there's a pretty good chunk of the US (around 16% of the US population, of whom about half are in Texas and CA) who are by-and-large really into soccer.
there's a pretty good chunk of the US (around 16% of the US population, of whom about half are in Texas and CA) who are by-and-large really into soccer.
That puts it right up there with...I don't know???horse racing? Not top cinco, but probably top diez.
there's a pretty good chunk of the US (around 16% of the US population, of whom about half are in Texas and CA) who are by-and-large really into soccer.
That puts it right up there with...I don't know???horse racing? Not top cinco, but probably top diez.
yeah but horse racing enthusiasts are dying. Soccerball fans are increasing in numbers.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Resistance is futile. American kids love soccer. As they should...and you too.
I know most don't believe soccer/football is big in America. But soccer is the most played sport in America (Including all ages) I believe and I know it's the biggest women's sport in America.
And for women's soccer, the US is the best place to play in the world I believe. It's one of the few places you can actually get a scholarship and even play pro.
Didn't we have a big thread on this once before. Where the outcome was a conversation on the history of America not wanting a sport tied to England as a possible reason it's played down in the country?
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Except women's soccer, been watching NBC network coverage only.
Watch about 2 hours in the evening. And a grueling 3-6 hours on the weekend.
Can't take all the commercials.
In terms of up close and personal profiles they are shorter, fewer and better than the past.
I've always liked Michael Phelps.
I like competitive swimmers from Baltimore. I married one.
Costas interviewed him before the olympics and asked if he gets the medals he needs would he be the Worlds Greatest Olympian. Seemed like he wanted to answer yes, but then said, support the team... just glad to be here... blah blah blah. Costas talked to him again the other night Phelps let it be known he now considers himself the Worlds Greatest Olympian.
Fuck Phelps.
He is not greater than Bolt, or Owens, whoever wins the triathlon, who ever won the triathlon in the past, Rudolph or Pistoruis. Muhammad Ali is an Olympian, does Phelps think he is better than Ali because there was only one medal for Ali to win in his weight? Apparently he does.
I like beach volleyball. Keep.
I have a problem with women's gymnastics. There is something wrong with a sport whose athletes peak before maturity.
The Olympic Committee has a long history of corruption. Requiring coaches to approach the judges with money is a bad look.
Fuck Phelps.
Phelps think he is better than Ali because there was only one medal for Ali to win in his weight? Apparently he does.
99% of swimmers can only concentrate on one stroke at one or two distances. The fact Phelps can compete at Freestyle, Butterfly & IM at multiple distances across 3 Olympic games at the highest level is truely remarkable. If you know swimming you know, otherwise I guess ignorance is bliss.
Just going on Olympic accomplishments I really can't see how anyone can honestly argue against Phelps being the greatest Olympian ever.
I say fuck Seb Coe. When asked if Phelps was the greatest of all time he answered no & just rattled off a whole host of Brits he thought were better. I have no doubt if there were a Union Jack next to Phelps' name he'd have said yes
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
My vote goes to: Carl Lewis, if it's not Jessie Owens.
Fuck Phelps.
Phelps think he is better than Ali because there was only one medal for Ali to win in his weight? Apparently he does.
99% of swimmers can only concentrate on one stroke at one or two distances. The fact Phelps can compete at Freestyle, Butterfly & IM at multiple distances across 3 Olympic games at the highest level is truely remarkable. If you know swimming you know, otherwise I guess ignorance is bliss.
Just going on Olympic accomplishments I really can't see how anyone can honestly argue against Phelps being the greatest Olympian ever.
I say fuck Seb Coe. When asked if Phelps was the greatest of all time he answered no & just rattled off a whole host of Brits he thought were better. I have no doubt if there were a Union Jack next to Phelps' name he'd have said yes
No one's saying he's not great. Great runners can compete in multiple events, and do. Some even do multiple sports (see Carl Lewis or the decatheltes/triathetes.)
But swimming is unique in the number of events you can medal in. You can be the best shot putter in the universe but the best you're ever gonna do is win one medal.
