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US has a much stronger footballing culture than Jamaica
eportuga10 (USA)
Love how people make a big deal when an American born player of immigrant back ground chooses their country of heritage over their country of birth as if it's a really tough decision. It's actually a very easy decision I think, because there's no where on earth where the beautiful game is less appreciated than the United States, and most immigrants in the U.S. come from countries with very strong football cultures anyway.
21 replies
04/09/2012 at 21:03
GraySoul (USA)
Mcants32 totally nailed it on the head. I have a lot of family that are Mexican born and American raised but would still choose USA over Mexico any day.
04/09/2012 at 21:01
ChivAtar (Mexico)
@Mcants32, I don't think this applies to Johnson, he chose to play for Jamaica because that's where his heart is, make no mistake. If he would of chose to play for the US, I think he would be getting a lot of playing time(Altidore has and he's Hatian.) That doesn't mean that he's not good enough to play for the US. I actually think there's better talent in Jamaica, than the US. In Jamaica, players are skilled and have street football smarts, that most footballing nations have. They just lack the football structure/resources, and good coaches to install good discipline.
04/09/2012 at 20:20
ChivAtar (Mexico)
I agree with you 100%, eventhough Johnson was born in Jamaica.
04/09/2012 at 19:37
Mcants32 (England)
well your argument is strong in theory, and applies to rossi and subotic who chose to play for italy and serbia, respectively, over the United States. I would argue that the United States has a much stronger footballing culture than Jamaica, but the truth is, Ryan Johnson likely chose Jamaica for the same reason Arturo Alvarez chose El Salvador over the U.S., because there is no way in the world that either of them are talented enough to play for the United States. If Johnson were good enough for the USA...hed play for the USA
04/09/2012 at 19:03
addoesq (USA)
I agree. Most are going to choose the country of heritage since the promotional opportunities are much higher when you are from a nation that appreciates football.
05/09/2012 at 19:01
Kicker22 (England)
Isn't it ironic that even though Jamaica is 'not a permanent fixture' at the World Cup (mainly because of resources), that the country is still ranked 4th on CONCACAF and doing better overall than other countries that are permanent fixtures? Jamaica made history in 1997 becoming the first English-speaking Caribbean country to qualify for the World Cup (1998). They ended in Group H, along with Argentina, Croatia, and Japan. Their first game was a 3–1 defeat to Croatia in Lens, with Robbie Earle scoring Jamaica's goal. Jamaica ended its participation with a 2–1 victory over Japan.
05/09/2012 at 17:31
eportuga10 (USA)
Edimon, I meant in general not specifically about Johnson. I just read it over and found out that it's the other way around and Johnson was born in Jamaica and raised in the U.S. But either way, born in U.S., raised in U.S., born elsewhere, raised elsewhere; I believe 7 out of 10 times the player is going to choose the other country. And this has nothing to do with which country's better at football, there are a great many countries out there that are worse than the U.S. at football but still have a greater love for the game.
05/09/2012 at 16:24
JamRockBoyz (USA)
@Mcants32...Jamaica is more naturally skilled then american players they just need proper resources and very needed discipline.. 1. your comparing a first world country to a third world country. 2. USA has never beaten jamaica in a qualifier in kingston. 3. im almost 100% sure if we had the resources you guys did we wud rise above usa. I give donovan, bradley and dempsey and maybe jones their props, but most americans arent skilled soccer playerss....their just very textbook
05/09/2012 at 05:46
JamRockBoyz (USA)
And i totally Agreee with you Chivatar
05/09/2012 at 05:45
JamRockBoyz (USA)
I disagree with you Mcants32, Football in the united states has RECENTLY just started to grow a football culture and its growing quick,Most americans dont grow up playing soccer..In jamaica football is one of the national sports which jamaicans take very serious as any other football nation would. USA is not their yettt. and im also a born jamaican who was raised in the united states, but i love jamaica to with all my heart and i wudd choose jamaica over USA anyday like johnson would, its his culture and his homeland
05/09/2012 at 05:34
Vinotinto28 (USA)
Funny. Portugal's average top flight attendance is 17,500. In the USA, it's 18,500. Nowhere on earth is the beautiful game less appreciated than Portugal.
