Lebron James to Europe?

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

This might be ESPN hype (per usual), but they are really pushing basketball as a global game and mentioned that its possible some European team would offer Lebron insane money to go the other way across the pond. Money aside (i'm sure European Markets could support it), are there any European leagues as good as the NBA. I imagine the fundamentals over there are much better but the talent level probably isn't. In international play, the Europeans have routinely destroyed the American team (atleast until this year), but as many have pointed out that might have been the result of national teams playing together for years while Telam USA only practiced together for a few weeks.

 

I really dislike Lebron, but it would be interesting if he bolted for a 5 year $200m deal or so in two years when he's a free agent. He's much younger than David Beckham, but this might be the same move as Beckham made a last year.

[GB12]

The only cities LeBron is going to are New York, Chicago, or LA. His Nike contract doubles if he goes to one of those major markets. I believe it's currently like $100 million. A 5 year max contract plus the doubled Nike contract would get him $200 million and he'd stay in the NBA.

[TooLiveBrew]

and mentioned that its possible some European team would offer Lebron insane money to go the other way across the pond.

 

Quoth Hammer: Expect Stupid Pundits Nightly

[pitchleague]

yes, I just read somewhere that some Greek team is contemplating offering LeBron a $50 million/year contract to come play for them.

[burniebrewer]

Go...and take the rest of the NBA with you.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

on ESPN radio this morning they were trying to argue that the NBA/basketball have become the most popular sport worldwide (even more than soccer). I thought that comment was beyond stupid. Basketball has made inroads lately and IS more popular internationally than American Football, but soccer is, and always will be, the world's sport.

 

If the US ever actually got good at soccer, its popularity would SOAR in the US

[JJHardy7]

on ESPN radio this morning they were trying to argue that the NBA/basketball have become the most popular sport worldwide (even more than soccer). I thought that comment was beyond stupid. Basketball has made inroads lately and IS more popular internationally than American Football, but soccer is, and always will be, the world's sport.

 

If the US ever actually got good at soccer, its popularity would SOAR in the US

 

I disagree with everything you say here. The US could be good at soccer and it would do little on the 'popularity'. You must hate basketball with the comment of how 'destroyed' the US has been. They haven't done well as of late, but what about before that? Do we have to have a Dream Team every year? Your entire opinion makes little sense if you take it this way: basketball got huge in the US and that followed internationally. The other nations have darn good teams and let's not lose sight of that. I would just take a look at the rosters and look at the NBA Stars that are playing for their country. We're not getting beat by Mickey Mouse out there -- the sport has grown globally because of the NBA regardless of the interest it draws now.

 

So your point that the US has to 'catch' up in a sport carries little weight. The US determines the major sports and the world seems to follow. A better question would be...is the NBA more popular here or Europe, China, etc?

[bullox]

The US determines the major sports and the world seems to follow.

That comment carries very little weight considering the stranglehold that football (soccer) has on global popularity among all sports. Not to mention the fact that American football hasn't really caught on and baseball is not nearly as popular worldwide as it is here in the US.

 

Soccer has a real basic advantage - all you need is a ball really. In poor nations this is huge as most children won't have access to bats, gloves, baseball fields, American Football pads, basketball hoops, etc.

 

[RyDogg66]

Europe seems to be small enough that they could form one Championship league and soon afterward be close to what the NBA is. Put teams in Madrid, Paris, Rome, Athens, Berlin, London, Lisbon, Barcelona, Amsterdam, etc. etc. and you get a 20 team league going with all that international talent and the strength of the Euro in comparison to the American Dollar and soon the NBA would be MLS Soccer.

[Brewtacular]

. The US determines the major sports and the world seems to follow.

Was that supposed to be in blue? That thought is clearly wrapped in absurdidty. Good ole American arrogance....if only we were as all important as we thought.

[sgtcluels]

Yeah that's pretty nuts.

 

Super Bowl Estimates - 180 - 250 million globally watch the game.

 

World Cup 2006 Championship - 761 million globally. That's 3 to one. Estimated cumulative viewership across the tourney, 26.8 BILLION.

 

Soccer goes against most of what Americans want in a game. High scoring.. we love to score, and smaller more thin/fit athletes. We love our bruisers.

