccer in the U.S. that's to bad. U.S. Soccer is here to stay and attendance are greater than Basketball and Hockey.

]]> By: Uwhat? http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/did-the-beckham-project-succeed-in-the-u-s/#comment-41303 Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:07:46 +0000 http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=8467#comment-41303 As a sports lover what I find really strange is when people put down sports they don’t love, apparently unable to see any redeeming features. My love for sport is all embracing. I may not completely understand much of the terminology, the tactics, or the nuances of, say, the NFL or test cricket, but I can appreciate the athleticism of the players, the passion of the crowd, and the spectacle. So, while I'm not a fan as such, I would never say "I hate football" or "I hate cricket" because, if I look, I can find some elements of the game entertaining. It's like watching opera. I don't understand the libretto and it's not the kind of music I'd pick given the choice, but the vocal gymnastics, drama, and maybe even the costumes or set designs can provide moments to savor whether I "like opera" or not.
Furthermore, even if you don't like a sport, why attempt to belittle it or question the validity of its place on the sporting calendar? If it can generate an audience and/or participants then its berth is warranted; and, if you love sport, I would think you can find theater in any athletic endeavor, which is the primary reason the Olympics is able to exist? Yet still this bigoted attitude toward soccer persists in America, where some sections of the public and the media continue to deride the game and treat it as a pariah.
So why are these people so anti-soccer? Could it be that they’re running scared? After all, the credibility of soccer is evident geographically, historically, financially, and socially. The fact is it’s a global game with a massive audience and a tradition dating back longer than the USA has existed! So, unless you critics have 20/20 vision and the rest of the world wears bifocals, there must be some merit to the sport. Therefore, all I can surmise is that the bigotry you hear from America's anti-soccer brigade is born out of a fear that the domestic supremacy of their traditional sports could one day be displaced by the global behemoth that is Association Football.
Technically, I suppose, that could happen, especially if you see America’s appetite for sport as finite. For sure, the Beckham era has coincided with America's commitment to soccer increasing exponentially - the Barclays Premier League on NBC next season!!! Who'd have thought it? But the more likely scenario is that soccer will co-exist with traditional American sports, not surpassing them but becoming a significant addition to the sporting landscape. And that would be a good thing, not just for the game of soccer but across America’s sporting spectrum, as it could increase the global relevance of America as a sporting entity in a world where, currently, there’s “sport” and then there's “American sport”. That in turn could perhaps make the world more receptive to US sporting exports in a quid pro quo type scenario, meaning the much vaunted globalization of leagues like the NFL and NBA might turn from rhetoric into reality.
Of course, that's just speculation. But what I do know is that at present too many Americans adopt an isolationist policy to sport that marginalizes their athletic achievements on the world stage. Sport is sport, and the naysayers need to recognize that the rise of soccer in the USA is not an “either or” situation unless you make it so.

]]> By: Rec http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/did-the-beckham-project-succeed-in-the-u-s/#comment-39984 Sat, 01 Dec 2012 13:12:30 +0000 http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=8467#comment-39984 can anyone explain the meaning of baseball? why the players spit all the time, many times throwing in sequence- oh, sorry, didn't work, may I throw the ball again? – oh, yes, of cource, come on!
OMG is this the "real" sport?

]]> By: andy http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/29/did-the-beckham-project-succeed-in-the-u-s/#comment-39854 Sat, 01 Dec 2012 04:11:22 +0000 http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=8467#comment-39854 Becks for france?

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