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thrill wrote: ↑

December 19 22, 2:11 pm

ANNOUNCE MESSI YOU COWARDS!

Ohhhhh baby

Bernardeschi and Insigne both debuted on 7/23 last year. Inter Miami comes to St. Louis on 7/15, not impossible that's the debut.

Two season tix secured for under $1,000. I'm behind one of the goals, so not the greatest seats, but I'm still pumped. MLS schedule drops tomorrow.


ANNOUNCE MESSI YOU COWARDS!

This is great! If Messi goes down, it goes way beyond him playing in the States. It would alter American soccer like nothing to come before it. Miami would become Little Argentina every match day. A goddamn festival at every home/away game. He has or had a home in Miami. I read somewhere he would be co-owner alongside Beckham. It puts him physically close to Argentina, where he won't be able to move freely for the rest of his life. But it's right there.

I could do Timbers at all caps CITY 3/29 and the Cardinals home opener the next day. That would be fun. It won’t happen but it should. I’ve actually never been to Busch 3.

Reports from France say Messi is sticking around. Maybe it isnt over yet, though. If it is, he probably heard 'Miami' from Big Willy Style and got real depressed.

BottenFieldofDreams wrote: ↑

December 21 22, 9:15 pm

Reports from France say Messi is sticking around. Maybe it isnt over yet, though. If it is, he probably heard 'Miami' from Big Willy Style and got real depressed.

The tea leaves before the world cup were indicating he would pull a Beckham, which makes sense, since Beckham would be one of the guys putting the deal together. I.e. finish the season for PSG, join Inter about a third into the season, and then after the MLS season, go back to PSG in Jan. Which is what Beckham did at Milan and PSG when he was with LA. None of that is off the table based on all the reporting.

Ah, I didn't see the nuance. And maybe he likes the unchallenging nature of Will Smith's music.

He could very well be sticking around. I'm sure the Qataris are going to offer him an insane amount of money to stay and help them finally win a Champions League. I know what I would do if I were him...go to MLS where I can live the closest to a normal life as anywhere in the world. But if he has more gas in the tank, maybe he'll focus on PSG and come in 2024. Either way, I don't think I'd try to do double duty at that age. I don't know what he has to gain from it and MLS is grueling. Summer heat, super long flights, multiple turf stadiums, etc.

I apologize for the delay but I've been busy the last few days. Even though this WC was held in Qatar because of bribery, from a soccer perspective, I found it entertaining and one of the best finals the I've ever seen.

That said, I disagree that Messi coming in 2024 would alter American soccer. It might make Miami games basically Argentina games but it won't change the popularity of soccer. I hear the argument that if USMNT win a WC, then soccer will be more popular. IMO, the reverse argument is more valid. Once soccer becomes more popular, THEN the US will more likely win a World Cup. For one, only a handful of countries have EVER won a World Cup and those are countries where soccer is a religion. For example, Brazil has 3 times the population of Germany but 1.25 times the number of World Cups. And the problem with US soccer is not the gap in athletic ability but technical ability. So US will need to better develop technical ability. We need a Messi/Ronaldinho/Neymar type player in addition to a striker like Mbappe. The US needs to stop the pay to play system where the rich kids are the ones playing soccer...which is quite ironic since soccer is probably the sport that requires the least resources.

Every WC I also see an article saying WHAT IF our best athletes played soccer? For one, most basketball players outside PG and most SGs are too tall and bulky for soccer. So there is little overlap with basketball and soccer in terms of athletic characteristics. The most overlap is between baseball shortstops, 2B and outfielders and football CBs/WR/RBs.

BrntOrngStud wrote: ↑

December 22 22, 8:15 pm

I apologize for the delay but I've been busy the last few days. Even though this WC was held in Qatar because of bribery, from a soccer perspective, I found it entertaining and one of the best finals the I've ever seen.

That said, I disagree that Messi coming in 2024 would alter American soccer. It might make Miami games basically Argentina games but it won't change the popularity of soccer. I hear the argument that if USMNT win a WC, then soccer will be more popular. IMO, the reverse argument is more valid. Once soccer becomes more popular, THEN the US will more likely win a World Cup. For one, only a handful of countries have EVER won a World Cup and those are countries where soccer is a religion. For example, Brazil has 3 times the population of Germany but 1.25 times the number of World Cups. And the problem with US soccer is not the gap in athletic ability but technical ability. So US will need to better develop technical ability. We need a Messi/Ronaldinho/Neymar type player in addition to a striker like Mbappe. The US needs to stop the pay to play system where the rich kids are the ones playing soccer...which is quite ironic since soccer is probably the sport that requires the least resources.

Every WC I also see an article saying WHAT IF our best athletes played soccer? For one, most basketball players outside PG and most SGs are too tall and bulky for soccer. So there is little overlap with basketball and soccer in terms of athletic characteristics. The most overlap is between baseball shortstops, 2B and outfielders and football CBs/WR/RBs.

This is something I think about from time to time. I'm sure there are exceptions, but in general you have to either be wealthy or have financial stability and insane/fortunate parents. Your family really has to have resources and time to produce an elite soccer player. Surely Wahl or Phillips or someone has written (someone link me to this) about this and provided some comparisons to Europe and South America. I bet the tight, densely populated spaces of those older parts of the world help a lot. It's no coincidence that all the USMNT player who aren't from Germany are from Jersey.

I know a few parents who are in the academy grind with their kids. It's expensive, but at least for the folks I know, the time commitment is even more burdensome. And out here in the West travel is rough. As thrill has pointed out, the MLS is becoming a selling league--hopefully these things get less burdensome.

I don't think the USMNT gives up much athleticism to any team in any sport. The pools they are drawn from are already growing, and I hate to sound like the boneheads wondering when soccer is going to poop--but a Messi travelling circus, especially right in this moment, would undoubtedly help draw more athletes.