05/09/2012 at 03:46
pfvc95 (USA)
GraySoul And I know many people that are American born but with Mexican roots that would rather play for Mexico, works vice versa, but they know that there is no way in the world that they could play for Mexico, therefore they opt to play for the US. Example being Miguel Ponce who won a gold medal and is California born; chose to play for Mexico although could have played for US and was good enough to play there.
05/09/2012 at 02:55
Kicker22 (England)
To say that if Johnson was good enough play for the USA he would have done it, is utter rubbish. Sports men and women all over, competes not necessarily for the country they live in. It's like saying if Usain Bolt or Yohan Blake was good enough they would run for the US. What the Jamaican players need to do now is to keep consistent, continue to play the way they have been playing and they will go a long way.
05/09/2012 at 02:37
Kicker22 (England)
Jamaica does have a much stronger footballing (soccer) culture than the USA. Football is engrained in the Jamaican culture. Attending or supporting the annual competitions, namely the DaCosta Cup and the Manning Cup, is a ritual for most Jamaicans. Klinsmann, the US coach commented: "Jamaica itself, having watched them, is a very good team. They have tremendous physical qualities, a lot of speed in there." He pointed to those playing not only in Major League Soccer (MLS), North America's top league, but in Europe as proof of the Jamaicans' ability, underlining why they should not be underestimated.
05/09/2012 at 02:20
Mcants32 (England)
@chivatar...Jamaica playing street soccer has nothing to do with their quality. The United States is far superior to Jamaica....in fact they are not too far off from my beloved England. As a mexican I know you will not give the States any credit...but both the USA and Mexico are becoming world powers, and to even compare Jamaica to the United States is insulting to the progress America has made. Jamaica is not a permanent fixture at the World Cup, im not even sure if they have ever qualified. And no, Johnson would not see time for the United States.
04/09/2012 at 23:04
Edimon (Brazil)
eportuga10 is crazy. First, I don't know if Johnson would get too many PT with USA. Second Jamaica hasn't more tradition in soccer (or "beautiful") soccer as he said, Jamaica don't play a World Cup since the 90'. So, please don't tell fool things. AAAhhhh, Altidore has haitian heritage, but he's american.
05/09/2012 at 21:08
Kicker22 (England)
From where i'm sitting most of the Jamaican squad plays MLS, professional UK
05/09/2012 at 20:53
Kicker22 (England)
@ChivAtar, I totally agree with you. Jamaica is a footballing nation, the USA is not, and when you say that football is "passion, love, music, art, and runs in your veins like blood"; that is how Jamaicans see football. It's more than a sport, and when that sport becomes a medium for someone to escape from a life of poverty (like in Brazil and Mexico) it becomes "a way of life".
05/09/2012 at 20:01
ChivAtar (Mexico)
@Mcants, Also, the fact that I'm Mexican doesn't mean that I'm biased. The USA's progress in football is considerable, but it's not because of great talent. The US has progressed thanks to their resources, structure, and youth programs, but not talent! The US has practically all the ethnicities of the WORLD living there, and they can't find talented players??? That's why they are having to rely on Naturalizing players from other countries. Bottom line, Jamaica is a footballing country, and the USA isn't! And YES, If Altidore, and the other Colombian striker get playing time, then Johnson would've seen-playing-time.
05/09/2012 at 19:46
ChivAtar (Mexico)
@Mcants32, You're only right on one thing, that's the part where you say that the US is very close to England, very true. I mentioned the part of street smarts because that's what I mean about Jamaica being a footballing nation(something the US isn't). Also, that's the part of the game that Americans don't understand. Football is passion, love, music, art, and runs in your veins like blood. Americans don't feel like that about football. In fact, they think of it as an inferior sport. If football has grown in the US, is thanks to WOMENS football. Jamaica played at-France-98.
07/09/2012 at 03:16
eportuga10 (USA)
Mcant's you can't seriously believe there's a stronger football culture in the U.S. compared to Jamaica lol. We're not talking about sheer numbers of people who like the sport. Doesn't matter how many stadiums you fill or how many fanatic fans show up making a scene at the game... A TRUE football culture is when football is first and foremost even OUTSIDE the pitch: In your average cafe, restaurant, bar, city park, streets, schools, grocery stores... etc. In Jamaica that IS the case. In the U.S. it's not even close, people would rather talk about college football (American) before soccer.
