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View Full Version : Former LA Galaxy manager Ruud Gullit explains why soccer will never fully take off in



The Kingpin
10-14-2008, 07:10 AM
...the USA

Interesting.... Is this sour grapes or a view from the inside?

http://link.brightcove.com/services/...ctid1854986200
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canadian_bhoy
10-14-2008, 07:12 AM
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Fail ;)

flatpicker
10-14-2008, 07:23 AM
EPIC FAIL?

http://soccerusareport.com/news/RuudGullit08 (http://www.redpatchboys.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=6803)

The Kingpin
10-14-2008, 07:27 AM
BIG TIME FAIL: SKY YOU HAVE LET ME DOWN!!

http://www.skysports.com/video/clips/0,23791,12606_4330457,00.html

The Kingpin
10-14-2008, 07:28 AM
EPIC FAIL?

http://soccerusareport.com/news/RuudGullit08 (http://www.redpatchboys.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=6803)

I want to do one on "Pure Class". How is it so many people are "Pure Class" and why aren't they in positions of influence? Anyway... Ruud thinks Americans are afraid of Soccer. Hmmmm.

Mark in Ottawa
10-14-2008, 07:41 AM
Afraid? No.
It is purely commercial. If we didn't "Invent it"... we can't control it.
If we can't control it... we can't maximize our profit from it.

flatpicker
10-14-2008, 07:45 AM
I can believe it somewhat.

North Americans like what they have and perhaps in some way feel like soccer is an encroachment on national identity.

As Ruud says, Yanks feel football, baseball and basketball might be threatened,
But Canadians might also feel a threat to hockey, especially since it fights to maintain popularity south of the border.

James17930
10-14-2008, 09:40 AM
Yeah, Ruud, it's a giant conspiracy. :rolleyes:

Def. sour grapes.

Roogsy
10-14-2008, 09:45 AM
Ruud doesn't understand the dynamics of North America. Spending 8 months in LA doesn't make you an expert on what is happening on this big continent.

The truth is that Americans can excel at any sport they choose. They simply have not chosen to pay much attention to soccer...yet.

Any success of the National team on the global stage will peak that interest. More immigration into the US will continue to grow the sport. And a successful MLS will help in that regard.

In 20 years, the US will have a consistently top 20 team in the world, if not a top 10. And there is a very real possibility that before our generation passes, the US could field a World Cup contending team.

Ruud doesn't know anything other than to play and maybe coach a little. It doesn't make him an expert on culture and sport development.

James17930
10-14-2008, 09:51 AM
Maybe we should be asking why Europeans find it so hard to follow more than one sport so closely.

flatpicker
10-14-2008, 09:52 AM
^ I don't think he said the Americans wouldn't do well at the sport.
He just said that the general population is resistant to seeing soccer become too popular.

but it was a couple hours ago that I watched the vid so maybe I am mistaken...

Dub Narcotic
10-14-2008, 10:50 AM
Ratings for Euro 2008 in the states were very good. The problem for MLS is transitioning the casual tv fans of international footy to paying fans of inferior domestic footy. It isn't just NA where the local league struggles because of the product coming over from Europe. I really think MLS can fill a niche in NA for a sport with a great live fan experience, unequaled over here except by American college sports, but it's a matter of building that up from that grassroots, where MLS has had mixed success.

Canary Canuck
10-14-2008, 12:12 PM
Gullit is right. There's a reason why American sports pundits like Jim Rome go out of their way to diss soccer and that's because they see the sport as a threat. It's a sign of insecurity. You don't see Jim Rome going out of his way to put down cricket, rugby or handball because there's no need to. There's no burgeoning interest or threat of those sports grabbing a foothold and no massive population of viewers tuning into ESPN each week in numbers to watch the sport as is the case with soccer. American sports pundits feel the need to try and put soccer back in its historical place by bashing it. It's akin to quelling an uprising. People like Jim Rome will never admit to this because they are totally unaware that what they are doing is a subconscious reaction that any human being would display.

romburgundy
10-14-2008, 12:24 PM
I see the sour grapes however he's right to a certain extent and we have the same issue here with Hockey. People are afraid because Hockey is part of the Canadian Identity.

denime
10-14-2008, 12:33 PM
Gullit is right. There's a reason why American sports pundits like Jim Rome go out of their way to diss soccer and that's because they see the sport as a threat. It's a sign of insecurity. You don't see Jim Rome going out of his way to put down cricket, rugby or handball because there's no need to. There's no burgeoning interest or threat of those sports grabbing a foothold and no massive population of viewers tuning into ESPN each week in numbers to watch the sport as is the case with soccer. American sports pundits feel the need to try and put soccer back in its historical place by bashing it. It's akin to quelling an uprising. People like Jim Rome will never admit to this because they are totally unaware that what they are doing is a subconscious reaction that any human being would display.

