Gator Country

geauxgator1 · 03-18-2013, 06:11 PM

Nice insight Limey.. I hope the game grows exponentially in the UK.

AzCatFan · 03-18-2013, 06:18 PM

The video looks like mid to lower level high school games in Arizona, which is higher then the level I was expecting. Nice to see American football gaining some popularity and a foothold across the pond. And while soccer in America today has come a very long way, it wasn't that long ago that yes, soccer in America probably looked a lot like that football video.

The old North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 70's and 80's had a rule that each team had to have at least 2 American on the roster. Today, MLS is full of homegrown talent. 1990, the US needed a late goal against Trinidad and Tobago to qualify for the World Cup. And when we got to Italy, it was 3 quick losses and a trip back home. Today, the US, along with Mexico, are the best teams in our region (CONCACAF) and it would be a huge upset if we didn't make it to the World Cup, as we've qualified for every Cup since 1990.

Give the Brits a good generation, 20 years, of watching, learning, and most importantly, playing, and who knows? Who would have thought the US could ever make a Quarter Finals of a World Cup or, or win on Italian soil against the home team? Certainly seemed like a pipe dream in 1990.

NoahBeanBizzel · 03-18-2013, 06:19 PM

I used to do a lot of gaming on xbox live. I played the Burnout series, and there always seemed to be a huge following of the game in England.

I brought up American football one time, and one of them cracked to his buddies, "I think he's talking about the women's version of rugby." I always figured that that was the general perception of the game over there. It wasn't until Tom Wort surfaced at OU that I realized that there was some interest-although not a whole lot-in the game.

Whether people would like to admit this or not, the truth is that our (America's) best athletes are rarely seen playing "soccer". If you were to train and condition talents like Harvin, Chris Rainey, Marcus Roberson, etc...to kick a soccer ball starting at an early age, it'd be downright frightening to think how good America could be at the game. But that'll never happen.

Gator Mike · 03-18-2013, 06:26 PM

I'm going to guess that we're better at soccer than they are at football:

NoahBeanBizzel · 03-18-2013, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gator Mike

I'm going to guess that we're better at soccer than they are at football:

Wow. I forgot about that. They were furious about that game, and rushed for every justification they could find to rationalize that fiasco. There were so many latent shots taken at American soccer as their press broke that game down.

With that being said, we're nowhere on their level.

Tolbert1906 · 03-18-2013, 10:31 PM

The Aces stole Alabama's 'A.'

AzCatFan · 03-18-2013, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoahBeanBizzel

Wow. I forgot about that. They were furious about that game, and rushed for every justification they could find to rationalize that fiasco. There were so many latent shots taken at American soccer as their press broke that game down.

With that being said, we're nowhere on their level.

USA has better goal keeping and Tim Howard > anything England currently has to offer. So were Brad Friedl and Casey Keller. Overall, we may be nowhere near England's level, but if/when you have the best goalie, it's equalizes a lot. If USA and Englad played a best of 7, NBA style play-off, England would probably win in 6. In contrast, a Florida high school football team could probably beat any English American football team 10 out of 10 games. But again, 25 years ago, different story in soccer completely.

Tipmoose · 03-19-2013, 08:16 AM

Yep. Who knows. Maybe in 25 years, after the NFL has been reduced to the National Flag League, we will see the international community whipping our arses at football like they do with baseball now-a-days. That's just embarrassing.

wygator · 03-19-2013, 10:03 AM

Great placekickers...poor tackling.

LabraGator · 03-19-2013, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HungaryGator

Limey Football. University finals this past Saturday.

I understand their skill level being lower - after all they aren't exposed to it from the time they're old enough to walk like American kids are and they don't have the opportunity to play for years and years prior to college like American kids do. The enthusiasm is pretty cool. One criticism though....where are the cheerleaders? We know Britain clearly has the talent for it. We've all seen page 3.

Not sure if it's been answered, but 9:27 and then 9:37 in slow-mo.