04/18/24
October 12, 2005
Nike marketing soccer outside the 'burbs: Short but cool video attempting to take the great game away from moms with vans and to the "trailer homes in Texas." Heh. I like the idea behind the project but dislike the "this American game" reference. My head tells me Americanizing the world game is the only way to sell it to our inner city youths but damn, do we always have to take the inventions of others and make them our own?
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY to soccer at 10:00 AM - 17 comments
Here's a spare period for you to use, HATER 187.. Soccer is reinvented in every country that plays it. To me, one of the most interesting things about the beautiful game is the variety; even within continents, national playing styles are well developed. If the USA plays a new version of soccer, so much the better. The ad was fun to watch. I love seeing the USA beat Mexico.
posted by Hugh Janus at 11:26 AM on October 12, 2005
They're strategy isnt going to matter in the long run because USA will never compete like it should be able to until our best atheletes care about soccer. Right now they dont, nobody is turning down baseball, football, or basketball scholarships to play soccer for their favorite college team. It just doesnt happen. If we got college towns going nuts about soccer then the rest of state would follow. I like playing soccer, not so much watching it though. What is with offsides, in any other sport its called getting beat. Does the goalie really need so much help?
posted by Drallig9399 at 12:38 PM on October 12, 2005
Hater didn't your mother teach you if you don't have anything constructive to say, just STFU
posted by acesrt132 at 12:40 PM on October 12, 2005
Ehhh, the Germans don't get baseball, and I think Soccer is boring. (For that matter, I think baseball is boring) But every time they mentioned "This American Game", I wondered what sport they were talking about. LaCrosse... That's an american game.... America only cares about soccer when the world cup comes up, and we're eliminated fast enough that they soon forget... By the time it rolls around again, your average viewer is still going, "Where's that Lexi Lalas guy... He was OK."
posted by LostInDaJungle at 12:43 PM on October 12, 2005
I heard they are going to pass out orange slices in inner city schools?
posted by Turbo at 12:48 PM on October 12, 2005
soccer will never get over in the states. the game places too much emphasis on defense. it has a nice niche market and should be happy with that. edgy, hip advertisments like this (and the new nhl one i might add) insult the core fan base. soccer can never be an urban sport, it requires lots of wide open space, which is something that the inner city is lacking. keep it in the burbs.
posted by HATER 187 at 01:24 PM on October 12, 2005
Where's the controversy? Soccer is an American game. OK, it wasn't invented in the States, but then, neither was golf. HATER 187: STFU, asshole.
posted by salmacis at 04:49 PM on October 12, 2005
For those that say Soccer will NEVER fully take root in the American main stream, consider this: The quality of play within the U.S. , at ALL age levels, has improved significantly in the past 20 years. This is a function of increased participation and associated competition. The game is definitely growing within this country at a notable (not explosive) pace. Like any other sport, it's rise in popularity and public involvement, is a progressive evolution. As the U.S. continues to improve, we will eventually see a shocking positive appearance in the world cup. If this happens, it could be the tipping point in exposure and popularity. (Similar to hockey's re-birth after the 80 Olympics). USA FIFA Ranking has gone from Nothing to 7th ....not bad .. this IS a reflection of development and growth !!
posted by Z-man at 05:10 PM on October 12, 2005
Finally the states are talking about soccer. Its good that they are finally trying to get people fired up for soccer. All you hear about is football, baseball, and basketball which i don't have a problem with since i watch those sports too. But i'm more of a soccer fan than anything else. The U.S. can count with my support. Just remember one thing soccer is played all over the world and soccer rules!!!!
posted by ogmustang at 05:15 PM on October 12, 2005
For some reason, assertions that soccer will never be big in the USA always strike me as like the commonly-expressed 19th century opinion that man would never fly. The assertions are generally just that, assertions only, and if they do contain any shred of supporting argument, it's always based on the current picture WRT professional sports. In fact, that picture changes a lot more frequently than some people seem to think, and most of the "always been this ways" that underpin the anti-soccer arguments have, in fact, probably not been that way for very long at all.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 05:43 PM on October 12, 2005
ogmustang and Z-man, welcome. I hope you stick around and we see more of you on the boards. salmacis, point taken but please, don't call golf a sport. IMHO it's an activity, a game, but not a sport. This may sound simple but if there's no running and/or physical contact and/or chance to bleed, it's not a sport. lbb, great example and explanation.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 06:27 PM on October 12, 2005
Note to self: It's okay to insult golf but not soccer here. I think all countries have a tendency to make things "their own," not just the U.S. How are you going to market something without making it appealing to the masses?