No question that the dude with the bionic legs that questionably shouldn't even be allowed to compete in the Olympics and finished in 8th place is a greater Olympian than the dude with 18 gold metals.
b/w
In 2016 they can fit the dude with bionic springs and he can win the high jump......hell, maybe even the pole vault.
Some even do multiple sports (see Carl Lewis or the decatheltes/triathetes.)
pretty sure I'll cop some heat for this but to me Decathlon/Heptathlon = jack of all, master of none (someone please try & persuade me why I should think otherwise)
Lewis is definitely up there though IMO for his feats as sprinter/long jumper
Dude competed in and won all the same events as Phelps (he has fewer medals cause there were fewer events in his era).
Plus dude did it with a bushy stache, full chest hair, and no swim cap.
His name alone is worth a medal.
GOAT.
THe problem with Spitz though is that he retired so (relatively) young. WIth Phelps, his domination of the sport has lasted at least eight years. If Spitz had only come back in '76...
I actually like it. I have no idea why they have cheerleaders and play rock music during actual play, but I like the sport itself. Now synchronized swimming ...
In 2016 they can fit the dude with bionic springs and he can win the high jump......hell, maybe even the pole vault.
Personally I'm pretty excited about the day when someone with bionic limbs wins a medal in the Olympics.
After the inevitable backlash and hand wringing I foresee a future where able bodied athletes start getting bionic enhancements to shave off those extra milliseconds. Public opinion will be taken regarding legality and, before you know it, the Cyborg Olympics will be born. Who wouldn't welcome a games where the shooting events are performed with bionic eyes rather than tiresome laser pistols and velodrome events where, instead of the bike mechanics in the middle of the track, you have athletes in Universal Soldier style rows being brought out of stasis for the race.
IIRC, Nikolai Zlich (with bionic legs) was shot from the crowd, allowing the yank (with a streamlined skull) to take the win. War ensued (a team contest) with JD coming up trumps for Mega City 1 (AKA Team America f**k yeah!).
No medals for War. To save the cost of human life, they had agreed the Sov-Bloc and Mega City 1 sides would settle their differences through a "Game" of war which was, IIRC, 5-a-side Painball-style, but with real guns. II also RC (and I am R-ing from about 32 years ago) the MC1 Ray-Guns were ineffective and JD did the biz close-range.
He then got a mic shoved in his face and, to his credit, ranted to the world that there were no winners and all war is stupid (but with more gravitas than how Boy George said this).
Comments
LOLWUT?
When has soccer ever been popular in the US? People pretend to care during World Cup/Olympics, and that's about it.
and always will be.
That puts it right up there with...I don't know???horse racing? Not top cinco, but probably top diez.
yeah but horse racing enthusiasts are dying. Soccerball fans are increasing in numbers.
http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-9677907
MLS soccer has passed the NBA and NHL for attendance in the US.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/soccer/story/2011-11-07/mls-passes-nba-as-third-best-attended-american-sport
And for women's soccer, the US is the best place to play in the world I believe. It's one of the few places you can actually get a scholarship and even play pro.
Didn't we have a big thread on this once before. Where the outcome was a conversation on the history of America not wanting a sport tied to England as a possible reason it's played down in the country?
Except women's soccer, been watching NBC network coverage only.
Watch about 2 hours in the evening. And a grueling 3-6 hours on the weekend.
Can't take all the commercials.
In terms of up close and personal profiles they are shorter, fewer and better than the past.
I've always liked Michael Phelps.
I like competitive swimmers from Baltimore. I married one.
Costas interviewed him before the olympics and asked if he gets the medals he needs would he be the Worlds Greatest Olympian. Seemed like he wanted to answer yes, but then said, support the team... just glad to be here... blah blah blah. Costas talked to him again the other night Phelps let it be known he now considers himself the Worlds Greatest Olympian.
Fuck Phelps.