What he said!

denime
10-14-2008, 12:48 PM
Maybe we should be asking why Europeans find it so hard to follow more than one sport so closely.
Well as European I can tell you it's not.
Europeans have more different sports to follow than N.Americans,and there is more different sports on TV to follow,just few of them that you will never see here are Handball,Volleyball,Waterpollo,Track & Field,Rugby,starting with their domestic leagues over to European club and national championships.And those are legit sports played around the world.
Your question is childish if you ask me,and just one more proof that Gullit was right.
Yes, Americans are scared of soccer popularity and they do whatever they can to make it look bad.Unfortunately for them,more kids are playing soccer,than baseball ,basketball,American football or Hockey,they know the numbers and that concerns them.
This time soccer is here to stay for good,and I LOVE IT.

Beach_Red
10-14-2008, 02:09 PM
Your question is childish if you ask me,and just one more proof that Gullit was right.
Yes, Americans are scared of soccer popularity and they do whatever they can to make it look bad.Unfortunately for them,more kids are playing soccer,than baseball ,basketball,American football or Hockey,they know the numbers and that concerns them.
This time soccer is here to stay for good,and I LOVE IT.

Let's be clear - it's the media that's afraid of soccer, the American people are embracing it.

It'll take a little time, but it's clearly going to happen that soccer will be among the top sports in the US.

The national "identity" changes over time, it isn't carved in stone. The US sports world went from baseball being so far out in front it thought it could do anything to football coming along in the 60's and 70's and then basketball in the 80's and 90's.

People forget that the NFL couldn't find a network to broadcast Monday Night Football and bought the time itself and basketball couldn't get a network deal at all.

And now it's soccer. It'll happen. It'll take twenty-five years. MLS is about halfway there, the changes will start to happen fast now.

denime
10-14-2008, 02:16 PM
You are right,I should wrote US Media not people.

Oldtimer
10-14-2008, 02:33 PM
You are right,I should wrote US Media not people.

I remember listening to McLown's show when he was away. A bunch of sports journalists were bemoaning how the "good old days" when all you had to cover was hockey are gone. Now there's all these "new" sports -- it makes their life difficult.

Roogsy
10-14-2008, 02:36 PM
:D Poor them...

jloome
10-14-2008, 04:30 PM
It's just orthodox belief, as usual. For every 10 north american sports fans, two or three of them are so hardcore in their devotion that they DO see anything from outside as a threat. It's the reason why perfectly testosterone-drenched sports fans who love contact sports will nevertheless mock Nascar, because of its recent surge in popularity.

Unfortunately, having worked in newsrooms for 20 years I can tell you that at least half of sports reporters -- frequently more -- are in the rabid class that is protectionist. That's why they became sports reporters in the first place. The other half are kind of takign notice of that, recently, and trying to counteract it by pressing the issue with coverage and volunteer writing etc. But it's a tough row to hoe. It'll take a little more time, Toronto winning something, another team coming in.

And the balance seems to be shifting somewhat naturally anyway. One of the biggest soccer fans in our office these days is a sports writer, editor, racing columnist, and still loves the traditional stuff too.

So I'm impatiently optimistic.

MisterMacphisto
10-14-2008, 05:00 PM
Gullit is right. There's a reason why American sports pundits like Jim Rome go out of their way to diss soccer and that's because they see the sport as a threat. It's a sign of insecurity. You don't see Jim Rome going out of his way to put down cricket, rugby or handball because there's no need to. There's no burgeoning interest or threat of those sports grabbing a foothold and no massive population of viewers tuning into ESPN each week in numbers to watch the sport as is the case with soccer. American sports pundits feel the need to try and put soccer back in its historical place by bashing it. It's akin to quelling an uprising. People like Jim Rome will never admit to this because they are totally unaware that what they are doing is a subconscious reaction that any human being would display.

QFT

No sour grapes from Gullit. Sometimes in needs a fresh set of eyes to see something.

I think he's right on the sentiment that a lot of people DON'T want to see it succeed, but in the end, I think it will and MLS with continue to grow.

s2cazz
10-14-2008, 11:09 PM
Let's be clear - it's the media that's afraid of soccer, the American people are embracing it.

It'll take a little time, but it's clearly going to happen that soccer will be among the top sports in the US.

The national "identity" changes over time, it isn't carved in stone. The US sports world went from baseball being so far out in front it thought it could do anything to football coming along in the 60's and 70's and then basketball in the 80's and 90's.

People forget that the NFL couldn't find a network to broadcast Monday Night Football and bought the time itself and basketball couldn't get a network deal at all.