posted by riss at 06:43 PM on October 12, 2005
In like with what I said just above, riss, sports and sports popularity wasn't always all about marketing.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:58 PM on October 12, 2005
I don't know if anyone saw yesterday's Financial Times, but Sepp Blatter (president of Fifa) wrote an article claiming that football has fallen victim to "a wild west sort of capitalism." He asks what could be the value in paying "sometimes foul-mouthed" 20 year olds sums that their fathers couldn't have earned in a decade. It's a really good article for those with FT subscriptions or access to Wednesday's print edition. Though it borders on preaching socialism, I think it's worth reading.
posted by Bixby23 at 08:19 PM on October 12, 2005
Soccer is growing in popularity and in participation in the USA, and it will continue to do so. It is one of the few team sports that allows freedom of action. The player with the ball decides on his/her own what action to perform on the field, verses having to be forced to initiate a play designed by a sideline coach, or coaches, like in football. Another fact that all soccer enthusiasts should research, is the history of the game, its origination, and participation throughout the world within a chronological timetable. The first organized sport played in North America, Central America, and Southern America was a sport similar to today's soccer. The first sport played by the original Pilgrim's who landed in the Eastern part of USA, was soccer, while at the same time their hosts, the local native Indians where playing their own version of soccer...the sport of Rugby was developed from soccer in England, and the sport of American Football, was developed from Rugby after it became popular in the USA...the first organized sport played in the original Ivy League colleges here in the states was soccer. Therefore, the chance of it becoming popular sport in the USA, is potentially, and historically very possible, if not inevitable. What comes around goes around. NOTE: Historically, the various forms of the game of soccer played throughout the world was extremely violent, people were killed after the game as part of the celebration or sacrifice, the heads of criminals and prisoners of war were used as the soccer ball in some countries, and various Kings and Queens of England used to ban soccer from being played by local villages, because of its brutal violence. Today's game is played with rules and regulations to minimize the historical violence, allowing today's soccer player to demonstrate the intellect and the artistic athletic abilities that humans are capable of during high level of competition, and yet somehow preserving the compassion, and humanity of man and women who are pumped full of adrenaline. And yes, eventually violence always finds a way out, and that is evident in all team sports, that is why we have the concept of the referee...who acts like the lid on top of hot tea pot boiling with water.
posted by phason at 11:31 PM on October 12, 2005
Note to self: It's okay to insult golf but not soccer here. Point taken and I'm sure salmacis meant no harm. Personally, I try to stay away from commenting on games I dislike or have no respect for and should have done so again with the mention of golf. It was only used as an analogy, and I should have let it go. I think all countries have a tendency to make things "their own," not just the U.S. That's probably true but the difference here is so stark that I think the statement "this American sport" is alarming. America displays itself to the rest of the world as a global sporting power (I'm not getting into politics) and yet the world's sport is way down the list in spectator poularity here. We call the baseball championship the "world series" while the league's teams compete in only 2 countries, the NBA Champions "world champions" while, again, the league's teams compete in only 2 countries (and there is a FIBA World Championship) and the Super Bowl Champions "world champions", completely ignoring the fact our neighbors to the north play a similar game while the rest of the "world" doesn't play it at all. Maybe my opinion is shaded because I started playing soccer in 1970 in American football-mad Texas and needed no one trying to sell soccer to me as an American sport. In fact, at that age and through the teenage years I was a rebellious little troublemaker and embraced the fact that soccer was different. I refused to be a sheep and do things, "the way they've always been done." Bringing soccer to the masses here in the States is something I will fight for until the day I die. I just think we have to learn it's OK to enjoy a sport that isn't innately American. Sepp Blatter (president of Fifa) wrote an article claiming that football has fallen victim to "a wild west sort of capitalism." bixby, while I agree with Blatters premise, he has so little respect throughout the soccer world that this will probably come across as just another rant. Another fact that all soccer enthusiasts should research, is the history of the game, its origination, and participation throughout the world within a chronological timetable. Very true and a couple of examples of informative reading are National Pastime and How Soccer Explains the World. The first book is tedious but very informative; the second I read in 2 days...very entertaining.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 11:15 AM on October 13, 2005
I was fine with soccer staying over seas. watching soccer is about as fun as a kick in the jewels