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/prelimi....html#comments
Love how people make a big deal when an American born player of immigrant back ground chooses their country of heritage over their country of birth as if it's a really tough decision. It's actually a very easy decision I think, because there's no where on earth where the beautiful game is less appreciated than the United States, and most immigrants in the U.S. come from countries with very strong football cultures anyway.
21 replies
04/09/2012 at 21:03
GraySoul (USA)
Mcants32 totally nailed it on the head. I have a lot of family that are Mexican born and American raised but would still choose USA over Mexico any day.
04/09/2012 at 21:01
ChivAtar (Mexico)
@Mcants32, I don't think this applies to Johnson, he chose to play for Jamaica because that's where his heart is, make no mistake. If he would of chose to play for the US, I think he would be getting a lot of playing time(Altidore has and he's Hatian.) That doesn't mean that he's not good enough to play for the US. I actually think there's better talent in Jamaica, than the US. In Jamaica, players are skilled and have street football smarts, that most footballing nations have. They just lack the football structure/resources, and good coaches to install good discipline.
04/09/2012 at 20:20
ChivAtar (Mexico)
I agree with you 100%, eventhough Johnson was born in Jamaica.
04/09/2012 at 19:37
Mcants32 (England)
well your argument is strong in theory, and applies to rossi and subotic who chose to play for italy and serbia, respectively, over the United States. I would argue that the United States has a much stronger footballing culture than Jamaica, but the truth is, Ryan Johnson likely chose Jamaica for the same reason Arturo Alvarez chose El Salvador over the U.S., because there is no way in the world that either of them are talented enough to play for the United States. If Johnson were good enough for the USA...hed play for the USA
04/09/2012 at 19:03
addoesq (USA)
I agree. Most are going to choose the country of heritage since the promotional opportunities are much higher when you are from a nation that appreciates football.
05/09/2012 at 19:01
Kicker22 (England)
Isn't it ironic that even though Jamaica is 'not a permanent fixture' at the World Cup (mainly because of resources), that the country is still ranked 4th on CONCACAF and doing better overall than other countries that are permanent fixtures? Jamaica made history in 1997 becoming the first English-speaking Caribbean country to qualify for the World Cup (1998). They ended in Group H, along with Argentina, Croatia, and Japan. Their first game was a 3–1 defeat to Croatia in Lens, with Robbie Earle scoring Jamaica's goal. Jamaica ended its participation with a 2–1 victory over Japan.
05/09/2012 at 17:31
eportuga10 (USA)
Edimon, I meant in general not specifically about Johnson. I just read it over and found out that it's the other way around and Johnson was born in Jamaica and raised in the U.S. But either way, born in U.S., raised in U.S., born elsewhere, raised elsewhere; I believe 7 out of 10 times the player is going to choose the other country. And this has nothing to do with which country's better at football, there are a great many countries out there that are worse than the U.S. at football but still have a greater love for the game.
05/09/2012 at 16:24
JamRockBoyz (USA)
@Mcants32...Jamaica is more naturally skilled then american players they just need proper resources and very needed discipline.. 1. your comparing a first world country to a third world country. 2. USA has never beaten jamaica in a qualifier in kingston. 3. im almost 100% sure if we had the resources you guys did we wud rise above usa. I give donovan, bradley and dempsey and maybe jones their props, but most americans arent skilled soccer playerss....their just very textbook
05/09/2012 at 05:46
JamRockBoyz (USA)
And i totally Agreee with you Chivatar
05/09/2012 at 05:45
JamRockBoyz (USA)
I disagree with you Mcants32, Football in the united states has RECENTLY just started to grow a football culture and its growing quick,Most americans dont grow up playing soccer..In jamaica football is one of the national sports which jamaicans take very serious as any other football nation would. USA is not their yettt. and im also a born jamaican who was raised in the united states, but i love jamaica to with all my heart and i wudd choose jamaica over USA anyday like johnson would, its his culture and his homeland
05/09/2012 at 05:34
Vinotinto28 (USA)
Funny. Portugal's average top flight attendance is 17,500. In the USA, it's 18,500. Nowhere on earth is the beautiful game less appreciated than Portugal.
