Americans are soccer-savvy ... and that scares little Englanders

[kenosis]

Invoking shades of Oswald Spenger's Der Declinen des Westus or any sort of cultural garrison state world-view comes this interesting piece. As a rabid Chicago Fire (soccer) fan that watched the MLS All-Star team beat Chelsea (with a stacked deck, I accept) last year this piece really spoke to me. I'm not ready to believe this utter insanity yet,

Comments

[ragnarok20]

It's funny. Somehow I get the distinct impression that had any American referred to it as 'speaking American' we would have been called something akin to 'Americentric' and called closed minded or something.

Re: It´s all about South America, Baby

[kenosis]

As a football fan, and that is the British and I say, CORRECT, way of saying it, I say yawn.

I don't know that one can be correct about the naming of a sport, but whatever. It's a word that's used in some places around the world to describe the sport -- except in places like the US, Canada, and Australia. Keep in mind the etymology of the word "soccer" isn't American, after all.

As soon as they hit a certain age they stop playing and anything they learned about the sport, which is usually not much imo, goes out the window.When I was a kid -- that is, when soccer teams in the NPSL lasted a year before folding, and played on baseball fields, and played with rules that were definitely not internationalized, and may or may not have been indoor soccer, I would agree with you. But, when I played, I didn't play with people on my team had favorite players were Kaka, Ronaldinho, Didier Drogba, etc, who were able to watch soccer on television, watch an MLS game live, and played with international rules. I didn't disagree with my coach's 3-5-

How many South Americans play in Europe?

[gaelfarce]

When enthusiasm is combined with a high quality of life, vast pay and benefits packages, and a top tier team of internationals then players will come. Comparisons between the US and other countries doesn't factor in the economics of it all.

[trilliumgrl]

For reference's sake: the book you mention is How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer

Because I am a nerd....