[Diskono]

Europe seems to be small enough that they could form one Championship league and soon afterward be close to what the NBA is. Put teams in Madrid, Paris, Rome, Athens, Berlin, London, Lisbon, Barcelona, Amsterdam, etc. etc. and you get a 20 team league going with all that international talent and the strength of the Euro in comparison to the American Dollar and soon the NBA would be MLS Soccer.

They actually do have a contintental Champions League-type tournament, which the champions of each country's domestic league participate. I'd actually like to see something like that expanded worldwide, and have NBA teams participate - that would probably lead to a lot more NBA players moving to European clubs (and vice versa).

 

 

Soccer goes against most of what Americans want in a game. High scoring.. we love to score, and smaller more thin/fit athletes. We love our bruisers.

Stupid solution: make goals worth 7 points, award each team 3 points for every shot that sails over the goal, and 2 points every time they win a corner kick. Boom, there's your high-scoring game.

[RyDogg66]

That isn't a terrible solution to the soccer problem, but I think what makes it fail in the US, and this goes for Hockey somewhat as well, is that there is never a defined moment when one team is "on offense" - or maybe it is because those moments last for such a small time. In baseball teams are up to bat, that is pretty clearly defined time to score, football there are prolonged drives, downs and completely different players on offense and defense, not to mention different positions. Basketball is the most similar to soccer or hockey, but with the shot clock and the control that players have over their possessions and the high scoring, it is set apart from soccer.

[owbc]

One of the things that holds hockey back is that it's really hard to follow the puck on TV. The NHL does just fine with attendance numbers and has a relatively small but very dedicated fanbase. My girlfriend hates baseball and football, but I took her to an Admirals game and she was enthralled. It has just as much hitting as football, a higher scoring pace than soccer, and plenty of entertaining storylines.

 

I suspect that Hockey on HDTV will help to improve its popularity, along with the eventual return to ESPN.

[JJHardy7]

Was that supposed to be in blue? That thought is clearly wrapped in absurdidty.

 

I understand the numbers, but I'm talking more about 'star power'. The men's basketball team carries quite a bit of weight in China. Yes soccer is the most watched sport, but I do believe that the US carries the star power in terms of individual players and/or sports. The population isn't a billion in the US so based on fans of a sport Europe/Asia will win hands down. I also think the US isn't going to just love soccer if they were good at it -- that's my entire point. The world loves soccer which is good and all, but I never see this sport being anything but an also ran. It just isn't fun to watch on television for the average sports fan. I played soccer for 13 years and it's great to play, but boring as heck to watch. The US could be the best in the world and it still wouldn't matter.

 

And it is not American arrogance...if you want to watch soccer be my guest. US sports carry 'star power' worldwide. David Beckham isn't going to change soccer in the US and he's one of the most popular soccer players ever.

[bullox]

And it is not American arrogance...

Yeah, actually it is. The world is more than the US - just because Beckham hasn't popularized soccer here in the US doesn't mean it isn't already the most popular sport in the world. Actually, it is. It doesn't need to succeed here to be that popular. Whether you like it or not.

 

Have you ever been to another country? Multiple countries on multiple continents? How would you know who carries star power throughout the world?

 

[JJHardy7]

Yeah, actually it is. The world is more than the US - just because Beckham hasn't popularized soccer here in the US doesn't mean it isn't already the most popular sport in the world. Actually, it is. It doesn't need to succeed here to be that popular. Whether you like it or not.

 

 

Have you ever been to another country? Multiple countries on multiple continents? How would you know who carries star power throughout the world?

 

It's not. I stated that soccer is the most popular sport/most watched...not sure if you caught that or not. I do wish you'd add to the discussion instead of knocking posts or thoughts.

 

I have been to other places many times and Brett Favre is Brett Favre in Europe and Asia (not to the degree he is here) and obviously if any watched the Olympics Kobe and LeBron are loved on a global stage. I don't think I'm saying anything all that crazy. The world is all about money and let's just look at Nike and how many non-US athletes they have and how much they get paid. I would say you can't 'prove' star power, but there are ways to determine who has it and it's in the US. Again, soccer is the most popular sport and I believe Manchester United (IIRC) is the most valuable franchise in the world. I don't follow soccer, but I couldn't name more than 5 players outside of the US...the same is not true there for the US sports.