And now it's soccer. It'll happen. It'll take twenty-five years. MLS is about halfway there, the changes will start to happen fast now.
I find it sad that Canada for example is a nation built on Immigration... We have people here from almost every culture in the world... Soccer or football or Calcio or Futebol or whatever you want to call it is the WORLD's Sport... so why the f*ck do we have one of the worst showings at the international level?... I think it will pick up but I agree that the media is against it... The states however in my opinion is even more against the rise of soccer because of the whole "melting pot" idea...unlike Canada where we believe it is ok to be proud of and bring you culture with you into our great nation, the states believe once you land there you become american... thats it... forget your past...forget your culture and learn to speak "american" and if you don't like it ... get out!...

Not only that if MLS starts competing more with the European leagues and one day Inter Milan or Bayern Munich start bringing in more american $$$ than an american team this would hurt the mentality if the entire nation... they are a nation that takes pride in the failure of the NFL in Europe...

Dub Narcotic
10-15-2008, 01:26 AM
Well as European I can tell you it's not.
Europeans have more different sports to follow than N.Americans,and there is more different sports on TV to follow,just few of them that you will never see here are Handball,Volleyball,Waterpollo,Track & Field,Rugby,starting with their domestic leagues over to European club and national championships.And those are legit sports played around the world.
Your question is childish if you ask me,and just one more proof that Gullit was right.
Yes, Americans are scared of soccer popularity and they do whatever they can to make it look bad.Unfortunately for them,more kids are playing soccer,than baseball ,basketball,American football or Hockey,they know the numbers and that concerns them.
This time soccer is here to stay for good,and I LOVE IT.

When I lived in England, football had 90% of the press coverage, with 10% given to everything else, and I don't think it is an exception in Europe. North America has a much more diverse 'big' sport landscape.

James17930
10-15-2008, 01:55 AM
Well as European I can tell you it's not.
Europeans have more different sports to follow than N.Americans,and there is more different sports on TV to follow,just few of them that you will never see here are Handball,Volleyball,Waterpollo,Track & Field,Rugby,starting with their domestic leagues over to European club and national championships.And those are legit sports played around the world.
Your question is childish if you ask me,and just one more proof that Gullit was right.
Yes, Americans are scared of soccer popularity and they do whatever they can to make it look bad.Unfortunately for them,more kids are playing soccer,than baseball ,basketball,American football or Hockey,they know the numbers and that concerns them.
This time soccer is here to stay for good,and I LOVE IT.

Dude, c'mon I was obviously being a bit facetious. But my question is partly valid -- I said why do they have problems following more than one sport SO CLOSELY. Here, we can spread our love fairly evenly between two or three or even four different teams in different sports, but there it's pretty much all football.

Even though of course people follow rugby, cricket, basketball, volleyball etc., I don't it's with the same amount of passion and intensity as footy.

Cashcleaner
10-15-2008, 02:19 AM
Ruud doesn't understand the dynamics of North America. Spending 8 months in LA doesn't make you an expert on what is happening on this big continent.

The truth is that Americans can excel at any sport they choose. They simply have not chosen to pay much attention to soccer...yet.

Any success of the National team on the global stage will peak that interest. More immigration into the US will continue to grow the sport. And a successful MLS will help in that regard.

In 20 years, the US will have a consistently top 20 team in the world, if not a top 10. And there is a very real possibility that before our generation passes, the US could field a World Cup contending team.

Ruud doesn't know anything other than to play and maybe coach a little. It doesn't make him an expert on culture and sport development.

No need to carry on with the thread, because that's always been the primary reason. In their sporting history, the Yanks have had a go at Rugby which they developed into Gridiron Football and have pretty much perfected it; have developed and perfected baseball ; have developed and perfected hockey, and have developed and perfected volleyball. Just give it time and they'll throw an assload of cash at their national program and they'll start turning heads at the World Cup.

Americans don't give up when they realise they're not so good at a certain sport. Instead, they work on it over time and give up the resources neccesary to become a dominate world power. Then, they move onto another sport.

nascarguy
10-15-2008, 09:17 AM
he is 100% right it's all up to the mls fo to change.

I'll say this I did not pay much attention to soccer when I was growing up

Axeman
10-15-2008, 04:51 PM
Soccer WILL take over North-America, it will just take some time. Alot of that is because NA are used to less tactical-more eye catching sports like hockey and football(agghh, I guess Basketball too) and soccer is a sport you have to look to see the tactics and understand what's going on out there.
I love international hockey(big ice surface) but the NA brand, like having a street fighter on each team is so bad.
But Soccer will dominate NA in time.

MG42
10-15-2008, 05:05 PM
The people and their cash will decide the fate of pro soccer in North America.

james
10-16-2008, 02:41 PM
i think people in North America just need to learn how to sell the sport. Its gotta be different from how they sell NBA,NFL, or NHL if they want it to work!

RPLProducer
10-19-2008, 02:58 PM
sour grapes