Lebron James to Europe?

[ccbrew]

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 think there are fundamental differences between David Beckham and Lebron James. Beckham is in the twilight of his career. While not over the hill by any means, his prime is in the past. In his prime, he was "merely" a great player.

Lebron on the other hand, would be at his best in 2010. Not only is he a great player, by the time he is done he will be in the 'among the best to ever play the game' discussion.

[paul253]

Getting back on topic, I hope Lebron goes to Europe. I hope everyone else does too. Then I hope they take the WNBA with them. I am so sick of all the thuggery going on in that league. Watching 19 year olds becoming millionaires and seeing what they do with that money is just pathetic. Then everytime someone looks at another player wrong they get all tough and wanna fight, but its not a real fight like in hockey where 2 players stand toe to toe and punch each other while other players move equipment so they dont get hurt. In the NBA someone takes a cheap shot then runs away while the other guy chases him, and then all their teammates get involved, including guys ont the bench. I hope the NBA goes aways and never comes back.

[Brewtacular]

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.

The world does expand past Europe. I would put pretty good money on Beckham being much more famous than James in just about every country on the planet. Asia, outside of China, South America, Australia, Europe...cmon to them basketball is, at best, what tennis is here.

 

[orca1963]

Soccer is the greatest game in the world. It has the most fans, and a long and storied history. The world cup blows away American sports in most if not all categories. It is not--however--my favorite sport. That honor goes to baseball.

 

I think we need to remember that one's favorite sport has nothing to do (not much anyway) with a title like "greatest sport". There is professional soccer in nearly every country including the U.S.

 

American football has failed in other countries. Basketball and baseball have fared much better overseas (baseball in Latin America as we all know is huge) but have had nowhere near the impact soccer has overall. Soccer may fail in America, but America--as great as it is--is only one country.

 

For myself, baseball, as I said is my number one, followed closely by soccer and formula one racing. I like all of these for the same reasons. There is a great deal of strategy and a score truly counts for something. A pass in F1, or a quicker pit-stop or better fuel strategy can and often does mean the difference in the race. NASCAR has some similarities but it does adopt the American philosophy of more is better. More passing, more scoring, etc. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that and many people truly enjoy those aspects of the sports.

 

I say all of this because whenever I listen to sports radio, read message boards or have conversations with sports fans in general a common theme is that soccer is inferior or stupid with the inference that those who enjoy it must be as well. It is a bit insulting. We all love different sports for different reasons. In America we have more freedom to enjoy our choices than anywhere else due to the fact that this is--without a doubt--the greatest country in the world.

 

I know I rambled a bit here and am off point on the Lebron topic (I hope he stays in the US) but I hope I added something to the conversation.

[Mike Felder]

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.

?"Halfback passes to the center...back to the wing...back to the center...center holds it...holds it...holds it..."

Mexico VS. Portugal - Funny bloopers R us

 

[And That]

The world does expand past Europe.

Yes of course it does. However, the statement was about LeBron James' impact on Europe vs. David Beckham's impact on the US. IMO, it's not even close - if James were to go there, he'd have a far greater impact than Beckham could even hope to have here.

I say all of this because whenever I listen to sports radio, read message boards or have conversations with sports fans in general a common theme is that soccer is inferior or stupid with the inference that those who enjoy it must be as well.

I don't know if I've ever read that much into the "soccer is boring" comments. I think a lot of people just find soccer to be really boring, no more, no less... which is an opinion I'm definitely sympathetic with. Personally I don't find it boring because I'm an American that thinks more is better, I find it boring because to me it's just a bunch of people running around a big lawn kicking a ball. I'm sure there is much more to it, and God bless it I've tried to like it, but I can't watch it without zoning out.

 

[TooLiveBrew]

David Beckham isn't going to change soccer in the US and he's one of the most popular soccer players ever.

 

Only to Americans. David Beckham is what he's always been -- an overrated player (due to an insane ability on set plays/free kicks) who's above-average overall.

 

 

I'll be snickerdoodled if watching ants build an anthill isn't more exciting.

 

I'm sorry... if this is your complete 'diagnosis', then I'll point out that you either haven't watched enough football, or you simply aren't open-minded enough to enjoy it. If you can't see the intense physical competition & skill involved in the sport, I really am at a loss for words. It's not like it's hard to see.

[Diskono]

David Beckham isn't going to change soccer in the US and he's one of the most popular soccer players ever.

 

Only to Americans. David Beckham is what he's always been -- an overrated player (due to an insane ability on set plays/free kicks) who's above-average overall.

