Why the US Sucks at Football

I feel like I’ve been an undercover agent researching this video my entire life. It’s the type of research video only someone that grew up living in both worlds could make. I have always felt like I was walking on a line between my home country and my chosen profession of talking about football / soccer, and this was a story I always wanted to tell.
Who knows how this will all change in the future, but the development of soccer in the United States has been a unique process that everyone seems to be eagerly anticipating, like FIFA, but also dreading because the US will just be different. It didn’t grow up with everyone else, it grew soccer by itself, with all the problems that come with it. You’ll see what that all means in the video.
Much Love,
The Zealand
Sources
►www.ussoccer.com/history/time...
►PFRA Research
www.profootballresearchers.co...
►’The History of Professional Soccer in England
web.archive.org/web/200802221...
►’College Football’s First decade’ theathletic.com/785887/2019/0...
►’USA at World Cup 1990’
www.bbc.com/sport/football/67...
►Obituary for Gerritt Smith
www.newspapers.com/article/th...
►CNN
www.cnn.com/2022/11/24/footba....
►www.ussoccerhistory.org/ameri...
►www.nytimes.com/1975/06/11/ar...
►’The Game of Their Lives’ Book
archive.org/details/gameofthe...
►en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_McIl...
►en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...)
►en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Gae...
►en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_FI...
►en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...
► • Paul Caligiuri Golazo ...
►en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Di...
►en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...
►www.theguardian.com/football/...
►en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX
►en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_Wo...
►en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_FI...
►en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_FI...
►www.giltedgesoccer.com/most-w...
►www.theguardian.com/football/....
►www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/footba...
► watch/?v=101...
🎮 Zealand Playing:
► Twitch: / zeaiand
► KZbin: / @zealandlive
🎙️ Podcasts:
► 20 Good Minutes: spoti.fi/3CYz4iY
► The Zealand Podcast: spoti.fi/3KMMnl6
► Armchair History: spoti.fi/3tJJw6O
📸 Zealand Stuff:
► FM Skin: zealand.gg/fmskin
► Instagram: / theoldzealand
► Twitter: / theoldzealand
► Discord: / discord
► Reddit: / theoldzealand
🌟 Adler (Editor)
► Adler’s Website (it’s really cool): adlershannon.com/
🌟 Isaiah (Researcher)
► Contact Isaiah: [e-mail]
🙌 Thanks for watching & scrolling!
#USA #Football #Soccer #Hashtags

[@guyfaux3978]

There's a great scene from The Big Bang Theory in which Sheldon tries to explain American-rules football to Leonard, and Wolowitz asks him, "How did you learn so much about football?" Sheldon explains that growing up in Texas, you cannot help but learn about football-- you're surrounded by NFL, college, HS, pee wee football, which makes it like a religion (or at any rate it would have done, in the 1990's), "...but curiously, they seem to think 'Original Football' is some sorta Commie plot..."

[@ZealandonYT]

This is actually a perfect way to describe part of this video

[@ichangedthename]

@@ZealandonYTI reckon USA can make the quarter finals but that's it.

[@franklinshaki9]

@@ZealandonYT I’m happy that you made this video

[@YorkshireYobbo]

​@😂😂😂😂ichangedthename

[@HankSemoreButz]

We suck because we don’t care…🤷🏻‍♂️

[@gevgnek]

"English Zealand is not real, it can't hurt you"

[@ralv]

That voice will now be my nightmare fuel, I can’t believe he was lowkey pulling it off.

[@PhantomHair]

Zedland

[@marcbrisbane6800]

😂😂😂

[@maxkho00]

@@ralv As a Brit, his accent was perfect lmao. He actually got me.

[@linkash4167]

I feel like his accent is better than most American actors' attempts at an English accent

[@jamescashman1110]

We have the exact same thing here in Australia. Instead of football and basketball, we have to compete with Cricket, Australian Rules Football, Rugby League and Rugby Union.

[@jacklang3314]

Don't get me started on all the crap the AFL keeps pulling.

[@Goozero1]

I flipped through channels once and caught a glimpse of Aussie Rules. It's surreal.

[@darraghoshea3821]

And Austalia are still nothing to laugh at in football, the usa however….

[@callmejest5239]

But it's getting bigger. The Australian media meat rides afl but as someone from Western Australia I can tell football is getting more and more popular

[@tomcooke6079]

@@darraghoshea3821 Have you actually tried to watch an A-League game? Because the standard of that league is worse than the MLS

[@GigglyWalrus]

growing up loving soccer in America wasn't always easy. I would get bullied a lot and never really understood why people would hate a sport that was so fun to me. It was really refreshing to go to college and finally find a community that appreciated footy

[@DarthBinky89]

Foot fairy😂

[@asparapee4213]

How old are you and where did you grow up? I'm 45 and grew up in So Cal and soccer was by far the biggest sport amongst the youth until High School when American Football overtook it at school.

[@soccer21175]

I think you would be glad to know that it has changed, you will get an occasional remark. But so many people play it now, more than baseball for sure. It is growing massivly

[@jmal]

I get bullied from both sides of the aisle lol. A lot of Americans make fun of me for liking soccer, while non-Americans find me weird for liking soccer while American. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Sometimes I wonder why I even follow this sport to begin with.

[@IRanOutOfPhrases]

@@jmal I feel like people keep misusing 'bullied' in this thread, lol

[@lachlansutherland1118]

It’s amazing how similar the story is to us over here in Australia. Very much the sport played my migrants and too soft compared to AFL and Rugby league. When the Matilda’s had their run to the semi final last year it was amazing to see how many people were invested in soccer/football. It’s slowly coming along

[@martynhunter6083]

The problem now is that best young players are all going to Europe instead of hanging around the A-League

[@Minamoto67]

@@martynhunter6083 A move for a talented A-League or NPL player will eventually happen, wanting it or not, as it would happen in any franchise-based league with a salary cap. The player demands a salary proportional to his ability, and this surpasses the league cap, so the only way is to offload the player. India, Australia and the US would have trouble to be near their current football state if not for the franchising system to safeguard a platform to invest resources to develop the game, even if those three have flaws that range from minor to critical. Also, some attention to continental club competitions would make a difference, in which Australia seems to be better than the USA despite having only the Wanderers as champions.

[@dixoncider8372]

if the infrastructure in your home country isn't that great then it is inevitable that the youngsters would seek the top academies elsewhere. maybe when Australia does create a strong academy system and a competitive pro league they would want to stay.@@martynhunter6083

[@WhyAreAllTheGoodUsernamesTaken]

​@@martynhunter6083As a Viking fan I can only say thank you very much for Patrick Yazbek and Nick D'Agostino, keep them coming please

[@martynhunter6083]

@WhyAreAllTheGoodUsernamesTaken How is Daggers doing? I meant to keep up with his career but completely forgot. He used to play for the team I follow Perth Glory. He was sadly underused. He always got the fans going but manager always used him as a last 20 minute sub.

[@torresserg]

I recall being excited for the 94' world cup back when I was stationed in Hawaii and talking to my fellow Marines about it. They looked at me like I was a traitor. They statements like "If we cared about it, we would pull athletes from the real sports leagues and just win the whole thing, you know if we cared about it". It seems like the American attitude is "If I can't compete at the highest level, I'll simply berate it and say it's beneath me". I'm so happy to see that mindset die out. Long live football. World football.

