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Message: [QUOTE="billsin01, post: 1076760, member: 837"] Well, I'm not sure I totally agree with this in the sense that I think there is a spike in youth participation in soccer after every world cup. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I remember reading stories about this after previouss world cups. But I guess what is somewhat confusing is what the argument is here. The thread started with a warning to american football that soccer was coming and then there's been a ton of posts about 'outdrawing' the NBA and NHL, etc. That seems to suggest to me that people here either believe everyone is going to suddenly adopt and EPL team and become huge international fans (not happening and in no way a threat to US based professional leagues) or that the MLS is going to grow exponentially and displace baseball. My problem with that is that there's a difference between a sport being popular and a sport being a viable professional league or displacing one of the major leagues in the US. Lacrosse is insanely popular in the northeast/mid-atlantic but there is essentially zero interest in professional lacrosse leagues. I see soccer as being in a similar sport, albeit much more viable than lacrosse. But to suggest that the MLS playing 34 games a year with 19 teams is somehow poised to displace baseball, which despite it's painfully slow pace and lack of popularity among youth, still crushes it with TV contracts, attendance and national mindshare, seems completely farcical to me. To even begin this discussion, we have to somehow find a way to lure talent from Europe to the US to play in MLS. And I don't mean some players, I mean the best players. B/c the popularity of sports here tends to be connected to the notion that it is the best league in the world (mlb/nba/nfl/nhl). That's a huge obstacle for the MLS. But will soccer grow and perhaps significantly at youth levels with all the stuff going on with football and all the inattention to baseball? Yeah, I'd agree with that. [/QUOTE]

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