Paris Olympics 2024 Thread

[ELA]

But what about the Hey Dudes, why are they so maligned?  They're just boat shoes-- topsiders.  The same basic design has been around for almost 100 years.

I didn't know they were.  I see a lot of kids/teens wearing them

[bayareabadger]

Are these dad new balance?

#askingforafriend 

Naw. They’re too athletically daring for that.

[jgvol]

[MaximumSam]

The trampoline with the dynamic camera is some mesmerizing television

[Cincydawg]

Why did an Olympic boxer resign less than a minute into the match | 11alive.com

[847badgerfan]

I'm starting to wonder why the USA bothers with men's soccer anymore. Seems like embarrassment after embarrassment with that outfit.

[jgvol]

[847badgerfan]

Let's not belabor that one, fellas. Thanks.

[MaximumSam]

I'm starting to wonder why the USA bothers with men's soccer anymore. Seems like embarrassment after embarrassment with that outfit.

Hey we didn't do too badly this year

[847badgerfan]

It's just not our sport, at least on the men's side.

[Cincydawg]

In the US obviously, the top HS athletes focus on the Big 3, not soccer.  I don't see that changing other than with the influx of immigrants.  And a lot of them who are elite athletes may evolve as well away from "futbol".  

I vaguely remember seeing my first soccer team in HS.  They came in to shower as we were dressing.  They were all muddy.  It didn't look like fun, to me.

[utee94]

The money in American professional soccer would have to become competitive with the money in professional football, baseball, and basketball, to draw young male athletes away from those sports.

Even then, it's just not part of the fabric of our society in the same way it is in so many other countries around the world, and I don't think it ever will be.  Maybe after American football implodes and ceases to exist, it could make some inroads.

[Cincydawg]

I hadn't read about this anywhere!!!

[ELA]

The money in American professional soccer would have to become competitive with the money in professional football, baseball, and basketball, to draw young male athletes away from those sports.

That's 1/2 the issue.  99.9% of youth athletes will never make a dime playing sports.  99% of them won't get a scholarship, but we can't even adjust to that bar.  We have guys rotting on the bench in college basketball and football who could be USMNT players if they had picked up soccer younger.

The other issue is the pay to play.  I think I mentioned here, but I had a college friend whose older brother moved to the UK after graduation.  His daughter was a very good, even by European standards, soccer player.  She's I think 19 or 20 now, and it's not going in a professional direction, but they also never paid a dime for her to play from about the age of 12.