Yep. Beckham wasn't even a starter on his previous team when he moved to MLS. A better comparison might be if, say, Grant Hill went to Europe right now.

[ccbrew]

Someone with a little more initiative than I have ought to start an EPL thread, as there does appear to be quite a bit of interest. I'm talking to you, Diomansy Kamara!

[DuWayne Steurer]

I'm sorry... if this is your complete 'diagnosis', then I'll point out that you either haven't watched enough football, or you simply aren't open-minded enough to enjoy it. If you can't see the intense physical competition & skill involved in the sport, I really am at a loss for words. It's not like it's hard to see.

 

I don't think anyone said soccer doesn't require physical skill. They said it's boring to watch. It takes a lot of physical skill to wrassle in the WWF, but that doesn't make it a great sport.

[Mike Felder]

Yeah, my roommates were into the World Cup a few years ago, so I watched some matches with them. It's incredibly intense, and there's a lot of skill involved, but when you run around with that kind of intensity and skill for 90 minutes, and the end result is a grand total of three goals being scored...well...maybe I'm just a dumb American, but it seems kind of pointless to me.

[JJHardy7]

I guess I'll ask this question...if Beckham came over here as a over hyped player, what soccer player could come over here and bring more interest to the sport? I don't think there's a single player that could do that, but I may be wrong.

 

I think it's interesting how popular soccer seems to be growing up in some parts of the US. I played soccer for 13 years and loved playing it, but absolutely hate watching it on TV. I think at some point and time kids have to 'narrow' in on a sport and go in that direction. I think the lack of soccer appeal professionally in the US may have a factor in kids picking football, baseball, and/or basketball as their sports(s).

 

I think basketball is more popular globally than we're giving it credit for. Is it more popular than soccer? No. Could LeBron James increase the international appeal of basketball? Absolutely IMO.

[And That]

If you can't see the intense physical competition & skill involved in the sport, I really am at a loss for words. It's not like it's hard to see.

Virtually all sports require intense physical competition and skill. As such, that does not impact my relative boredom level while watching them. Competitive walking takes a ton of talent - but I'm not going to watch that for more than the time it takes me to realize I'm watching it and then change the channel. Same with soccer, auto racing, volleyball, gymnastics, golf, basketball, strong man competitions, and track & field.

 

I find soccer boring. A great many people find baseball intensely boring. C'est la vie.

 

[TooLiveBrew]

I don't think anyone said soccer doesn't require physical skill. They said it's boring to watch. It takes a lot of physical skill to wrassle in the WWF, but that doesn't make it a great sport.

 

Good point, Roco, on correcting me about the skill. I wholly disagree with how boring it is/isn't to watch.

 

 

Yeah, my roommates were into the World Cup a few years ago, so I watched some matches with them. It's incredibly intense, and there's a lot of skill involved, but when you run around with that kind of intensity and skill for 90 minutes, and the end result is a grand total of three goals being scored...well...maybe I'm just a dumb American, but it seems kind of pointless to me.

 

To me the goals in football are just made that much more special & enjoyable. Imho what Americans sometimes fail to notice while channel-surfing past the game(s) is that the 'boring, passing-around stuff' is actually setting up the manner in which a team is going to attack. Just because we don't see what's happening down the field on the screen doesn't mean we should assume the ball's being passed around needlessly.

 

Yes, a lot of soccer is intense physical exhertion that winds up not resulting in a goal, but the way I see it is that the objective in the game is to create as many scoring chances as possible (as in basically any other sport). It just so happens that it's extremely hard to score in this particular sport. Maybe making an (indirect) analogy to tennis is useful -- many times the best shots made in a match are returned by the opponent (not directly resulting in a 'score'), but serve to get the opponent out of position for the next shot(s).

 

 

I guess I'll ask this question...if Beckham came over here as a over hyped player, what soccer player could come over here and bring more interest to the sport? I don't think there's a single player that could do that, but I may be wrong.

 

Just going off of ability + 'name appeal', Ronaldinho (AC Milan, formerly of FC Barcelona) is likely the best guess. If we want to go from the EPL, since it's more well-known in America... maybe Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Andriy Shevchenko... my guess is that Diskono & others can come up with some better ideas.

 

 

I find soccer boring. A great many people find baseball intensely boring. C'est la vie.

 

Ha! I was just going to edit onto the end of my post how ironic it is that a bunch of baseball fans are discussing how boring soccer can be. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif