U.S. eliminated from 2018 World Cup

The World Cup will proceed next year without the United States and Canada, two of the most developed countries in the Western World.

It is a mere coincidence that each nation is obsessed with a niche sport that is not soccer.

 

Oh, someone is.

 

In this thread? Cite?

 

You've just argued that the English Premier League, which can sign the best football players in the world, doesn't get world-class athletes. Because the rest of the world doesn't build them like America does.

While @DickWhitman argues that one team is as statistically relevant as the world's best football league.

@SnarkShark is correct. Enjoy the rest of your day.

 

Yeah, that's pretty indisputable, too.

 

The best team in the world.

You keep leaving that inconvenient fact out. Why is the EPL as a whole more indicative of the ideal soccer player proportions than the best team in the world? You are basically arguing that heights and weights in the MAC are more relevant to determining the ideal football player than the heights and weights of Alabama's roster.

And there are plenty of dynamic NFL and MLB players between 5-9 and 6-0. And those are the guys we are arguing would make great soccer players that the U.S. is foreclosed from suiting up.

 

So what is it?

It's a universal sport. No one's knocking it, but let's not exaggerate what it is either.

And, there's a reason why American Football isn't played around the world. It's specific. Lot's of rules. Lot's of equipment necessary. Lot's of coaching needed.

Soccer is universal because every single kid in the world can -- and does -- run and kick a ball. You don't have to teach them anything.

 

Basketball is just dribbling the ball and shooting toward a basket. Very simple game. Nothing else occurs outside of that.

 

You're either arguing that 5'9" is the ideal height/weight for a world class athlete, or that "being closer to the ball" is a critical factor for soccer players.

If it's the former, you've lost your mind. If it's the latter, then you are arguing against the idea that soccer gets the best athletes.

And, that's fine, but no one is trying to argue that jockeys are among the world's greatest athletes. In their case, being 6'6" would be a hindrance.

Now, try to explain to me how being 6'6" is a disadvantage for a soccer player.

 

I don't think you have any idea how kids choose sports in America. Ask your proponents on this thread. They'll tell you you're very wrong here.

 

I'm curious as to how you arrived at an average height of 5'9" when per your link the shortest EPL team averaged 180 cm (which, last I checked, is pretty damn close to 5'11"). The average team has an average height of 5'11.5" ... Chelsea, which finished first in the standings, had an average height in excess of 6 feet.

 

Weren't we just exalting the athleticism of shorty Floyd Mayweather? Messaging is falling apart here, guys.