[sbrylski]

I have been to other places many times and Brett Favre is Brett Favre in Europe and Asia (not to the degree he is here) and obviously if any watched the Olympics Kobe and LeBron are loved on a global stage.

 

But there are global soccer stars that you probably just don't know/care about. I think your perception is distorted because you see fans elsewhere also rooting for your team, but you don't root for their teams, so you assume its a one way street.

 

Rugby too. There are some very passionate rugby fans and some worldwide household names. But inside American borders, nobody would stop them on a street corner if he was in his full gear.

[JJHardy7]

But there are global soccer stars that you probably just don't know/care about. I think your perception is distorted because you see fans elsewhere also rooting for your team, but you don't root for their teams, so you assume its a one way street.

 

Rugby too. There are some very passionate rugby fans and some worldwide household names. But inside American borders, nobody would stop them on a street corner if he was in his full gear.

 

I agree with what you're saying. I just think that an American sports star carries quite a bit of market value across the globe than most stars in other countries. I don't think my perception is distorted I'm probably not being very clear. I think a LeBron or Kobe is more marketable than just about any other athlete across the globe, but again it's probably difficult to really prove.

[Diskono]

I agree with what you're saying. I just think that an American sports star carries quite a bit of market value across the globe than most stars in other countries. I don't think my perception is distorted I'm probably not being very clear. I think a LeBron or Kobe is more marketable than just about any other athlete across the globe, but again it's probably difficult to really prove.

 

I think it really depends on the country. I'm sure Cristiano Ronaldo is far more marketable anywhere in Europe, or any country where football is clearly the #1 sport. If you go to some place like China, where the the most popular sport isn't quite as clear (or perhaps leans toward basketball), LeBron or Kobe would be more marketable. That's just a guess, of course.

[PeaveyFury]

I think it really depends on the country.

 

I think it also depends on the sport. Peyton Manning is on literally every-other commercial in the US during football season, but probably has very, very low marketability outside of the US because football just isn't very popular anywhere else. Basketball is a different story due to the international makeup of the player base and it's popularity pretty much everywhere. Football and even baseball really can't get close to it's level of international popularity, despite being the two biggest sports in the US by far.

[JJHardy7]

I think it also depends on the sport. Peyton Manning is on literally every-other commercial in the US during football season, but probably has very, very low marketability outside of the US because football just isn't very popular anywhere else. Basketball is a different story due to the international makeup of the player base and it's popularity pretty much everywhere. Football and even baseball really can't get close to it's level of international popularity, despite being the two biggest sports in the US by far.

 

I agree. I don't think Manning has a huge global following. Baseball may have some following in countries that have a professional league, but basketball would be the one major sport that may have a pretty big following.

[Nottso]

I tried to watch soccer and like it, really I did. It was a few years ago when the world cup (or whatever it's called) was held in the USA. I turned it on, all ready to get into this thing. Here's how it went:

 

A guy in a blue shirt was running along a big open field, kicking a ball in front of him as he went.

 

A guy in a red shirt ran up and kicked the ball the other way.

 

The crowd went wild.

At this point, I turned off the tv and wished I had a baby seal to club.

[And That]

David Beckham could be walking next to me on the sidewalk, in a soccer jersey, and if it didn't have his name on the back, I wouldn't know who he was. I would imagine this would be true of at least 95% of Americans. I'd guess that James would do more for basketball in Europe than Beckham is doing for soccer in America simply because Europeans appear to have at least some interest in basketball.

 

I've tried to get into soccer as well, but I'll be snickerdoodled if watching ants build an anthill isn't more exciting. Guy passes a ball to another guy, who passes it again, then it gets intercepted by the other team, repeat. It's not that it isn't high scoring, it's that there is almost no chance for it not to be incredibly low scoring. In baseball, you might see a 2-0 game, but you also might see a 15-8 game. You can even get 7-9 goals in hockey every once in awhile. Soccer, not so much.

[sgtcluels]

I think going to an international game would make you appreciate soccer more. Alot of it's about what's happening behind the play, think it's one of those sports you have to appreciate more of the subtle things.