Comments on: Ball ball ball, footie footie footie, ball ball ball, football!

Ball ball ball, footie footie footie, ball ball ball, football!

Artw — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:14:26 -0800

The future of soccer in America is black, female and from the inner-city.

By: dersins

dersins — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:28:14 -0800

I am very confused by the fact that this article keeps talking about football, but is clearly referring to soccer.

By: Chan

Chan — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:28:20 -0800

What do you mean this isn't an advertisement for the feel good movie of the Holiday season?

By: MikeMc

MikeMc — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:35:42 -0800

The future of soccer in America is black, female and from the inner-city. WNBA level of popularity here we come!

By: Artw

Artw — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:36:58 -0800

Heh. That's because that's what the entire rest of the world calls it. You lot play "American Football". The title is from the football song by Adam and Joe, in case anyones wondering.

By: craichead

craichead — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:41:02 -0800

It's a nice enough article, even if "inner city kids play a game that's associated with middle-class white kids and whip the white kids' asses" has become a total sports journalism cliche (I think the NYTimes did one about rugby a week or two ago), but I'm not convinced that those girls really are the future of American soccer. If I had to guess, I'd wager that the future of American soccer lies in first-generation kids whose parents immigrated from places where soccer is the dominant sport, although I could be wrong about that.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:42:58 -0800

What a great story—thanks for sharing it! I am very confused by the fact that this article keeps talking about football, but is clearly referring to soccer. No you're not, but thanks for trying to derail the thread with a stupid joke.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:47:25 -0800

Huh. A single anomalous all-black women's soccer team has a good season, and he's going on about it like the future of American sports will be A) mostly black, B) mostly female, and C) mostly soccer. Okay.

By: cell divide

cell divide — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:57:28 -0800

This article over promises and under delivers. I am glad there's a successful soccer team in the inner city but still not quite sure how it's the most important thing in American sport.

By: marmaduke_yaverland

marmaduke_yaverland — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:58:33 -0800

If you'd like to make a donation to the Anderson Monarchs (and thus hasten the emergence of the US as a major soccer power - hear 50m English folk soil themselves in terror)... Half of me gets all nationalistic (our right little, tight little island shall endure! we shall play them on the beaches, etc...) The other half thinks that it would be really, really funny if everyone in England pooed themselves simultaneously. That's my main thought having read this article. Probably not the author's intention, but there you go.

By: mrzarquon

mrzarquon — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:07:44 -0800

I'd say really the appeal of the sport has more to do with who can make the most money from the marketing of it, than who is playing it. With football, you have two 45 minute halves, with almost no interruptions, which give US broadcasters very little in the way to offer their advertisers much to work with. And when they do manage to air it, they somehow mess it up, blocking action with their onscreen ads, trying to cut to commercials, etc. American Football and Baseball were practically MADE for selling ad revenue. Until broadcasters can make as much from 90+ minutes of football as they can from American Football, Baseball, or two one hour tv shows (which have around 20 minutes of ads revenue potential), it wont get the air time. Without the airtime, you can't grow the audience, and more importantly, you can't make the sport sexy.

By: stargell

stargell — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:23:11 -0800

With all due respect to Steven Wells and Michael Bamberger, the future of soccer in America is black, male and from New Jersey.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:31:46 -0800

So, uh, Beckham didn't work out then?

By: oddman

oddman — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:23:15 -0800

I'd think the future of American Football, is pretty much exactly where it's been for an awful long time, in America.

By: dhammond

dhammond — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:42:13 -0800

The ~~few~~ times I've spent ~~watching the sport while~~ drinking in a pub have been ridiculously fun.

By: Phantast

Phantast — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:20:14 -0800

Philadelphia is a lovely city, safe, sorta block to block but... not at all the city described here. Football, on the other hand... now that's scary.

By: acid freaking on the kitty

acid freaking on the kitty — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:20:49 -0800

With football, you have two 45 minute halves, with almost no interruptions, which give US broadcasters very little in the way to offer their advertisers much to work with. And when they do manage to air it, they somehow mess it up, blocking action with their onscreen ads, trying to cut to commercials, etc. nah... they've done away with most of the absolutely infuriating attempts like cutaways, side-by-sides, etc.... but eventually owners and the league will make money from advertising just like they do in england and on the continent: jersey sponsors and video adboards, with occaisional tie-ins, like VW did for MLS Cup. They don't need to be as lucrative as helmetball or baseball, just make some money and grow slowly year after year.

By: Xurando

Xurando — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:22:22 -0800

If you are really into soccer you can go to Melbourne, Australia, right now, for the Homeless World Cup and see Corny Bracy.

By: The Straightener

The Straightener — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:27:42 -0800

I know that block in the photo really well, that's where one of my former client's neighbor's kids got mauled by a crack dealer's pitbull, I've mentioned it on here before. I spent almost all day, every day in that neighborhood for about a year straight for work, it's heroin central and also notoriously heavy with drug addict streetwalker prostitutes.

By: stargell

stargell — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:13:39 -0800

Actually, just a little down the road you can find the future of soccer in Philly.

By: justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow

justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:16:32 -0800

Americans play American football. Britons play soccer. (originally a British nickname: association football --> "assoc" --> soccer) Canadians play Canadian football. Let's just say we like a little unlimited backfield movement, if you know what I mean. The American and Canadian games are both variants of rugby football, a thug's game played by gentlemen (and also by Australians).

By: deusdiabolus

deusdiabolus — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 01:54:12 -0800

Boys play football, girls play soccer, and geeks and gays code and design.

By: vbfg

vbfg — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 02:30:50 -0800

Arguments over what gets to be called football are daft. They're all different codes of football, and the dominant code where you are is Football. In NSW and Queensland Rugby League is football. In most of the rest of Australia it's Aussie Rules. There are probably parts of Australia where it's Rugby Union. In most places in the world soccer is Football. Claiming unique ownership of the name when they're all different codes of football is crazy. I tell you what's also crazy. Kicking a ball, chasing after it and then kicking it again. Seriously, just pick it up. Silly sods.

By: Webbster

Webbster — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 07:25:24 -0800

Did you see that ludicrous display last night ? (Sorry I couldn't resist.)

By: gyc

gyc — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:54:00 -0800

Did you see that ludicrous display last night ? What was Wenger thinking sending Walcott on so early? :-)

By: oddman

oddman — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 19:23:04 -0800

Ludicrous is naming a game football in which the ball is held in your hands or cradled in your arms 99% of the time.

By: Phantast

Phantast — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 13:38:58 -0800

One given football etymology comes from games played on foot, usually by commons or peasants, as opposed to games played on horseback by aristocrats. There are even games called "football" where kicking the ball is not allowed. Also, to The Straightener, Oh. My bad.

By: Artw

Artw — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:13:11 -0800

Australian rules football, as you would expect, is a fightening affair played by maniacs.