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I don't see it that way at all.
At the moment the US soccer gets at best, third tier athletes. They do not have a history of passion for the sport. In fact until not too long ago being a serious fan of the sport would almost attract ridicule in mainstream USA.
USA Soccer has gradually built a community around the game and now have a financially viable and growing league. Again, not too long ago the MLS was considered a joke. I can remember people on this forum saying that it was maybe marginally better than Jamaica's premier league but not by much.Yes I have been here a LONG time
. Let us also not forget that professional soccer leagues in the US have failed miserably in the past. This was by no means a foregone conclusion. When people succeed against odds I give them ratings, MLS has done so.
But really I am talking specifically about THIS USMNT in THIS World Cup. They were given no chance to advance. They were playing against superior opposition on paper. They were the underdogs. They proved most of us wrong, while others with far more talent available like ENG, ITA and yes, GHA, failed miserably.
As for purchasing players, well I hardly see a top team without some player who could be playing for someone else. Won't knock them for that
There are other feel good stories I am sure but since I had a personal interest in this one playing out as it did, that's the one that I have focused on.
At the moment the US soccer gets at best, third tier athletes. They do not have a history of passion for the sport. In fact until not too long ago being a serious fan of the sport would almost attract ridicule in mainstream USA.
USA Soccer has gradually built a community around the game and now have a financially viable and growing league. Again, not too long ago the MLS was considered a joke. I can remember people on this forum saying that it was maybe marginally better than Jamaica's premier league but not by much.Yes I have been here a LONG time
. Let us also not forget that professional soccer leagues in the US have failed miserably in the past. This was by no means a foregone conclusion. When people succeed against odds I give them ratings, MLS has done so.But really I am talking specifically about THIS USMNT in THIS World Cup. They were given no chance to advance. They were playing against superior opposition on paper. They were the underdogs. They proved most of us wrong, while others with far more talent available like ENG, ITA and yes, GHA, failed miserably.
As for purchasing players, well I hardly see a top team without some player who could be playing for someone else. Won't knock them for that
There are other feel good stories I am sure but since I had a personal interest in this one playing out as it did, that's the one that I have focused on.
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