[@cklambo]

Ur friends have a point tho. After the main american sports have taken most of the top atheletes, whats left over is taken by soccer. So until that changes USA will never win the world cup.

[@xFurashux]

well, your national champions are getting called world champions so it doesn't come from nowhere.

[@psvmjohn]

@@xFurashuxTo be fair, a lot of them are. The only American sport that Non-Americans are better at is maybe Baseball, only because Japanese baseball culture is insane.

[@xFurashux]

@@psvmjohn no they are not. You can't be a champion of the world if teams from only 2 countries can participate. Giving titles without competition defeats the whole idea of tournaments. I can give them that in American football they are the world champions because only they play that.

[@psvmjohn]

@@xFurashux Americans are the best at Baseball and Basketball too. Either way, it’s just a cool title to have, not really worth getting mad over.

[@de132]

I also think the "Soccer War", the 1928-29 internal war between the US Football Association (later the US Soccer Federation) and the American Soccer League, had an interesting impact of the development of football in the United States. Essentially, it removed the most popular football club in the United States from the United States' top league due to the ASL wanting to be more "franchise" like. That club being Bethlehem Steel, not to be confused with the modern version of the club now called Philadelphia Union II, ugh (While MLS Next Pro is beneficial for developing players, I really loathe MLS' hatred of the history of this sport in this country). And when I say "popular", they weren't on par with baseball but they were certainly no slouches either. Bethlehem Steel match results were printed in Philadelphia newspapers and Bethlehem Steel would also travel outside the United States like their tour of Scandinavia in 1919. International friendlies would occur in the U.S. prior to the Soccer War. For example, some friendlies included the likes of Rangers and Celtic. Real Madrid played one of their first matches outside of Europe in the U.S. on September 25, 1927 (although fun fact, they needed players from Athletic Club and Osasuna to fill out the Real Madrid squad for that match). Sparta Praha would play a series of friendlies in the US in 1926. Hakoah Vienna, who played a match at the Polo Grounds in New York that set the U.S. attendance record for football that would last until Pele. The Corinthian, a London club that would actually be the namesake of Brazil's famous Corinthians, played a massive set of friendlies in the US. The decision essentially caused multiple teams to leave the league either due to disagreement or concern about regulations. This destabilized pretty much every club around this conflict regardless of decision, and *all* of that right before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. While it is unclear if semi-pro/pro football clubs in the U.S. could have survived the Great Depression, the "Soccer War" certainly helped to kill clubs like Bethlehem Steel, the New York Soccer Giants, Fall River F.C and Pawtucket Rangers in a more rapid pace. Also, off topic, but the successor American Soccer Leagues (yes, plural) are an interesting story too. The United States has a bizarre history in this sport. Essentially to sum everything up since this post is kinda long: The Soccer War basically took the U.S.'s small grassroots infrastructure and destroyed it basically in the span of a year.

[@de132]

I also feel like the Cold War impacted the growth of Association Football in the U.S. and its perceived "unamerican"-ness. Especially as nations in the Eastern Bloc such as the Soviet Union, Hungary, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia were some of the most successful football powers during the Cold War. Some of the few football matches that aired on TV in the U.S. until cable television were World Cup or Olympic matches.

[@rorkeslayer3925]

The real reason the great depression happened

[@eboethrasher]

Yeah, back then, asoc was more popular than American football, at least the early attempts at the professional level. The early NFL in the Midwest had no real chance until the teams started to spread out. You aren't gonna have much draw with the Portsmouth Lions, but you move them to Detroit and you start to get fans. If only we had forward movement back then, we would be in a different place now, with teams that were created organically like the ones in other parts of the world. Bethlehem Steel. They would have been the OG Steelers.

[@PoissionBrackets]

Only thing he missed is that HS sports in rural areas replaces the local club sports structure. And the colleges become the highest sporting level reachable in the early 20th century.

[@brianngure151]

This is true, but the level at which hs sports can be compared to an professional team youth setup has to be understood. Hs sports ,unless it’s a top 1% school in the nation in a certain sport or it’s a football state, like Texas, or Georgia, Can’t have the money and infrastructure comparable to a professional teams you set up it’s just that simple

[@lazyidiotofthemonth]

@@brianngure151 Actually HS definitely have more money to work with in a lot of cases, and there are a shit ton more American HS than Every Soccer Academy in Europe combined, in just Texas alone.

[@Cynicayke]

Knowing Dana White hates football makes me love football even more.

[@GarkKahn]

No wonder people started getting bored watching ufc

[@michaelwoods8299]

Dana white is a billionaire, he's already won. Why tf does he feel compelled to be such a hateful prick? He can never just have a slightly negative opinion

[@radidov5333]

saying is the least talented sport is mind blowing..the guy has the brain of a fly..

[@camerasanti4652]

He loves football now, as he tried to go international with the ufc he realized he can't be beefing with football

[@p.ipebomb]

Idk I think it's all the fake crying and fake falling in soccer 😂

[@cltmck]

What's not mentioned here is that soccer has always been a sport children played in the US. When I was a kid everyone's first organized sport was soccer. You usually started playing at 5 or 6 years old and most kids played for a few years before quitting and moving on to more popular sports that they would go on the play in high school and maybe college like football, basketball, and baseball. Because of this, it was very heavily associated with children. I think the stigma against it where I lived was basically, "soccer is a game for small children, grow up and play a real sport." Also, there basically was no high level soccer to be watched anywhere at the time. I very well may have stuck with it if I could watch the best players in the world on TV every weekend like I could with any other sport. I literally did not know what a good soccer player looked like until I was in like high school and ESPN started carrying some PL and Champions League matches.

[@TheFranchiseCA]

Where "always" means less than fifty years.

[@celebrim1]

Youth soccer didn't become a big thing until the 1980s. The stigma of soccer as a sport for children and women have an entirely different origin.

[@csnide6702]

Always .... ? NO..... Baseball was the first organized sport played by US kids. - since 1930s

[@rolanddeschain965]

​@@csnide6702and that lasted about 20 years, kids haven't gotten together to play a pickup baseball game since the late 50s. You know what his point is and he's correct.

[@eboethrasher]

@@celebrim1 it started when NASL became popular, so the mid to late 70s. I was playing in 77.

[@NaginiPlays]

As an American, this video helped me understand a lot of hate for soccer here. As a woman, it also makes me a bit emotional and proud to know that women’s soccer kind of led the way.

[@piebit101]

Its football not soccer

[@hao2000ki]

@@piebit101 man who cares? you all know what we are talking about and you're being annoying just because we're american

[@FentanylAbuser]

@@piebit101wrong

[@ivanflores6345]

​@@piebit101 Believe it or not, different places use different words to refer to things. Stop with that.

[@piebit101]

@@FentanylAbuser bro you're based the other people here are shit

[@sorrynotsorry8224]

I'm just imagining that tweet in the thumbnail being real.

[@scottbrayton9484]

It is. This post has been fact checked by real FIFA patriots

[@jamesonmantzel9039]

He publishes this on THE SAME DAY we beat Mexico for the 3rd straight time in the Nations League. We aren't England, France or Holland but we're on the up!

[@marktheshark7588]

I hate to break it to you.But you guys are not on the up.Beating a less competitive Mexico isn't the same flex as before.

[@morverde]

mexico is going through a downfall right now so dont celebrate too much

[@wifi961]

​@marktheshark7588 It's the same Mexico bro. Same literal power. The lamestream ain't hiding that little fact from me.