05/09/2012 at 03:46
pfvc95 (USA)
GraySoul And I know many people that are American born but with Mexican roots that would rather play for Mexico, works vice versa, but they know that there is no way in the world that they could play for Mexico, therefore they opt to play for the US. Example being Miguel Ponce who won a gold medal and is California born; chose to play for Mexico although could have played for US and was good enough to play there.
05/09/2012 at 02:55
Kicker22 (England)
To say that if Johnson was good enough play for the USA he would have done it, is utter rubbish. Sports men and women all over, competes not necessarily for the country they live in. It's like saying if Usain Bolt or Yohan Blake was good enough they would run for the US. What the Jamaican players need to do now is to keep consistent, continue to play the way they have been playing and they will go a long way.
05/09/2012 at 02:37
Kicker22 (England)
Jamaica does have a much stronger footballing (soccer) culture than the USA. Football is engrained in the Jamaican culture. Attending or supporting the annual competitions, namely the DaCosta Cup and the Manning Cup, is a ritual for most Jamaicans. Klinsmann, the US coach commented: "Jamaica itself, having watched them, is a very good team. They have tremendous physical qualities, a lot of speed in there." He pointed to those playing not only in Major League Soccer (MLS), North America's top league, but in Europe as proof of the Jamaicans' ability, underlining why they should not be underestimated.
05/09/2012 at 02:20
Mcants32 (England)
@chivatar...Jamaica playing street soccer has nothing to do with their quality. The United States is far superior to Jamaica....in fact they are not too far off from my beloved England. As a mexican I know you will not give the States any credit...but both the USA and Mexico are becoming world powers, and to even compare Jamaica to the United States is insulting to the progress America has made. Jamaica is not a permanent fixture at the World Cup, im not even sure if they have ever qualified. And no, Johnson would not see time for the United States.
04/09/2012 at 23:04
Edimon (Brazil)
eportuga10 is crazy. First, I don't know if Johnson would get too many PT with USA. Second Jamaica hasn't more tradition in soccer (or "beautiful") soccer as he said, Jamaica don't play a World Cup since the 90'. So, please don't tell fool things. AAAhhhh, Altidore has haitian heritage, but he's american.
05/09/2012 at 21:08
Kicker22 (England)
From where i'm sitting most of the Jamaican squad plays MLS, professional UK
05/09/2012 at 20:53
Kicker22 (England)
@ChivAtar, I totally agree with you. Jamaica is a footballing nation, the USA is not, and when you say that football is "passion, love, music, art, and runs in your veins like blood"; that is how Jamaicans see football. It's more than a sport, and when that sport becomes a medium for someone to escape from a life of poverty (like in Brazil and Mexico) it becomes "a way of life".
05/09/2012 at 20:01
ChivAtar (Mexico)
@Mcants, Also, the fact that I'm Mexican doesn't mean that I'm biased. The USA's progress in football is considerable, but it's not because of great talent. The US has progressed thanks to their resources, structure, and youth programs, but not talent! The US has practically all the ethnicities of the WORLD living there, and they can't find talented players??? That's why they are having to rely on Naturalizing players from other countries. Bottom line, Jamaica is a footballing country, and the USA isn't! And YES, If Altidore, and the other Colombian striker get playing time, then Johnson would've seen-playing-time.
05/09/2012 at 19:46
ChivAtar (Mexico)
@Mcants32, You're only right on one thing, that's the part where you say that the US is very close to England, very true. I mentioned the part of street smarts because that's what I mean about Jamaica being a footballing nation(something the US isn't). Also, that's the part of the game that Americans don't understand. Football is passion, love, music, art, and runs in your veins like blood. Americans don't feel like that about football. In fact, they think of it as an inferior sport. If football has grown in the US, is thanks to WOMENS football. Jamaica played at-France-98.
07/09/2012 at 03:16
eportuga10 (USA)
Mcant's you can't seriously believe there's a stronger football culture in the U.S. compared to Jamaica lol. We're not talking about sheer numbers of people who like the sport. Doesn't matter how many stadiums you fill or how many fanatic fans show up making a scene at the game... A TRUE football culture is when football is first and foremost even OUTSIDE the pitch: In your average cafe, restaurant, bar, city park, streets, schools, grocery stores... etc. In Jamaica that IS the case. In the U.S. it's not even close, people would rather talk about college football (American) before soccer.
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/prelimi....html#comments
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