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Message: [QUOTE="gocraz4dasu, post: 1076551, member: 1109"] When I was younger I was a part of the faction that thought "soccer is for wussies!" This despite the fact I had played soccer throughout my childhood and was a good goalie but pursued baseball instead because I had more friends playing baseball, which is one of my few regrets. Then in high school I started watching a few EPL games, World Cup qualifiers, and bought FIFA. I ended up loving it once again like I did when I was young. Now about 6 or 7 years later, here I am watching the EPL, SPL, MLS, and Bundesliga when I can on top of watching the international scene. I'm in Asia this whole summer so I've been staying up/getting up at 4 in the morning to watch these games. What most here don't realize is that the sport is growing massively through FIFA. My friends (all early 20's) all own the game and now have at minimum a basic knowledge of the game along with some rabid fans like myself now. The kids younger than me are following suit and the soccer connection is getting stronger. That is the difference between this world cup and the 2010 world cup. The FIFA series will continue building upon the 2014 success in the world cup and that excites me and that the US has a few kids that have a lot of potential to take the USMNT far in the 2018 world cup and Klinnsman will still be the coach. I wish the FIFA game had the popularity in 2010 like it does now so it could have built off the USA v. Algeria game. It existed but most did not own the game like I did. FIFA Ultimate Team was a stroke of genius by EA, which is a shocker because EA tends to suck. I hope that 10 to 15 years down the line it is undeniable how popular the game has become in the US. More and more younger kids are being scouted in the US to play on European youth teams. MLS needs to respond by expanding youth squads, eliminating some of the ridiculous rules, and continue expanding and buying talented players. And if you guys haven't been to a soccer game in Europe or South America, I'd advise you to go. At worst go to an MLS game, there are some places around the US that have solid fan support. Seattle would be the ideal choice as its atmosphere is closest to Europe or South Americas but even then it's a whole different level there. I love college football and have seen games at a multitude of stadiums but the atmosphere will never compare to soccer crowds. Here are a few examples to get an idea of it... (people wearing headphones, turn volume down) Celtic [media=youtube]4GdV9snm4bs[/media] San Lorenzo [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og-vfcQG07I[/url] Crystal Palace (fans at an away park) [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIfs3hRA6x4[/url] Liverpool [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N51jWNsW3F8[/url] Aris Thessaloniki [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV4lrjvkXQo[/url] Fenerbahce :)25) [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib9Z7jPD3Wo[/url] [/QUOTE]

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