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Today in Germany there were a host of articles reflecting how US performs poorly in soccer because of US exceptionalism. Drawing all kinds of political conclusions over sports. Just hillarious. Guess it doesn't occur to many that the Chinese suck at the game more than we do. Must be an example of Chinese exceptionalism.

Then there was the following, which indicates that the reason we don't do better is because we haven't learned how to cheat well enough:

The reason the United States is officially "Going, Going, Ghana!" from the World Cup, as one headline put it memorably Thursday, is simple. It still hasn't bothered to learn how to play the world's game.

Americans don't like their ballplayers taking dives, let alone embellishing them. But that's exactly what Ghana's Razak Pimpong did to buy his team's second goal -- the one that beat the Americans -- at the end of the first half. It happens a half-dozen times in every soccer game ever played.

This time, nudged from behind by U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu in the penalty area, Pimpong went down like he'd been shot. And German referee Markus Merk, one of the best in the world, uncharacteristically bought in. Then Ghana's captain, Stephen Appiah, buried the ensuing penalty kick (for comparison purposes think: free throw) with ruthless glee.

That happens more than it should in soccer, too. But in a game where scoring chances are few, and breaking up a play is much easier than building one, the goal has always been to get them by any means necessary.

Cynical? Certainly. Should it offend our sense of justice? Absolutely. The reward, especially when a player dives, is all out of proportion to the foul.

Bad day in Landshtul, huh?

didn't the team go practice there cause they were 'homesick'?

The truth is, we just aren't playing aggressive enough. And we were raped by the refs. No arguing either of those things. We need to put the ball on goal more often, more aggressively. Too much setting up, not enough shooting.

Growing up in the States, you were considered 'kinda sissy' if you played soccer.........there just isn't a soccer culture in the States........

Only a minority play soccer - like only a minority listen to Marilyn Manson.

When you see soccer played in the 'hoods', in the 'burbs', and the soc-jocks are popular at the pep rallies then I think you will see America become a soccer powerhouse shortly thereafter.

Right now soccer in America is associated w/ minivan driving errand-running moms of 'little league' kids with spaghetti stains all over their mouth & dirty clothes that need to be cleaned with Tide Color Safe Bleach.

Again, I wouldn't over-state it. But for sure soccer is associated with elitism in the US. And for good reason. Europhiles encourage their kids to reject US culture and morals, and one of the ways they do that is in selection of sport for their kids.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had been serious about the game as it was EASILY my best sport. I could play defense like you read about. But I loved to fight much more and soon Karate took over and then boxing after that. That was where the passion was. I was probably too small to be a professional soccer player anyway.

Well soccer is the only real sanitized sport out there for the upper middle class' 5-9 yr olds.

basketball: too urban
football: too rough
hockey: forget it.

what else? soccer is the perfect way to get 30 Oompa Loompa sized kids some exercise.

Baseball. They could play baseball, which is a great game.

I prefer Karate and boxing thuogh. Teaches the little wimps a useful skill and gets some fat off their collective asses.

It is always amusing to see Americans complain about the lack of action in football. Coming from any other culture that would be understandable but Americans religiously and zealously watch something called Baseball where a bunch of mostly fat, tabakie-chewing lardbutts try to hit a small ball with a big stick and when they miss, which is the case 92% of the time, they loll about for a about 3 minutes until the next pitch, scratching their balls, dislodging the thongs stuck in their massive asscheeks, spitting tabakie juice .... and on and on.

Booooooooooooooooring

Soccer is a dynamic beautiful sport and while it has some flaws by and large it is very exciting sport with a great variety in style, tempo, philosophy. But in order to appreciate the game u have to have enough soccer sophistication, the kind u dont get at the soccer mom academies.

and if there is a problem with the offside rule, the alternative would be worse. Only an ignoramus like mad mac would suggest such a thing. But then what do u expect from a junior American military supply clerk. Mad Mac, or Radar as i should call u from now on, u better stick with ur baseball snoozefests and roller derby sports like American football(which is so boring that NFL turns a blind eye to gambling so that the punters remain interested lol).

Otherwise u would forever be favouring us with your ingorant ramblings. Banish the offside, god give me strength. Do u even know what would happen if u banished the offside rule?

Soccer if done properly can be the US best sport. If you could get all the kids from the ghetto and all the rich kids from the burbs to play after "summer leagues" which in and of itself is probably the most played sport in the states then the US would be a powerhouse. Naurally because of their superior athletes and the funds that could go into investing in the game. However you need to have kids who would normally grop up on soccer transfer to more highly competitive soccer rather then picking up another sport like basketball, football etc

Money plays a big part. Any young male athelete will always choose NBA or NFL above football, because the salary in the MLS is nothing compared to what the Basketball players get.

A guy like Michael Owen gets £110.000 a-week playing for Newcastle. Football players in the MLS probably get 1/10th of that or maybe less.

So your saying michael owne gets payed roughly 5 5 and half million pounds which is roughly ten million US? Bums like michael finley get 20 million to buy out their contracts. Who would wanna play soccer when you can get 20 million dollar buyouts to get kicked off a team?

I know, the salary those mediocre players get is unbelieveable. Owen can be injured or sit on his lazy ass for the next 4 years and get 5 and a half million pounds a year.

Andriy Shevchenko from Ukraine, gets £140.000 a week and Kaiser Michael Ballack also get that same salary from Chelsea.

Chelsea has a bunch of overatted player but their lineup is rediculous.

But in NA professional athletes are pennied a mighty penny for BS. Alex rodriguez is in a contract which will see him getting payed 135 million punds for ten years. GURANTEEEEEEEEEEED DOLLAZ. BASEBALL FOR HEAVENS SAKE


LOL at kaiser Ballack

When did he become kaiser? Plus I never knew he played for chelsea? When did he get transfered?

In USA the atheletes gets paid outrageorus money, just for bullshit. Like that Rodrigues guy getting paid that huge amount of money for nothin basically. Its ridiculous Thats the reason why young atheletes will choose baseball or basketball above football because of that huge salary

Well, Ballack is the Kaiser, only him and Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer are the only ones with that status ... Ballack signed for Chelsea few weeks before the World Cup. His contract with Bayern Munich ran out and he refused to sign a new one. So Chelsea came in and offered him a 4 year cobtract

I was just reading it up. He took the bowmans rule to leave the bundesliga to go to the premiership. BALLACK PLUS LAMPARD in the central Midfiled is just


Plus I think its a 3 year contract.