2026 Rokslide World Cup Thread

[Pharmseller]

Soccer does pay more on a global scale.
.

Ain’t talking globally. Talking about the U.S.

 

[Buzzb19]

USA

 

[butcherboy]

If soccer paid more than football or basketball, and carried the same social clout as football or basketball, you’d see much better athletes playing soccer instead of football or basketball.

The U.S. would win the World Cup with boring regularity.

I disagree with you again about football and basketball players being better athletes. Now you are saying soccer athletes would be better if they were paid more or the sport would draw better athletes if they were paid more? Most pro athletes in any sport are great athletes. They all have different skills according to their respective sport.

 

[Pharmseller]

I disagree with you again about football and basketball players being better athletes. Now you are saying soccer athletes would be better if they were paid more or the sport would draw better athletes if they were paid more? Most pro athletes in any sport are great athletes. They all have different skills according to their respective sport.

Soccer players are tremendously skilled athletes. I’m convinced that most pro football players in the skill positions, if raised in the soccer tradition, would smoke existing soccer athletes. How fast are wide receivers? How strong are corners and safeties? What kind of hand/eye coordination do they have? Teach an athlete like LeBron James to play goalie and nothing gets by him.
Bigger/faster/stronger.

Won’t happen because football/basketball gets all the attention and the money.

Attention and money draws better athletes.

 

[ozyclint]

Soccer players are tremendously skilled athletes. I’m convinced that most pro football players in the skill positions, if raised in the soccer tradition, would smoke existing soccer athletes. How fast are wide receivers? How strong are corners and safeties? What kind of hand/eye coordination do they have? Teach an athlete like LeBron James to play goalie and nothing gets by him.
Bigger/faster/stronger.

Won’t happen because football/basketball gets all the attention and the money.

Attention and money draws better athletes.

You know Erling Haaland gets over £500k per week in the EPL right?
What lack of money are you talking about?

Meh, NFL and basketball people are famous in USA. Imagine if an NFL attacking player had to defend? But they don't, they stop the game and swap attack for defence when possession is turned over. They only have to be good at one skill.
Football players are household names world wide. That's global attention.

 

[TxxAgg]

Soccer players are tremendously skilled athletes. I’m convinced that most pro football players in the skill positions, if raised in the soccer tradition, would smoke existing soccer athletes. How fast are wide receivers? How strong are corners and safeties? What kind of hand/eye coordination do they have? Teach an athlete like LeBron James to play goalie and nothing gets by him.
Bigger/faster/stronger.

Won’t happen because football/basketball gets all the attention and the money.

Attention and money draws better athletes.

That hand/eye coordination is pretty handy for a game you play with your feet.

 

[Dos Perros]

Soccer players are tremendously skilled athletes. I’m convinced that most pro football players in the skill positions, if raised in the soccer tradition, would smoke existing soccer athletes. How fast are wide receivers? How strong are corners and safeties? What kind of hand/eye coordination do they have? Teach an athlete like LeBron James to play goalie and nothing gets by him.
Bigger/faster/stronger.

Won’t happen because football/basketball gets all the attention and the money.

Attention and money draws better athletes.

This is a spurious argument. A lot of the best athletes in the world are not American. The world's best sprinters are Jamaican. The world's best distance runners are African. Strongmen are not American. Lots and lots of the best track athletes, which is a good measure of pure athleticism, are not American. I certainly agree lots of our pro athletes could make good soccer players, but the selection criteria is different. This is even more clear when you consider the best soccer player in the world is a 5' 7" 150lbs 38 year old.

 

[JDT1982]

It’s a great sport but the greater sports get the best athletes in the U.S.

Define greater athlete? Would a 5'7" 150 lbs man be labeled a great athlete in the NBA or NFL? The "greater athlete" mindset works in football and to some degree in basketball ie bigger faster stronger. If you look at the number of Europeans in the NBA, it should tell you that the US youth development "greater athlete" model in the US is not working for most sports. Spain's national team is littered with short, skinny men and are a favorite at the World Cup.

 

[cb122]

I'm not for following or watching soccer. I thought all the flopping was always joke. However, I have been tuning into all the WC matches. It's been a lot of fun to watch so far! Some of these smaller countries giving the big teams a run for their money has been great to watch. I have also enjoyed the refs not allowing or whistling all the whining or flops. My work outfit is tied to team Algeria during their stay and the guys have said they are a super nice group of dudes.

 

[Pharmseller]

This is a spurious argument. A lot of the best athletes in the world are not American. The world's best sprinters are Jamaican. The world's best distance runners are African. Strongmen are not American. Lots and lots of the best track athletes, which is a good measure of pure athleticism, are not American. I certainly agree lots of our pro athletes could make good soccer players, but the selection criteria is different. This is even more clear when you consider the best soccer player in the world is a 5' 7" 150lbs 38 year old.

I had to look up spurious.

It’s my opinion, funny that you would call it fake.

 

[Lane Avery]

Are people in this thread really arguing that other countries produce athletes at any scale comparable to the U.S.? How many Olympic medals do we need to win to show the difference.

Heck the U.S. doesn't really even care about Soccer and yet we still qualify for the World Cup almost every time.

If we had the same culture around Soccer that we did with Football or Basketball, then we'd be blowing teams out of the water. All of these "Soccer" countries with all of these "great" athletes haven't been looking so great this year.

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[TxxAgg]

Are people in this thread really arguing that other countries produce athletes at any scale comparable to the U.S.? How many Olympic medals do we need to win to show the difference.

Heck the U.S. doesn't really even care about Soccer and yet we still qualify for the World Cup almost every time.

If we had the same culture around Soccer that we did with Football or Basketball, then we'd be blowing teams out of the water. All of these "Soccer" countries with all of these "great" athletes haven't been looking so great this year.

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Hahahahaha you can’t be serious.

 

[Oregon]

I tried hard. Had a rare day off. Planned the entire day around watching USA-Aus.
First USA score was actually an Australian kicking it in. Every 25 seconds another player is rolling around on the grass feigning pain. I did watch one guy kick another guy in the shin. I would drop and roll around as well. Most was super ticky tacky. Can’t do no more. Back to yardwork.
Charlie Sheen said it best in a 2 1/2 men comedy show.
Jake: “uncle Charlie, how come you don’t watch soccer?” It’s the most popular sport in the world”
Charlie “obviously, they don’t need my support to watch”.

 

[TxxAgg]

All soccer threads devolve into fudds that can’t wait to tell everyone why they don’t watch. Just move along and stop muddying up the thread.

 

[KurtR]

USA USA USA. just because it pisses the rest of the world off

 

[ozyclint]

Well played USA. Australia are back to normal.

 

[ozyclint]

Heck the U.S. doesn't really even care about Soccer and yet we still qualify for the World Cup almost every time.

Helps when you get a free pass as a host nation and now the tournament has been expanded to 48 teams. Of course you'll get in most times.

 

[CHAD PEZZLE]

Helps when you get a free pass as a host nation and now the tournament has been expanded to 48 teams. Of course you'll get in most times.

How many world cups has Australia qualified for compared to the US?

 

[Lane Avery]

Hahahahaha you can’t be serious.

Just stating the obvious facts. We can count medals anytime.

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[Lane Avery]

Helps when you get a free pass as a host nation and now the tournament has been expanded to 48 teams. Of course you'll get in most times.

So what's the excuse this year? We already advanced

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