[@wifi961]

​@@morverdeAnd with their system, it will never be up again.

[@pritapp788]

Mexico, a team that's - at best - a round of 16 participant at the World Cup. Very much like the US, so you guys are beating teams of a similar calibre. There ain't a great deal to celebrate there.

[@krizil8452]

Paul Caliguiri played for my club SV Meppen and I've never heard the story^^ He was also chosen as one of 72 greatest personalities in the club's history in 2012

[@JuanNunez2023]

It's worth noting that a lot of American sports media influencers are old. All of the top names are Sports journalists and ex-atheletes in their 50's-70's with backgrounds in the traditional American sports: MLB, NFL, NBA, and the college specific version of those three sports. They grew up in that generation that was actively taught to hate soccer. There is a big lack of soccer specific mainstream media voices in ESPN, Fox Sports, and other traditional American sports outlets. That colors the perception of soccer and MLS in America a lot. No one outside the soccer bubble covers soccer.

[@burrito-fr1lt]

So many old people! Geesh.

[@alliedatheistalliance6776]

Not sure how old Pat MacAfee is, but he has been commenting on football a bit. And Jomboymedia. So while traditional media is behind the curve a bit, on social media football is definitely being talked about.

[@sidneyryan1291]

You could argue that English people were naturally taught to hate American sports.

[@alliedatheistalliance6776]

@@sidneyryan1291Beyond the memes and bants, it's more of a disinterest, in my experience anyway. That said, I know a lot of people who like basketball here.

[@de132]

I remember for years, Bob Ley, was the only guy on ESPN that cared about football in the U.S. Ley even pushed for the 1990 FIFA World Cup to have highlights on SportsCenter, which basically made him ESPN's permanent football host from 1990-2016. He got to cover pretty much every World Cup (men's and women's), and most European Championships for ESPN in that span. It certainly helped a lot that, as host of Outside the Lines, Ley was among ESPN's most intellectually respected personalities up there with the likes of John Saunders and Dick Schaap.

[@wesleysmith7431]

Ok, this is probably up there as one of your best videos. I've been playing, watching, and following soccer my entire life and I learned some new things. The history and development of the US game versus foreign leagues and clubs was particularly good. And I did catch you shamelessly plugging in some UVA shots. Go Hokies!

[@tyronejoshua1613]

Can we just take a second to admire how well researched and well written this essay was?

[@cklambo]

Well written yes. Whether the research is accurate, I guess we just have to take Zealands word for it.

[@user-io9hz9ns9y]

Thank you for this video, Zealand. As a Gen Zer growing up in the American Football culture of Texas, I too often heard what you spoke about, in that all my nonsoccer-loving friends (which was about 95%) viewed soccer as a sport for primadonnas and women. In fact, my friends who did enjoy soccer were mostly all women. Soccer was so ostracized by the high school football culture in Texas, that it actually discouraged me from ever playing any organized soccer myself at any level. Too many times did I hear the exact verbiage you mentioned growing up from my American football and baseball coaches, "Get up! Be tough! No crying! This isn't soccer!" Even the 2014 WC (in which I personally watched almost every match) was not enough to garner the attention of my peers. But now, with the rise of American youngsters in Europe, the Pulisic-Mckenie era, and the 2022 WC campaign, I can see that soccer is finally breaking through with my countrymen. And man is it beautiful to see.....

[@valantheflame0193]

But they're not wrong, soccer players would die playing Am football lol.

[@tabletbrothers3477]

​@@valantheflame0193and American football players would get blown away by soccer players if they were playing soccer...

[@valantheflame0193]

@@tabletbrothers3477 Of course they would. Neither player would be good at the other. But AFB players could at least play the game. Neymar taking a dive handoff towards Fred Warner at a full head of steam would result in national mourning in Brazil. Same goes for rufby and aussie rules.

[@guiono100]

​@@valantheflame0193 AFB players wouldn't be able to play because they don't have stamina but we know you are just trying to facetiously brag about how physically big they are.

[@thedecider4755]

@@valantheflame0193They are two different sports that generally require two different physiques, why are you making a comparison? That requirement does not make one better than the other. What is the point of your comment?

[@FCOnside]

You are my favorite KZbinr and I love all of your content. Love from Tampa Bay. Also you played for Tampa Bay FC, one of friends plays for them now!

[@FMGNG]

Brilliant Video Zealand & fascinating to see how game has developed in US

[@DK-nc9wr]

Fantastic content Zealand!

[@chrismc2288]

Im just getting into the sport at 22 years old personally. I started playing fifa and learning about the sport and really enjoy it. Baseball is still my favorite sport, but I’ve been enjoying watching MLS games. I live right near the NE revolution and the new Rhode Island FC so I’m probably going to go to some games as well.

[@pablo_the_zolo]

thank you for another amazing video, love this content. PLEASE keep doing more

[@joebushdotnet]

Great work on this video -- It's very well researched, you actually pick at the historical 'why' behind the subject. A lot of people on this platform wouldn't do that. It fascinates me how quickly the sports hegemony became crystalized in the early 20th century.

[@MrHankeyable]

Great video! Your explaining is plain objective and well articulated, very nice watch Z!

[@Kbandz313]

One aspect that’s definitely overlooked is HS Soccer. It’s not taken as serious as other HS sports from Pro Scouts but if you really look you can find a lot of good players. It’s crazy to me because a lot of the best players that can’t play club due to costs are playing HS. That’s the most local team most in the country will play for and schools do have Freshman/JV/Varsity teams.

[@celebrim1]

USSF abandoning high school and college play as a path to professional soccer was an absolutely massive mistake. We'd have been much better off trying to get states to adopt two seasons a year for High School soccer and working on creating better high school coaches than basically anything we did do except create MLS, and even then we still need to be investing in HS soccer.

[@yrtepgold]

The problem with HS soccer is NHFS thinks they can make better rules than the rest of the world.

[@zHawkC]

How good they are is pretty relative. I know 2 British teenagers who went over to America and played football there. One of them was a big talent at one point, released from a premier league academy and then released from a non league club in Englands 7th tier of football. Has since made loads of apps for 2nd tier American teams. Another played in goal for a local team in England, went to HS soccer and became their star striker, breaking the record for most goals ever scored for them and helping them make a state final. I watched that final live and the best player on the pitch by a long way was a winger who was very good at dribbling but nothing else. Poor awareness and never released the ball at the right time. There are so many prospects in the UK who never quite make it due to the level of competition but could play in the US and be a top tier talent. The gulf is so wide because of youth coaching, England made massive strides on that front (copying the Spanish model a decade or so ago) and are reaping the rewards now. The US have to implement the same thing while battling against their other three main sports for talent, attention and money. This post isn't hating btw, the US will keep getting better as the sport is reaching more and more people and I welcome that, good luck to them. But until there's elite coaching from young ages (under 10s at the absolute latest, all the way through to under 18s) the US won't be able to catch up with major footballing nations. This video (and comments like yours) did give me a better understanding of how broken up coaching is for football in your country and I appreciate that.

