What in your opinion is the state of soccer in both the USA and Canada? Recreational participation, attending professional matches, interest in ⚽️ etc

[Buzz Rules]

Yes! Registered for tickets as soon as the site went up (fingers crossed!!)

Same.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Soccer has totally changed from 40 years ago. Even MLS and the Premier League did not exist back then. If you are gifted nowadays and were in an academy, you can get your degree while playing with an MLS contract. You could also just skip college or leave early to go to Europe and play for a professional team provided you have an EU passport. The college option is still a necessity for some athletes before trying to be selected for the draft. Most teams are waiving their picks and trading them for TAM and GAM to help with the salary cap (which Europe doesn't have). Again they are exploring how to fix the issues.

MLS gave the rights to Apple and Fox because they has horrible ratings on tv and frankly ESPN and Fox really didn't do a good job or even care. We are moving away from the twilight stars of Europe. I was not a fan of the Messi fan.

I loved the Zava story line on Ted Lasso. If that wasn't a nod to Zlatan playing for the LA Galaxy I don't know what is.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Soccer has totally changed from 40 years ago. Even MLS and the Premier League did not exist back then. If you are gifted nowadays and were in an academy, you can get your degree while playing with an MLS contract. You could also just skip college or leave early to go to Europe and play for a professional team provided you have an EU passport. The college option is still a necessity for some athletes before trying to be selected for the draft. Most teams are waiving their picks and trading them for TAM and GAM to help with the salary cap (which Europe doesn't have). Again they are exploring how to fix the issues.

MLS gave the rights to Apple and Fox because they has horrible ratings on tv and frankly ESPN and Fox really didn't do a good job or even care. We are moving away from the twilight stars of Europe. I was not a fan of the Messi fan.

Benefit of a doubt; I just went on the Galaxy website and tried to determine the college alma matter of any of the players. I couldn't do it. Compare that to NBA or NFL (lesser MLB and NHL) where the players are introduced with their Alma Matter. There's a reason for that. MLS can do better - MLS NEEDS to do better.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Benefit of a doubt; I just went on the Galaxy website and tried to determine the college alma matter of any of the players. I couldn't do it. Compare that to NBA or NFL (lesser MLB and NHL) where the players are introduced with their Alma Matter. There's a reason for that. MLS can do better - MLS NEEDS to do better.

Most of the best do professional play at 16.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Most of the best do professional play at 16.

They don't go to college at all? I've got a problem with that too. One injury and it's over. 16 year olds are nowhere near ready to make such decisions. In a perfect world the majority should be finishing with a college degree with only the stand-outs coming out early. NCAA can't grow the game if the players aren't going to school.

Yeah, I know - it's pretty hard to get the Genie back in the bottle.

 

[Buzz Rules]

They don't go to college at all? I've got a problem with that too. One injury and it's over. 16 year olds are nowhere near ready to make such decisions. In a perfect world the majority should be finishing with a college degree with only the stand-outs coming out early. NCAA can't grow the game if the players aren't going to school.

Yeah, I know - it's pretty hard to get the Genie back in the bottle.

MLS has a college program to allow students to finish their degree.

 

[Lumpy1106]

MLS has a college program to allow students to finish their degree.

Not really the same thing as a strategic partnership with NCAA.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Not really the same thing as a strategic partnership with NCAA.

They are working on it. No one expects a change until closer to 2030. A lot of things need to be worked out.

 

[ctonkgo]

I've had season tickets to Union Omaha in USL1 since the team's inception 6 years ago. It's been easy to support them up to this point due to the success of the team. However, their downtown stadium deal fell through and it's looking like they'll be playing at Werner Park (a minor league baseball stadium located a 30+ minute drive away from downtown) for another few years at the very least.

It's not the end of the world but playing soccer in a baseball stadium sucks. It really takes away from the atmosphere. Our seats are some of the most expensive in the stadium and we are super far from the field. Also, we have baseball foul-ball netting obstructing the entire field now. It's so bad that I have trouble convincing other soccer fans to go.

I'll support the team no matter what, but having the right facility in the right location matters for the growth of the game.

 

[ctonkgo]

They don't go to college at all? I've got a problem with that too. One injury and it's over. 16 year olds are nowhere near ready to make such decisions. In a perfect world the majority should be finishing with a college degree with only the stand-outs coming out early. NCAA can't grow the game if the players aren't going to school.

Yeah, I know - it's pretty hard to get the Genie back in the bottle.

Professional soccer is international, and tying sports to school is a uniquely American thing. In professional soccer, clubs run youth academies and teams. The best players graduate to higher level teams within the clubs. The best of the best will ultimately make it to the "first team", and that could happen at any age.

The American system of tying sports to school is dying because collegiate, and to some extent high-school sports, has lost it's amateur status at the highest level of competition. They're players first now, not students. Any illusion of that not being the case was destroyed by NIL.

When there were fewer professional opportunities for American soccer players the number going to college to play was actually pretty high. Even 20 years ago, USA legends like Clint Dempsey were playing 4 years of college ball. Today we have kids performing well in their academy teams, playing a year or two in MLS and then getting shipped off to the biggest soccer leagues in Europe.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Professional soccer is international, and tying sports to school is a uniquely American thing. In professional soccer, clubs run youth academies and teams. The best players graduate to higher level teams within the clubs. The best of the best will ultimately make it to the "first team", and that could happen at any age.

The American system of tying sports to school is dying because collegiate, and to some extent high-school sports, has lost it's amateur status at the highest level of competition. They're players first now, not students. Any illusion of that not being the case was destroyed by NIL.

When there were fewer professional opportunities for American soccer players the number going to college to play was actually pretty high. Even 20 years ago, USA legends like Clint Dempsey were playing 4 years of college ball. Today we have kids performing well in their academy teams, playing a year or two in MLS and then getting shipped off to the biggest soccer leagues in Europe.

You say that like the US model for all the other sports is a bad one. Shipping a kid off to play in Europe before they are old enough to drive, let alone earn a high school GED is, on its face, a terrible idea. Besides, past history, that is a tiny fraction of the kids that would otherwise be headed off to college with a scholarship. Also, I noticed you did not say "MLS". I think we can all agree, MLS is a lower tier at best, compared to the professional European leagues. It's the dumping ground for well known professionals on the last legs of their careers and not the next logical step for a college graduate who played D1. THAT is the problem! It's not helping kids get college degrees, and it's not growing the sport in the US so we can be competitive on the world stage.

Don't get me wrong, that's not the only problem with US soccer though. I was as active as I could be for as long as my kids held an interest in the sport. What can I say? They all play lacrosse now.