He is not greater than Bolt, or Owens, whoever wins the triathlon, who ever won the triathlon in the past, Rudolph or Pistoruis. Muhammad Ali is an Olympian, does Phelps think he is better than Ali because there was only one medal for Ali to win in his weight? Apparently he does.
I like beach volleyball. Keep.
I have a problem with women's gymnastics. There is something wrong with a sport whose athletes peak before maturity.
The Olympic Committee has a long history of corruption. Requiring coaches to approach the judges with money is a bad look.
99% of swimmers can only concentrate on one stroke at one or two distances. The fact Phelps can compete at Freestyle, Butterfly & IM at multiple distances across 3 Olympic games at the highest level is truely remarkable. If you know swimming you know, otherwise I guess ignorance is bliss.
Just going on Olympic accomplishments I really can't see how anyone can honestly argue against Phelps being the greatest Olympian ever.
I say fuck Seb Coe. When asked if Phelps was the greatest of all time he answered no & just rattled off a whole host of Brits he thought were better. I have no doubt if there were a Union Jack next to Phelps' name he'd have said yes
No one's saying he's not great. Great runners can compete in multiple events, and do. Some even do multiple sports (see Carl Lewis or the decatheltes/triathetes.)
But swimming is unique in the number of events you can medal in. You can be the best shot putter in the universe but the best you're ever gonna do is win one medal.
Dude competed in and won all the same events as Phelps (he has fewer medals cause there were fewer events in his era).
Plus dude did it with a bushy stache, full chest hair, and no swim cap.
His name alone is worth a medal.
GOAT.
No question that the dude with the bionic legs that questionably shouldn't even be allowed to compete in the Olympics and finished in 8th place is a greater Olympian than the dude with 18 gold metals.
b/w
In 2016 they can fit the dude with bionic springs and he can win the high jump......hell, maybe even the pole vault.
pretty sure I'll cop some heat for this but to me Decathlon/Heptathlon = jack of all, master of none (someone please try & persuade me why I should think otherwise)
Lewis is definitely up there though IMO for his feats as sprinter/long jumper
THe problem with Spitz though is that he retired so (relatively) young. WIth Phelps, his domination of the sport has lasted at least eight years. If Spitz had only come back in '76...
I can't wait until the gold medal match...so they can stop airing beach volleyball.
If beach volleyball is good for Wilt, it's good for me
Personally I'm pretty excited about the day when someone with bionic limbs wins a medal in the Olympics.
After the inevitable backlash and hand wringing I foresee a future where able bodied athletes start getting bionic enhancements to shave off those extra milliseconds. Public opinion will be taken regarding legality and, before you know it, the Cyborg Olympics will be born. Who wouldn't welcome a games where the shooting events are performed with bionic eyes rather than tiresome laser pistols and velodrome events where, instead of the bike mechanics in the middle of the track, you have athletes in Universal Soldier style rows being brought out of stasis for the race.
IIRC, Nikolai Zlich (with bionic legs) was shot from the crowd, allowing the yank (with a streamlined skull) to take the win. War ensued (a team contest) with JD coming up trumps for Mega City 1 (AKA Team America f**k yeah!).
So did Dredd weep when he got his gold? I guess it'd be hard to tell if this was still in the days when he was always helmeted.
Holding it on the moon is a touch of genius though - I hadn't even got that far in the thought process.
No medals for War. To save the cost of human life, they had agreed the Sov-Bloc and Mega City 1 sides would settle their differences through a "Game" of war which was, IIRC, 5-a-side Painball-style, but with real guns. II also RC (and I am R-ing from about 32 years ago) the MC1 Ray-Guns were ineffective and JD did the biz close-range.
He then got a mic shoved in his face and, to his credit, ranted to the world that there were no winners and all war is stupid (but with more gravitas than how Boy George said this).
Heavy message for the kids.
Sanchez in particular, never seen a grown man cry so hard and for so long.
Why must he cry?
Stereotype alert: temperamental latin.
And no talk this time around about why swimming is racist.
What gives?
Dude, bike, outfit are one of the Games highlights IMO.