[@celebrim1]

@@zHawkC The quality of High School coaching in the USA is generally dismal across the board. At 1st division college level it is much better, but at this point it's rare for a school to have a coach that played at that level and so was exposed to quality coaching. Most of them only know what they learned from other bad coaches. It also varies widely across the country. The level of coaching in say a Maryland or in a wealthy district of a big Northeast high school is vastly different than the level of coaching in say Oklahoma or Mississippi where soccer is still very much a marginal sport seen to be primarily a girl's sport. As such, whether or not a British teen comes over here and makes a big sensation depends not just on the British teen but where he ends up playing. I finished High School in Alabama in the 1980s for example where soccer was very much not a respected sport and most high schools had only had a team for less than 5 years, and sure an average British male student would have been one of our best players because no one really had a clue. But our best player was a kid from Ohio who had been a good player in Ohio but who was by Alabama standards then the best ever to have played the game in the state.

[@zHawkC]

@@celebrim1 Yeah that's a good point. It's easy to forget how different the states are, coming from the UK where things like education and sports are so standardised nationwide. From what I've heard the high school coach had a background in american football and next to no knowledge of football. Based on what you've said that must be pretty common in the South. Lots of kids must miss their chance to be good players if the coaching doesn't get good until college level. I often hear about people who've never played American football converting and doing well even in their 20s. But this doesn't work for football, building technique from an early age is so incredibly important. By the time you're at college it's usually too late to catch up on a missed football education.

[@Stoggler]

I have to say, this is a brilliant video. Thank you. Good English accent at the beginning as well!

[@tenther5019]

Well done! Excellent piece of work!

[@JPFalcononor]

Excellent summary, though I am surprised you did not touch on the USL, which helps promote soccer on a broader level.

[@matreimer]

Great video. Being from Canada, I think a lot of what you said here applies similarly to football culture in Canada (or lack thereof.)

[@eler2654]

Canada also isn’t a great football country, but I’m English and just moved to Canada and I was surprised when most people said they preferred football in a survey I did for a math project 😂

[@RDRevolver8282]

Did u have "football" or "soccer" as the option?

[@eler2654]

@@RDRevolver8282 soccer, if i say football theyll think american football

[@Human1ty]

@@eler2654 In Canada we play Canadian Football, which is a similar but different variation of Gridiron Football. Skills translate between Canadian and American Football, and many have played both, but they are key differences between the two sports.

[@robellis4768]

This is the kind of video I can show to my old man to show young people on the Internet can be very informative. Great work, team Zealand. (I'm old too, I'll have to play it to my dad on half speed)....

[@elliott1378]

Who’s here after the nations league final. Dos a cero baby!!

[@alternatehistorysports]

I looked into this a lot while doing an alternate history timeline. There were various leagues attempted over the years, it would have been very possible for any of them to have continued and steadily grown the sport in the USA.

[@TDSCymro]

Really interesting insight, cheers Z

[@MattayManiac]

Super interesting insight into football in America. And interesting hearing it from an American. Loving these essay style football Z!

[@MesserMorfeo]

Ah, Alexi Lalas. My father was a huge fan, when he played in Serie A. He was not super good, but he was down to earth, appeared on italian satirical tv programs where he also played the guitar.

[@pjkerrigan20]

Too bad he’s like our worst pundit now lol. He’s America’s loudest and least reasonable talking head when it comes to soccer, but for some reason he still gets these big jobs, like the World Cup coverage.

[@jal051]

@@pjkerrigan20 Donovan is the best American player ever!

[@javiojeda521]

Fun fact: the 1950 American World Cup team had five players from the same city and four players from the same neighborhood in St. Louis. St. Louis, while always being a baseball first city has a rich history in soccer culture in America. There were semi-professional leagues that are believed to have started in the 1890s and 11 teams from St. Louis have won the U.S. Open cup. There’s also the rivalry between St. Louis University and Southern, Illinois University, Edwardsville. The rivalry began in the 60s when SIUE came into existence, the team started playing each other in one game competition for the bronze boot, which is a trophy. Both of the universities have had success at the national level St. Louis University, 10 national championships in the 60s and 70s while SIUE won two national championships one was in division two and one in division one. The rivalry was at its peak in the 80s and still the record for the highest attended college soccer game was the 1982 edition of this rivalry when 22,000 people came to Bush stadium to watch the teams play. The rivalry took a hiatus from the 90s to 2018 when SIUE moved to division two. However when SIUE returned to division one the rivalry began back up and is now in the St. Louis MLS stadium, this past year 8000 people came to the rivalry game and I’m hoping more come in the future , SIUE also won the bronze boot for the first time since 1982. St. Louis also had one of the best supported major indoor soccer league teams the St. Louis steamers, which, during its peak, saw higher average attendances than the St. Louis Blues our hockey team. St. Louis is an underrated soccer city. Edit: hahaha I used text to speech to type this out and realized just now that there were a few errors…SLU did not win 110 national championships as I accidentally put.

[@joso7228]

Well get a Pro Team then. The Rams have long gone.

[@javiojeda521]

@@joso7228 ? What’re you taking about? We have an MLS team and we have the Battlehawks (we’ll see how long that league survives). Many people in STL don’t want the NFL back.

[@jmal]

@@javiojeda521 I hope kaw continues to be the law.

[@brando7266]

If u could have named the st louis mls team, what name would u have recommended? Instead of st louis city?

[@junyank1846]

Amazing insight. Awesome work, Zealand 😎👍🇺🇸⚽🦅

[@victorterheege5462]

Love to hear this insight.

[@kylecorman7859]

I was one of those rare kids that grew up playing soccer, in part thanks to growing up in the shadow of an Air Force base where kids who had spent time at bases in England, Germany, and Italy would be rotated back and enjoyed playing soccer much more than American Football. I played until the costs of traveling for teams got too much, but the love of the sport and how it helped me in other sports will not be forgotten.

[@theophilussogoromo3000]

So basically, American football fans look at soccer the same way rugby fans look at American football.😂

[@AreEnTee]

Yep

[@jimmychoppa1997]

Facts. Take off the pads you fucking pussies. Love to watch them run it straight at some Māori boys

[@tonyc8752]

No, not all. Americans like soccer.

[@ericciaramella1984]

Or how American football fans view the patty cake rugby with 1 or 2 American style football hits a game. The rest of it is just mud wrestling. Pads and helmets make the game much more violent on every play not just some plays when everything works out.

[@theophilussogoromo3000]

@ericciaramella1984 Well, that depends on which rugby you're referring to. If you're referring to a union, then I agree that American football has slightly more frequent big hits, but if you're referring to league then every hit is bone crushing and there are harder hits than American football. The sport of American football is a waste of good athletes that would be much more utilized in rugby. Just compare the skillset of the rugby league forwards to the skillset of the offensive linemen. Rugby league forwards skillset: - run - catch - tackle - hitup - fend (stiffarm) - pass - offload - sidestep Amercan football offensive linemen skillset: - blocking Waste of athletes!🤦🏿‍♂️

[@larsjensen4563]

Excellent research as usual 🙂👍

[@cvillalpando]

This is the best explanation I've seen about the history of the sport in the US. Kudos

[@nolan564]

Great video as always. I think something that wasnt mentioned that is helping the sport grow is 2 other things. 1. The amount of elite clubs coming over for friendlies is growing. I hope that changes to a weekend of actual league matches or a super cup. Like in FM24 I just played an italien super cup at the big house in january. Now that isnt realistic as its the big house in january. But itd be amazing to see the spanish or italian super cup played over here. Spain just played theirs in Saudi Arabia so maybe one day. 2. Just the ease of watching leagues. I can watch england, dutch, spanish, german and italien soccer on TV. My latino friends watch mexican league soccer. Its super easy to watch whatever league youre in to.

