[thefactor]

people do not understand that soccer is different. a player can be one of the best in the world and hardly ever score a goal.

americans will never warm to it. i love the world cup and cannot wait to get up reaaaaaaallllly early to watch it.

[SJSAMPLE]

Laying SOCCER’s American failure at Beckham’s feet is a little disingenuous. Soccer has long floundered in the US, and using one man to jump-start it is an error in planning as much as execution.

[stevecmd]

Isn’t soccer kind of like a bad version of keep-a -way?

[JRios1968]

I don’t know, maybe he hasn’t been such a bust...after all, fake injuries and sales of orange slices are up...plus the crowds at Chuck E Cheese are getting larger.

[Billthedrill]

Whoa, that's an awful load to try to lay on Beckham. It wasn't Babe Ruth who made baseball popular, it was the other way around.

That said, the game would be improved literally if we were to incorporate the old Aztec rules. Losing team gets sacrificed.

[Sir Gawain]

The rest of the world will never understand how displays of pansy ass behavior faking injuries on every bump could somehow turn Americans off. Not surprising considering the rest of the world is a bunch of pansy asses.

[Obadiah]

Shouldn’t blame Beck. He was poorly used. At this point in his career, Beckham is a specialist. But the popularity of Soccer in America is growing by leaps and bounds. The LA Galaxy is currently in first place in the MLS Western Division, so who cares about whether people think Beck was a bust.

[fightinJAG]

I guess they’ve never heard of Ryan Leaf across the pond?

[Trailerpark Badass]

the former Manchester United star has failed miserably to make football - or soccer as it is called in the US - more attractive to fans.

I remember my soccer team watching movies in the mid-70's about Pele and how he was going to bring the glorious international sport of soccer to us ignorant, provincial Americans.

[NCC-1701]

“...has failed miserably to make football - or soccer as it is called in the US - more attractive to fans....”

With the likes of the Cowboys, Steelers, Packers, or Niners, who needs the other kind of football?

[Sterm26]

In the USA, Soccer is the sport of the future......and always will be.

[dfwgator]

When a Manchester United, Real Madrid or FC Barcelona come here to play an exhibition game, the games always sell out here. So I believe that soccer can find an niche, but the problem is that it won’t happen until our teams can compete with the great European teams. So you have a “Chicken or the Egg” situation. The best way to do it, is to form alliances with the big Euro clubs, essentially making the MLS a minor league for the Europeans, some MLS teams are already doing this, ala “Real Salt Lake” with Real Madrid.

So when Manchester United wants to develop their young players and give them playing time before they crack the lineup, have them play here. Since the hardcore soccer fan in this country already is following the European teams, you get that tie-in.

[wastedyears]

I bet 'Arry would have been better if he chose to play for West Ham United instead of forging ahead with the band.

[EDINVA]

Given the threatened boycott of the NFL on these threads, maybe Rush will boost soccer in the USA ;)

[LuvFreeRepublic]

Beckham was not going to do to soccer here in the US what he did in Europe. And IMHO he is irrelevant to the game. Also, the anti-soccer comments are asinine, over and over and over again. She shoots, she scores! GOALLLLLLLLLL

[Cheetahcat]

They should just took that money and Paid people to sit through that torture instead of bringing that Poodle to play here.

[Political Junkie Too]

But I thought Landon Donovan was supposed to ignite soccer in the USA.

Before that I thought it was supposed to be Cobi Jones, Eric Wynalda, and Alexi Lalas.

-PJ

[LuvFreeRepublic]

Is there a soccer ping list?