Dreams...

DREAMS...



After my long layoff, I have so many things running through my head. What do I want to write about? How about the great Stephen Strasburg? What about the USC tragedy (Yes, it is a tragedy what the NCAA has done to USC---believe me my thoughts on this are coming)? What about the changes that almost ruined College Football (Again, I promise thoughts on this are coming)? What about the upcoming NBA Free Agency Period (I know you say who cares, it's basketball but there are some interesting things that could happen & I can't wait to see them)? All of these things would have been good, but I wanted to write about something that everyone can relate to...DREAMS.



Dreams are a great thing. Growing up, what kid didn't dream hitting the game winning home run in game 7 of the World Series, or throwing a touchdown pass to win the Super Bowl? Who didn't pick up a basketball and drive to the hoop with their tongue out in honor of the great Michael Jordan? I remember as a kid playing ball in the back yard and I had all of the batting stances of the greats down...Cal Ripken Jr with bat resting on his shoulder, the sweet swing of Ken Griffey Jr, the waving bat of Gary Sheffield, and my all time favorite the bat out in front of you in a circular motion of Eric Davis. I know, you are sitting there thinking "what is he talking about?" I AM TALKING ABOUT DREAMS! I dreamed of having the ability of these guys and playing in the majors. Funny thing happened to me somewhere around the age of 12 or 13, I realized I did not have the talent to play at that level. I wanted to play professional ball badly, but I just did not have what it took to make my dreams come true. I realized that I had to grow up and face the fact, I was not the next Ken Griffey Jr, Cal Ripken Jr, or even Mark Lemke. I realized that DREAMS DO NOT ALWAYS COME TRUE!!!



What do my disappointments have to do with this blog? What makes me bring up these painful childhood memories from my past (yes I have a tear rolling down my cheek as I write this)? Well I will tell you, many people in this country are dreaming a dream that soccer will be a success in this country. Well, children, I am here to let you know, it is time to grow up and face facts...SOCCER IS NOT AN AMERICAN SPORT!!!



I was amazed on February 1 of this year when I had a guy compare the Super Bowl, the opening weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament, and the BCS Championship game to...THE WORLD CUP??? "What? You have lost your mind." is what I told this poor guy. He insisted that if I ever gave it a try, I would be hooked. So I did that. I got excited about the World Cup. I watched the World Cup. I rooted for teams during the World Cup. I gave this "great" sporting event an opportunity to prove me wrong. I will admit, it was not all bad. When the U.S. team scored the go ahead goal last Friday morning in the extra time (what a joke), I got more excited about any sporting event since the Peyton Manning pick in the Super Bowl (sorry, to all my colts peeps who are reading). I was very entertained while listening to the silly accents of the announcers and listening to them try to make it out like anybody cares about this event. I felt really bad for guys like Mike Tirico, Chris Fowler, and others who are used to GOOD SPORTING EVENTS. They were stuck talking about this garbage and were forced to pretend like they cared about it. One of the commentators even made the statement that the U.S. team winning their pool was one of the greatest days in the history of our country. That may be true for Brazil, Ghana, Slovakia, or any of the other "Third World Countries" that are playing this little game that is filled with flaws, but America has been filled with great events and this is not one of them.



WAKE UP FROM YOUR DREAMS, SOCCER HAS NO CHANCE OF SUCCEEDING IN AMERICA & HERE IS WHY...

1. IT'S NAME!!! America is the (forgive me ESPN) "Worldwide Leader in Sports". The biggest sport in the biggest country IN THE WORLD is REAL FOOTBALL. I'm talking the kind where you throw it, kick it, hit the other players, and there is none of this stupid rolling around on the ground until some clown comes out with a colored piece of construction paper to penalize the other team. I realize that the rest of the world plays soccer, however we are not talking about what the rest of the world does, we are talking about AMERICA. Let me remind you all, they are coming here trying to get OUR FOOTBALL there. There is talk about taking FOOTBALL over seas and the NFL has already began doing this. So please save me the horrible "the rest of the world calls it football" argument.

2. THE SCHEDULE. It is played once every four years. Nothing can survive with such a long time between important events. The Olympics, is played every four years, but nobody really gets into the Olympics. You don't call your friends and tell them to pick up the wings and make sure they are at the house in time for the start of the Luge, Curling, or Bobsledding events. It is hard to explain, if it happens too much like regular season baseball or basketball games it ceases to become important b/c you see it all of the time. However, if it happens too little, it ceases to be important b/c it does not happen enough. It is hard to explain, but that is the way it is.

3. THE SCORING. Americans like points and violence. Soccer has neither. I know there is some violence, but every time there is any contact they roll around on the ground for several minutes. Americans do not like 6 - 3 football games, they do not like 1 - 0 baseball games with a total of 4 hits, we don't like 58 - 52 basketball games. We want offense. Give us a 35 - 27 football game, give us a 6 - 4 baseball game, give us 115 - 110 in basketball. JUST GIVE US POINTS!!!This does not happen in soccer and because of this, Soccer is destined to fail in the United States.

Why am I telling you this (for some of you, this is like finding out that the tooth fairy is not real)? I think it is time you grow up and accept the truth (plus I am sick of Sportscenter being interrupted for this nonsense that nobody cares about---if you don't believe me look at the ratings they are not good).

I realize some people are going to disagree and I look forward to hearing from you. Please post responses and tell me why I am wrong. I look forward to hearing from you.

Until Next Time...