[@jordanledoux197]

Americans spend absurd amounts of money on sports compared to almost anyone else in the world. Soccer is still not quite a sport that has broken through, but each of the 30 MLS teams would likely cost as much as a mid-table Prem team if you wanted to "buy" the franchise. And excitingly, this has gone BOTH ways. Americans are definitely warming up to soccer, and Europeans are definitely warming up to the NFL. The NFL plays a few games in Europe every year, and they sell well and people seem to enjoy them. It's not an either-or thing. Both sports can be fun. And America certainly has enough money spent on sports to fully fund both. The NBA, for as big as it is, is nearly an order of magnitude less popular than the NFL. Yet the NBA has somewhere in the range of 20-30 players that get paid a yearly salary that would be almost prohibitive in soccer outside of the Saudi Pro League. This is why lots of European clubs are doing friendlies in the US. They can make ABSURD amounts of money playing friendlies in front of US audiences. It's one of the reasons that a lot of people think it's only a matter of time before American soccer becomes a worldwide powerhouse at the club level: the amount of money that Americans casually throw at sports is insane.

[@sdeepj]

Immigration is why baseball became popular. Baseball became a way to integrate into American society, it was a way for people to interact with their neighbors who came from other countries. They had no prior ties to the Yankees or Red Sox, like they had with soccer teams.

[@SELECTVIBES]

love the kit, I just moved to the area and I frequent that cafe for work.

[@BLANC0420]

Great video! Appreciate the history lesson.

[@shyamsundar4264]

Another thing hampering growth here in the States is pay to play. I live in a mostly middle to upper class area and even those kids can't afford the eye-popping fees to play soccer here which makes you wonder how aspiring players who aren't so well off can even touch the field in this system

[@nolan564]

It can't be any more than what we pay for our hockey and football gear and equipment, as well as fees. My parents would spend 5 figures a year for hockey. I'd argue parent and grand parent preference plays the biggest part. They going to push their kids to play hockey, football, baseball or basketball? Or soccer?

[@shyamsundar4264]

​@@nolan564Tbf since hockey and American football require so much gear, the costs make a little more sense(still ridiculously expensive). For soccer you need barely anything, so paying hundreds if not thousands for a kid to play a 12 or 13 game season make 0 sense

[@BonaFideBC]

Hockey is maybe the most expensive team sport to play though. Cost of rinks, sticks, equipment... it's low-key a rich person sport. Soccer really shouldn't have to be that way. It's not some kind of accident that lots of the best players in other countries come from impoverished or working class communities. But centering the sport around pay-to-play and higher education makes it near impossible for those Americans to gain access to the sport. The academies are going to have to play a huge role in overturning this.

[@tthaas]

Pay-to-play has definitely got to be a factor in developing soccer in the US; it's really easy to have a kid on a travel team cost their family five figures once you've paid for the league fees, transportation, lodging, food on trips, etc. That, and the perception of a lack of professional opportunity compared to basketball and football, means that a kid with a lick of athletic talent is pushed to play them instead of soccer. Imagine an alternate timeline where Tyreek Hill (who obviously has world-class speed and eye-foot coordination) is an offensive midfielder rather than a wide receiver!

[@ComradeOgilvy1984]

@@BonaFideBC It is expensive if you do not live in the right areas of the USA (and Canada) where there is a tradition of turning a backyard into a rink over the winter, and kids come home from school and play hockey with each other every afternoon for the winter months. (Unfortunately climate change is putting a crimp in this tradition some winters.)

[@adithyav9283]

I'm from India, imagine what I'm going through 🥲

[@r2dad282]

Ha! Even worse! Though I keep wondering if you'll be able to turn a bowler into a baseball pitcher at some point. Look what the Aussies have done with the punting position in the NFL.

[@adithyav9283]

@@r2dad282 Stranger things have happened. Although I do remember English cricketer Harry Brook played with the St Louis Cardinals for a short stint in believe.

[@MaliciousTachyons]

Bro, I feel your pain.

[@gabbar51ngh]

India could use a similar tactic. Get football players from colleges wnd Universities.

[@Skoopyghost]

I only imagine that footballers can't eat cows and respawn.

[@Sasquatch10]

I love these videos, it's like getting a literal history lesson in the beautiful game.

[@aadhaarmurty1180]

Outstanding video....even better background music.

[@m.a.mehalick0910]

We're not bad at football. We're pretty good at it. We're undefeated football world champions... We just aren't very good at soccer.

[@jal051]

It's easy to be the world champions at a sport only your country plays. xD

[@maxscameraguy]

And the way that people knew Pelé was because of ABC's Wide World of Sports, who showed the final of the World Cup live on ABC. With Pelé and Brazil being in a bunch of those finals, people knew of Pelé, which is why he was such a significant signing

[@clareflattery8720]

This was so good! Not gonna lie you got me amped for the World Cup 😂

[@paulcardus8784]

Great content and explained so well. Have you done a video about how you fell in love with football from your own perspective?

[@kevineusebio]

i mean, to be fair, as a 9 year watcher of the NFL, Soccer players faking injuries for penalties is jarring when we watch NFL players shrug off hits that looks like it should've given them concussion. When soccer players act like nothing happened if they didn't get any penalties, they just look soft AND goofy.

[@kevineusebio]

@@alorienorio What I don't understand is why act like it's the end of the world after collision, and then once the penalty is assessed, they act like nothing happened. Is it the end of the world or not? pick a lane. These players oversell their injuries only to act like nothing happened a few seconds later. even worse when they're supposed to be in extreme pain, then switch up to being aggressive to the refs after not getting what they want. goofy.

[@thefriesens1071]

​@@kevineusebioIt isn't really the players fault. It's the refs. The players see that the ref falls for it, so they do it. Thirty years ago, the refs wouldn't have fallen for these antics. It has nothing to do with being soft. You see flopping in other sports too, like basketball and hockey.

[@fordastreeets8019]

@alorienorio U can definitely say that soccer/football takes more endurance/stamina while American Football is the more explosive sport. I know you guys hate it when americans exaggerate about the flops from soccer/football players, but thats the same thing yall do when yall say American football players are weak because they wear pads. I also hear many ppl from outside the US hate on the commercial breaks, which I do get. Its annoying, but the purpose of the stoppages on the field is for the teams to strategize. Believe it or not, American Football actually is a strategically complex sport. Without the commercials u would just see more strategizing from both teams before the play begins. Many American Football fans just ignore the commercials and anticipate whats going to happen the next play

[@kevineusebio]

​@@alorienorioI've watched a few Premier League and MLS games the past few months. That happening once is already too much. Multiple times in one match? Maybe your brain learned to tune it out because you're used to it, but it's very apparent to a casual watcher. I wouldn't have pointed it out if I've only seen it once every now and then, lol

[@ComradeOgilvy1984]

@@kevineusebio "These players oversell their injuries only to act like nothing happened a few seconds later" You are confused by an (usually) honest reaction. Players collect bruises on their ankles and shins. If you have a bruise on top of a bruise on top of a bruise, the pain from even a "love tap" can be absolutely unbelievable for several seconds. The worst pain I have ever felt as a soccer player was not from the hardest kicks, it was from minor bangs on existing injuries. In fact, the few times I was kicked genuinely very hard, I was able to bounce back up and be back in the play in a second or two -- I had the luck of receiving the new bruise on an uninjured part of my leg.

