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Are The USA a Soccer Powerhouse Yet?
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<blockquote data-quote="Hazey" data-source="post: 124069"><p>Simple answer, no.</p><p></p><p>Firstly, because it will be incredibly difficult to break the hold of the 'big three' over American sporting culture; that is, Basketball, Baseball and American Football. Even Ice Hockey, which was an established sport, is dying out in front of these three powerhouses, albeit that the cause of that may be due to the foolish leasing of television rights.</p><p></p><p>Secondly, because football provides no opportunity for advertising time. Although baseball provides 'natural' breaks in play for adverts, the number of 'stoppages' in american football, basketball and ice hockey games simply to allow for adverts is incredible. If anyone noticed during the Stanley Cup coverage, being the most recent, how a period is meant to be 20 minutes long, yet as soon as their was a face off or penalty, or even a save by the goaltender, around the 10 minutes mark in each third, the coverage (and the game!!) was stopped so that the television companies could run adverts. The same is true in basketball and american football - the case is that they put these stoppages in because they need the broadcasting support, otherwise, like ice hockey, their sport dies.</p><p></p><p>Thirdly, American soccer will not be anywhere approaching a 'powerhouse' until it is taken up in colleges in the same way in which the major American sports are taken up - it is too heavily regarded as a youngsters, high school or women's game, and not as a proffessional sport on the same level as the major college sports.</p><p></p><p>Lastly, American soccer is handicapped by the league structure of sports in American. In every sport from Basketball to Baseball, the teams play in pre-set conferences where, no matter the standard of your team or where you finished the previous year, you are garranteed to play in the same league against the same opposition. Without the incentive of promotion or relegation, American soccer, and in fact any sport (however 'american' it is deemed to be) that is played in this set up plays below the level at which it should be playing if a promotion/relegation system was in place. Without this, American soccer cannot progress to the same level as a European league system, however deep and wide it's talent pool.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hazey, post: 124069"] Simple answer, no. Firstly, because it will be incredibly difficult to break the hold of the 'big three' over American sporting culture; that is, Basketball, Baseball and American Football. Even Ice Hockey, which was an established sport, is dying out in front of these three powerhouses, albeit that the cause of that may be due to the foolish leasing of television rights. Secondly, because football provides no opportunity for advertising time. Although baseball provides 'natural' breaks in play for adverts, the number of 'stoppages' in american football, basketball and ice hockey games simply to allow for adverts is incredible. If anyone noticed during the Stanley Cup coverage, being the most recent, how a period is meant to be 20 minutes long, yet as soon as their was a face off or penalty, or even a save by the goaltender, around the 10 minutes mark in each third, the coverage (and the game!!) was stopped so that the television companies could run adverts. The same is true in basketball and american football - the case is that they put these stoppages in because they need the broadcasting support, otherwise, like ice hockey, their sport dies. Thirdly, American soccer will not be anywhere approaching a 'powerhouse' until it is taken up in colleges in the same way in which the major American sports are taken up - it is too heavily regarded as a youngsters, high school or women's game, and not as a proffessional sport on the same level as the major college sports. Lastly, American soccer is handicapped by the league structure of sports in American. In every sport from Basketball to Baseball, the teams play in pre-set conferences where, no matter the standard of your team or where you finished the previous year, you are garranteed to play in the same league against the same opposition. Without the incentive of promotion or relegation, American soccer, and in fact any sport (however 'american' it is deemed to be) that is played in this set up plays below the level at which it should be playing if a promotion/relegation system was in place. Without this, American soccer cannot progress to the same level as a European league system, however deep and wide it's talent pool. [/QUOTE]
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