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From: fsks@unc.UUCP (Frank Silbermann)
Newsgroups: net.sport
Subject: Re: World Cup History (or what's wrong with the USA)
Message-ID: <519@unc.unc.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 4-Nov-85 14:01:24 EST
Article-I.D.: unc.519
Posted: Mon Nov  4 14:01:24 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 10-Nov-85 06:31:13 EST
References: <834@utai.UUCP> <235@Navajo.ARPA> <411@ssc-bee.UUCP> <14@uw-june>
Reply-To: fsks@unc.UUCP (Frank Silbermann)
Organization: CS Dept, U. of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
Lines: 22
Summary: 


>> 1.  We don't take it seriously enough.  In other countries they treat
>>     soccer like Texas treats football.  Kids in Europe and South
>>     America get soccer balls instead of a nerf or a baseball mitt.
 
Ewan Tempero:
>Mainly true but it's not just that people don't play as much,
>they don't get any support from their fellow countrypersons.
>[...]
>As James commented, US hasn't done as badly as you might think,
>it's just that no-one knows about it ( extremely biased media )
>and most people don't care. However you would think, given the
>number of soccer players in the country ( while a small fraction
>of the total population, is probably larger than soccer populations
>of many soccer nations ) US could provide a better showing.

The main reason few people take soccer seriously in this country
is that schools don't promote the sport.  Most sports-minded
youths put their effort into those sports with the biggest payoff,
i.e. those sports with pep-rallies and pretty cheerleaders.

	Frank Silbermann