[@bluetheorymedia]

Absolutely brilliant man. This could be a whole semester long sociology course at college.

[@scottcandage7640]

Nice shout out to Bert Patenaude from my hometown of Fall River, Mass. First ever World Cup hat trick.

[@jdredwine7224]

We no longer suck at football and are clearly the best team in CONCACAF, which yes does suck. We still got a long ways to go to catch Spain, Brazil, Argentina, France, etc, but we are closing the gap fast. The fact we are 13th in the world is pretty good considering 85% of Americans really don't care much. MLS has made a huge impact as has the USL. I would love to see college soccer in the US Open Cup and would love to see an open system. Maybe one day.

[@tomatoisnotafruit5670]

America is not 13th in the world lmao, USA's real rank is somewhere in the 30's.

[@jdredwine7224]

@@tomatoisnotafruit5670 opinion ranks aka "Real" ranks do not exist. This team is way better than the 30's. We got players that don't even play that start in La Liga and the Bundlesliga.

[@tomatoisnotafruit5670]

@@jdredwine7224 I looked through Fifa teams ranking and USA is not a top 20 team. Argentina, France, England, Belgium, Brazil, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Uruguay, Morocco, Columbia, Germany, Senegal, Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland, Korea. All better than USA. USA was the weakest team to make it to RO16 in 2022 World Cup.

[@jdredwine7224]

@@tomatoisnotafruit5670 you might want to check again. FIFA has us 13th. The truth is about 5 of those 19 teams you mentioned are only debatable. The US has a bad manager. That may give some of those team an edge, but I would take our players over at least 4-6 of those teams especially Korea who only has like 3 good players. Italy is calling up strikers from Serie C. They aren't your father's Italy. Morocco is close to the US level. Had a brilliant manager at the world cup. Senegal has no creative midfielders. Colombia is pretty close. I like the US over Poland and Denmark too on overall depth of players. The others I'll hand to you though. They are clearly ahead of us.

[@tomatoisnotafruit5670]

@@jdredwine7224 FIFA ranking is based on the team performance in their own continent, but teams do not play each other in different continents until a world cup, sure USA can compete with some of these teams on a good day, but there is easily 15 teams that USA is simply outclassed in every way. USA ranking is only so high cause they play in a weak continent and they have no competition. If USa played in Europe, they would struggle to make it to a Euro cup, let alone a world cup

[@usmnt9]

Soccer may not be HUGE in the US but it is still very popular

[@PolecanePC]

What we need is this video + some cool US database for FM 24, so we can watch video and then play FM right away with some amazing MLS save or something

[@jamesgifford3236]

Fantastic vid Zealand!

[@Henry-uw5lt]

Im both a fan of football and football and the disrespect given by americans to soccer/football sucks but the disrespect from Europeans to american football is even worse they dont even try to understand it and think its just a violent game when there is beauty in both sports

[@celebrim1]

No one that has tried to play both sports competitively holds a dismissive attitude to either one. You can always tell ignorance speaking when they mock one or the other.

[@jal051]

It's not Europeans, it's every other country in the world 🤣

[@vega9gaming]

What a wrong timing, USA just won the CONCACAF Nations League by beating Mexico 2-0 in the final

[@theophilussogoromo3000]

They've won the 2 previous CONCACAF as well. You put too much prestige on North American football (soccer). That doesn't matter unless they perform well, not just in the regional stage, but on the international stage as well.

[@onyx3881]

@@theophilussogoromo3000 i mean they did pretty good during the World Cup and even tied against England which is one the best teams out there

[@Lostouille]

​@@theophilussogoromo3000 that the opposite. Before drooling in front of the golden trophy of the world cup they should aim for the local trophy first :)

[@fate8718]

​@Lostouille I mean For like Football jr Owning the region/division aint a bad step for a country that overall doesnt care for the sport Plus Yk triple every other country combined in Olympic medal totals(total, golds and I think Silvers or Bronzes but Im not sure on the last one) is prolly enough bragging rights for now But yeah in all seriousness its not a good region However Its America And their sports prowess is nearly unrivaled when they start to care and develop people

[@theophilussogoromo3000]

@Lostouille the entire point of the video is that America would do much better if they took it seriously. The comment implies that USA dominating North America somehow is a checkmate against the point of the video.

[@Slaphappy1975]

best summary of us soccer history I've ever seen 👍

[@lulengar]

Ahh Casey Keller, nice to hear his name :D Was the goalie at Mönchenglabach (the club is support in Germany) for a while.

[@luishernandezblonde]

It seems Anglophone nations or those influenced from it are not destined for football unless they invested for it. Canada, Australia, NZ, Kenya, India, Japan, Dominican Republic (brief American rule), Tanzania, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc, all are similar.

[@naoyanaraharjo4693]

Japan is an asskicker in AFC And has the best Asian league competed only by the K-league(Korean League)

[@luishernandezblonde]

@@naoyanaraharjo4693 Japan didn't go to football until 1990s. Before that, it was a baseball country.

[@celebrim1]

England is fundamentally a multisport nation so its actual colonies ended up either as multisport nations or adopting some other English sport other than soccer. Soccer is merely subverted all the nations that didn't have their own sporting traditions. Although you could argue that Italy had it's own brand of soccer and it basically just agreed to play England's way because of the similarity.

[@totallynotblakem7026]

damn us aussies should quit if we’re on the same level as fucking india 😂

[@gabbar51ngh]

Football is 2nd most popular sport in india despite they're not good at it. Most watch European clubs and leagues. If they were actually good at playing it then cricket would be 2nd tier sport.

[@reverendroar]

This is a fascinating story about US football and I’m glad my dad’s best friend, Jeff, is part of it. Jeff is my dad’s best friend, lived on the next street in Southampton and was his best man at my parent’s wedding. Jeff moved to the US in the 90s and he worked futsal and woman’s football in St Louis and Kansas City- really big cities full of futsal and female football heritage. He was called by USSF as ‘One of the best grassroots founders beyond the Mississippi River’. In 1999, he was part of the coaching staff for US female football team’s World Cup campaign, that was are inaugural World Cup; and he would work for FC Kansas City being part of the coaching team to win both NWSL Championship 2014 and 2015 before they dissolved in 2017 and become Kansas City Current. Now he works with futsal groups across the United States, Mexico and Canada - Helping develop the sport while also using the sport to help create a community centre for all people: male or female, old or young, new migrants or American people. He also works with KCFutsal and works with Sporting Kansas. So please US football fans respect the grassroots of Female football and futsal which massively helped your football history and continues to develop the game

[@platonicriot]

Oh my god i always thought your voice sounds like it should have a british accent and i was so off guard when you dropped it. Keep in mind I have watched quite a few of your videos now

[@Norm-R]

The reason Detroit City is my favorite club and team to watch of any professional sport is because it is community grown like the soccer clubs of England. We started in the lower leagues and while there's no pro/rel system, we moved up slowly to the USL-C where we play today.

