American football elitism?

Question

I've played football in the states and in Europe, and what bothers me the most is the elitism in the US leagues. Europe has the best teams in the world, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that EU football looks for the best players around. American leagues, on the other hand, seem to go after the same preppy club players from specific colleges and don't bother looking for the raw talent you find in parks and in rec leagues. So why is American football so elitist? It was brought up by a lot of commentators during the 06 world cup: rags to riches stories from countries around the world, but the US feeds its teams with the same types of players and thus the same talent base as always, i.e. upper class kids that played club as youths and college teams afterwards. Kids play football here all through gradeschool, but there's some sort of disconnect in highschool and beyond with the sport and preps, like you're not somebody in the sport unless you come from money. What gives?

Answer 1

Its simple: the poor kids in this country have typically played the big 3 sports (basketball, football and baseball) to escape the ghettos. Meanwhile, the richer (typically whiter) families sought out a sport where little Junior wouldn't get hurt, nor would he have to mingle with the...well you know. Soccer was the answer! Of course, this mind-set is being stood on its ear now, as the white clubs are getting a taste of true passion for the sport, bringing in a kid on "scholarship" to make the team better. Also, all MLS clubs are starting their own academies, similar to what you will find in England or Argentina...pro sports only cares about the color of money.

Answer 2

I think that's a pretty broad generalization. Any business that fails to utilize the best talent available for its product would be poor business acumen. You're not going to find league-grade players on rec teams or in the park here .. there is a much smaller percentage of people who even care about the sport to begin with. It may or may not be that private schools and colleges draw the best players in the U.S. .. I don't have stats available.

Some generalities to consider though: In the U.S., football is *possibly* the 5th most popular sport .. and it's a VERY distant 5th behind american football, basketball, baseball, and hockey. it's maybe not even 5th in terms of popularity for kids older than 11 or 12. Europe has some of the best teams in the world because Europe has some of the largest fanbase and admiration for the sport .. there's a much larger pool of potential outstanding athletes that will focus on soccer. In the U.S., only a handful of the best athletes will focus on a career in football.

Answer 3

Where do you get that? Didn't you see that the L.A. Galaxy is holding open tryouts, where literally anybody that wants to gets a try out, and has a chance to make the team? I'm a high school soccer coach in Arizona, in an inner city school, and I've had players who have gotten MLS tryouts without much of a problem....players who have little or no college experience. MLS isn't that hard to get into if you have the ability. Check the story on this link.

Answer 4

It is the sport of the game that is important. Pride in local talent, and good clean fun. Winning is not everything. Especially a sport where a bunch of grown men are kicking around a little ball.

Answer 5

When top teams are formed, the word needs to be passed out to top notch players. The only one who hears about it are those who played in college and are known by college coaches. Those who never played in college and never played for well known leagues are unheard of by those who make the important decisions of putting together teams. It's all about knowing who is out there to play for you, and the colleges have the best channels of communications.

Answer 6

It has to be due to the unpopularity of the sport in the United States.

Answer 7

thats just a perfect exsample of the difference between europeans and americans