[@dangerousdave5162]

i've recently became a fan of the the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL due to the ex Hearts manager being the new coach

[@pablo_the_zolo]

historic team, love their stadium too. always thought they were really cool. judging by your profile pic im assuming you’re scottish? which is really crazy to see foreigners watching lower division us soccer

[@adamgeigerjr6995]

We're too diluted as a nation to make USA soccer a powerhouse. This creates this unfortunate decision for most young people as they take the next step in school sports (high school then college). As a former dual sport athlete, having to decide between soccer & lacrosse scholarships was hard enough and that's two different sports played in different seasons (fall & spring). Being that soccer shares the same season as football, you have too many exceptional athletes choosing football as their path early on knowing this ultimatum always arrives. Its the same reason why I had to quit baseball even though I loved it (just because I loved lacrosse more). In many cases, football is just a more popular & attractive option (as its considered more "masculine" as a physical sport, has a larger roster that accomodates any body build/type, and oh .... cheerleaders decorate your locker before every game day). Its even those little factors that legimitately get some people to say I'd rather be a kicker/punter than a backup goalkeeper.

[@Timbone07]

Not true as the women's team has shown. Many other immigrant nations have done well. Brazil for example is made of Africans, Indigenes and Portuguese

[@philipmcniel4908]

It's (arguably) not true for the women's team because they don't have to pick between soccer and Am. football.@@Timbone07

[@ComradeOgilvy1984]

The USA is not going to be a powerhouse like Brazil, Argentina, France any time this century, no, but there is enough athletic talent available to squeak into the top dozen or so. Part of the beauty of soccer is it is not so discriminating about body type. If you are not at least 5'11" you have to be an obvious one in a million athlete for any college to give you a serious look for the football team. Ditto basketball. Many of the best soccer players to ever lace on boots are ballpark 5'9" or less (Messi, Maradonna, Xavi, Iniesta, just off the top of my head). So literally half of our young males would be far better off focusing on baseball & soccer and ignoring football or basketball entirely, if they want a chance of even playing at the college level. More so if they have dreams of a professional career.

[@philipmcniel4908]

I think it does discriminate with respect to body type on some level; I can scarcely see someone like Ryan Crouser or Jason Kelce being successful at it, even if they were to try to cut as much body fat as possible and avoid strength training as a way to decrease their muscle mass. Even DK Metcalf, who clearly has lower body fat than either of the two I just mentioned (and better fits European notions of athleticism, having once even participated in the Olympic trials for the 100m dash), would likely struggle to play soccer at a high level due to his large lean muscle mass. With a few obvious exceptions such as Micky Quinn, soccer really does require someone to be built very skinny, so that he can put on a little bit of muscle without becoming the least bit bulky--basically it's only open to people whose body type is at least passably capable of being trained to specialize in distance running rather than sprinting or strength events. IMO this is one strength of Am. football or baseball; they have different positions that lend themselves to different body types. On the other hand, while American sports do allow for a bit more variety in body type, they perhaps don't do as well for those who _are_ more light and skinny, so soccer probably would serve them better. @@ComradeOgilvy1984

[@ComradeOgilvy1984]

@@philipmcniel4908 I think your points are not wrong, but very exaggerated. There are a portion of players on most soccer teams that could easily have bulked up to play American football -- mostly keepers and defenders. Not everyone on the top teams looks like they are ready to run a marathon. Kelce could easily have been a soccer player if he trained for it from age 15, instead of bulking up for explosive power. While you have to be mobile to play soccer defense, it is simply not true that every defender covers a lot of ground in a game -- those that charge forward to attack do, and others (especially CBs) do not. It might seem obvious that soccer would select for fast players, but it is not so simple. The best teams have often had players on the pitch that were not fast. Prime Iniesta and Prime Xavi were actually pretty slow, and they were not merely on the same squad but first choice to be on the pitch at the same time.

[@J-K-A]

To make your point even better, the one area where we have a similar culture and similar passion, college football. It maps onto European football culture so well.

[@MoonSilenceSnow]

I really liked this video. You should make it a series. Making a football development history video about Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy and England and how they're still superpowers to this day. Even though they have their ups and downs like Brazil current dark age, Germany's and Italy's recent flops, Argentina's 28 year title drought and England's, well being England.

[@thargoff]

Paul Caligiuri Hansa Rostock legend!

[@johnnydropkicks]

I’m American and I realized long ago that American’s do not seem to care for team sports that were not invented on this continent.

[@JuT11]

Same thing with cars, music, movies... That's American exceptionalism for ya

[@NathansWargames]

American Football is Derived from Rugby and Rugby is Derived from Football( soccer) that's why they are called American FOOTBALL and Rugby FOOTBALL. Baseball is Derived in many ways from a game called Rounders which was invented in the UK and 1st referenced in 1744 meawhile Baseball evolved over a 100 year period from 1749 onwards starting off in the UK when it was called Bass Ball and eventually making its way over to the US through Imigration. The 1st of a game similar to basketball was in 1591 in Germany. generally speaking the sports americans played are not invented in the US but codified instead from sports invented elsewhere.

[@scubasteve6175]

America is a melting pot it's not really like that. A lot of people love soccer

[@wifi961]

Who cares, if you like it just enjoy it.

[@johnnydropkicks]

@@scubasteve6175 Did you watch the video? If so, did you miss the part in which he explained how immigrants came to America and how and why they assimilated themselves to American culture, thus dropping a lot from their own culture?

[@owenthornhill9671]

I'm doing my to do list while listening!

[@NikG000]

Very nice video Zealand

[@pjkerrigan20]

I grew up playing american football, where soccer is CONSTANTLY derided within the culture. Soccer has been my favorite sport for a long time now, but I was raised all thru high school to despise it. I think it’s an insecurity thing, bc in my experience American football culture is often characterized by insecure machismo, but we were literally taught to refer to our school’s soccer players with homophobic terms. Both my coaches and teammates alike constantly talked shit about the soccer team practicing on the field next to us, often using disgusting terms like “grass f***s.” The moment you realize that much of the American hatred for soccer comes from the projection of insecurity, it makes complete sense. Honestly sad I didn’t open my eyes to the beautiful game sooner, I know in my school’s case the soccer team had a more positive culture and actually won most of its games, whereas our football team was toxic, bitter, and almost always lost lol.

[@NoLuckJKMY807]

Title: Why the US sucks at football. Canada: Knock, knock. We are even worse than you Americans.

[@PBurns-ng3gw]

Perhaps, but you more than make up for it in hockey 😁

[@roughysk9851]

but hey, they have one big player playing as a regular for a big club, alphonso davies

[@nickb2049]

hockey is superior to soccer so you guys are set lol

[@thatoneguywholovesthena-4529]

​@@nickb2049absolutely no soul outside America knows hockey.....TF you mean superior?💀

[@nollienick1121]

@@thatoneguywholovesthena-4529 really? Finland

[@Eternalduelist56]

I'm not in the photo of The Wall from Orlando City's first MLS match, but I was there (to the right of the camera in front of the Heineken banner) 😁

[@DanteCoding]

That accent change gave me whiplash. Well done

[@remybien3277]

Sucks is reserved for like Mozambique or China. Us is actually pretty decent at soccer. Not a world power of course but hardly a doormat. I would say they are okay with chance to be very good

[@bigbake132]

It isn't just the "macho" aspect that turns off many Americans. Soccer is also seen as a very left wing space in the US. From the players (Women's National Team especially) to fans waving pride/BLM flags and being almost exclusively liberal. Its also seen as very middle/upper middle class as well. The players all come from wealthy families and when I think of all the soccer fans in the US, the image of a white, middle class liberal comes to mind. Conservatives follow American Football and Hockey while liberals watch soccer (baseball and basketball being kinda in the middle). Typically, people who are left leaning in the US aren't as big sports fans as conservatives, but I feel like soccer in America is "their sport" so to speak.

[@SkiDaBird]

I saw data from 538 on this. NFL football was the closest to universal politically in the US. Soccer and basketball are liberal, but so are pro sports in general. College basketball and college football leaned much more conservative, but Nascar is the most conservative US sport.

[@thefriesens1071]

​@@SkiDaBirdGood comments, although I don't think it was always political. 20 years ago there was probably very little difference. I find it funny that people get up in arms when talking about which sports they love and hate. Who cares? I'm fairly right wing, but I love soccer. My favorite team is Liverpool, which has a pretty left wing fan base. Go figure! Lol

[@bigbake132]

@@thefriesens1071 Yeah, but just saying that it can turn off a lot of people when its viewed as very left wing.

[@Human1ty]

Hockey also has a farmer league system, where an NHL team has affiliated teams in the AHL and the ECHL where the players are under contract with the NHL team.

[@Minamoto67]

Probably the history of franchise-based football around the World would be interesting topic to make a video. MLS is well documented, but the history of the A-League and the Indian Super League are basically scattered everywhere, and along with that it could be brought the current situation of these leagues.

[@myvidaloka]

USA went on to win another nations league title on a rival. With that same score line. #DOSACERO

[@ScalieBoy1]

Trust, if the presidents of several clubs weren’t a bunch of asshole beggars for money México. Yeah fuck this shit not gonna waste a bible speech for this stupid deadass federation 😤

[@hugomarquez3189]

They don’t suck at football, India sucks at football, China sucks at football, the US has a pretty decent team well within the 15 to 20 best in the world. They don’t dominate tho, they aren’t a serious contender to win a World Cup, but they aren’t bad by any measure. They dominate their own conference in North and Central America, they always beat Mexico (a country that loves football a lot more). In the US there’s this mentality that if you’re not the best you suck, that ain’t life, you can be good and not be the best. There are levels to this.

[@RDRevolver8282]

I don't think dominating our region matters much anymore. Mexico was like the only competition but now they are at their worst. Then about 3 teams like Jamaica, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama who kinda just thug it out.

[@hugomarquez3189]

@@RDRevolver8282 Canada is becoming a good team too, but yeah Concacaf ain’t nothing to write home about. In South America the US would be at the level of between Colombia and Ecuador

[@RDRevolver8282]

@@hugomarquez3189 Canada improved, they have some good players but idk if they're a good team yet. The US on paper is probably on the level of Colombia or Ecuador but Im pretty confident the US would lose if we played each other.

[@mwright_boomer]

When I was growing up, soccer was the sport kids played until they figured out which sport they REALLY wanted to play. You moved on to football, basketball, baseball, etc. Soccer was simply a sport that introduced you to the concept of athletic competition.

[@loplop7029]

I have played soccer since I was 5 years old. I received a scholarship to play at a US college (I am Canadian). I believe the principle knock on soccer in North America is the “flopping.” We grow up with hockey and football where you get stitched up in the tunnel to the dressing room and get back to the bench without missing a shift… and then you play against a guy who falls down if you breathe too hard on him. There is a cultural chasm that might be impossible to overcome.

[@daquandavis5498]

Baseball and its initial structure is pretty damn similar to Euro football. Btw it’s not just the minor leagues a lot of these MLB teams have created youth academy’s just not many in the US. Vast majority of them being in Latin America/Carribean islands.

[@celebrim1]

Well, maybe, but it's modern structure is nothing like European sports. Modern baseball the big teams own all of the tiers on the pyramid below them. Europe has a few affiliate type programs with affliated teams playing on the lower levels, but nothing like the American "farm" system.

[@GuloGulo420]

We're not bad though. We're actually pretty decent. Stop perpetuating this idea and recognize how far we've come in 30 years and the potential we have.

[@FearlessXful]

Cope. US sucks

[@SJPace1776]

This is what gets me. What arbitrary metric do people require to accept that we do love the sport here? My local club Cincinnati has a beautiful downtown stadium if 25k+ that regularly sells out to enthusiastic crowds and yet I still hear "why don't Americans care?" These people are stuck in 1994.

[@AndresMagnone]

xD

[@thebestintheworldcmpunk1944]

Fight and Winnnn❤❤❤❤ 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂​@@SJPace1776

[@decomatsu]

It would be interesting to make a comparison with the development of football in Japan. I think they started almost at same time during the 90's, but now they're some steps ahead

[@stevenwaite244]

Excellent video!

[@alexisauld7781]

It almost feels like a lot of Americans wilfully ignore or even rail against the rampant success of their womens' football team? At least from what I've seen online? And let's not get into the disgraceful squealing and screeching around the last WC when they got knocked out in the quarters- for all the American patriotic fundamentalism I've seen, to see some gleefully celebrate their team losing because of crap they themselves politicised was... really disgusting??

[@KalenAlmeida]

We actually celebrated the USWNTs success for a while but then some of the players went "woke" (literally just existing) so now they, ESPECIALLY Rapinoe, are seen as America hating feminists who deserve their downfall

[@philipmcniel4908]

Historically, they didn't really rail against the success of the women's soccer team, e.g. during the Mia Hamm era (think 1999 Women's World Cup). They were actually pretty popular. That being said, it was seen as the "Girl Power!" sport as a result, which might've made it a bit harder for the boys who played at the time. I would say the last generation of USWNT players, which is now retiring but definitely made their mark on the reputation of the USWNT, did get a reputation for far-Left activism and--in the perception of non-Leftists--for being really loud and annoying about it: Kneeling in protest during the national anthem (which furthered soccer's image as a sport for anti-Americans), demanding that their pay be equal with the men's team (even though they had the option of selecting the men's contract and instead went for a contract with more guaranteed pay that wasn't dependent on winning), or--in the case of their brightest star Megan Rapinoe--now advocating for trans athletes to be allowed to play on the women's team. These kinds of things basically alienated the proportion of the country that _doesn't_ see their country exclusively as the villain and feel like their American-ness should make them "uncomfortable," or sympathize with multimillionaires' complaints about being underpaid (with more guaranteed pay than they'll see in their lifetime), or think that people who went through male puberty should be allowed to play women's sports. In particular, within the context of American political discourse, the kneeling during the national anthem sent a message that said, _"We may have to play for this team as a condition of playing international soccer, but we do not support this country or want to represent it."_

[@bigbake132]

Pretty sure the Women's Team politicized things themselves. They can't blame anyone else for that.

[@MadeYouWook]

Great video 👍🏼

[@mbeastbanana6228]

My brother first got into soccer/football a couple years ago by playing FIFA and building up League II/I teams to win the Premier League. Now me my dad and my brother are Spurs fans who wake up for every game. Its nice to see soccer/football take off in the US and see people get more invested in our national teams and the MLS

[@heppolo]

Women's game has been actually decent for a long time. The current women's team may have fallen off a little bit, but they have some nice players.

[@jal051]

The womens league and the universities are still there. The womens national team will be back up. They will face stronger competition in the future since Europe pro clubs have started taking their female sections seriously, but the US team will still be competing for everything after the needed generational change.

[@MrDan708]

Young US athletes just have so many more choices than other countries. Between baseball, basketball, NFL-style football, ice hockey, etc., our best athletes generally don't often play soccer. But I think it is significant that the internet became widespread not long after the formation of MLS. If you had an interest in soccer and weren't satisfied with the (lack of) coverage of the sport in local and national media, you could go find the info you wanted on your computer.