There is no real reason that we can't have a top level Soccer team if the money was there.

I mean, while having physical freaks is good, it's usually the smaller guys who play well in Soccer.

I think it's just more a matter of the prestige being there and the economic benefits not being prevelevent until higschool and by then you've lost a lot of important time developing.  The MLS salaries aren't remotley similar to other salaries.

It'd be interesting if the US ever did become interested in Soccer though... and it's something the rest of Europe probably shouldn't want.

Truth is, if Americans got behind it, they'd probably outbuy  the Premier league on players or atleast a number of them shifting the best talent overseas and causing it to be played in the middle of the night.... and dragging down the champions league with it too since there isn't any American Champions league representation nor should their considering geography.

Central and South America may enjoy that though.

Thats because no one else plays it, you would have to imagine how it would be if everyone did, but its nothing more than imagination.

As of now, football is the most popular sport and I think this debate has gone too far, no one really cares how its called, its a fact everyone will still call it differently. Hell, I call it Futbol and not football or soccer.

If this question was reversed and it asked "Why isn't American Football more popular in the rest of the world?" than I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. Most big international games consist of fast paced or relatively constant action.

Instead, in American football, it's like watching a very violent version of chess, which in many ways provides a false pretence to the game as you see these giant and padded athletes, yet they only enter action for short bursts. The athletes paint a picture of a powerful, action-packed sport, yet that action is secondary to the devising of strategy.

i think for the most part soccer was advertised and played off as an elitist sport here in the US. I can remember when i was a kid, it cost $400 to join a team and you had to supply your own cleats and shin guards. Wheres I could join  a football team for $200 and they would supply the pads and such.  Not to mention most clinics fees for soccer were ridiculous and in football the local HS coaches would do them for free. Hell $300 gets you into the university of Florida camp these days.

Well, its easy to make a strategy when you stop so much. A friend called it the F1 but with traffic lights.

And I have a theory that Football/soccer is the most competitive sport since so much people play it and you need dedication to be good, there was a study I saw saying the difference between players that get pro and the ones that cant achieve it is that the ones that do play more than 9 hours a week since they are little kids.

Also, there are many tricks you can use/invent in football, just watch brazilian and other south american players, its a sport that gives you a lot of freedom.

Well, technically, the money is there already; just check David Beckham's salary, it's ridiculous.

The other problem is trying to get players to play in a "lesser" league initially. Money may help that, but it could also be career disaster for them. The big players want to be playing in the big matches which means Europe and Champions League football. Beckham went to LA Galaxy, yet when it came to selection time the England manager wouldn't play him as he was no longer playing regular football at the highest level. It took a loan spell at AC Milan before he got selected as a substitute (then he got injured but I digress).

Best bet might be to get some of the lesser known but rising stars from South America, Africa and Asia to play more football in the North, raise the standard gradually and then bring in some older and larger stars from Europe.

Actually there is a concacaf champions league.

How well do the US teams do in that?

Well youve got Copa Libertadores and Concacaf Champions league(which is a joke).

I think, like someone said, you could have something like the mexican league, it isnt really good but pays well compared to other american leagues. Now, if you ask a player that wants to be good in south america, he will probably want to go to the argentinian or brazilian leagues, but money may take him to the mexican league.

I also think the mayor league soccer needs a second division to punish teams that suck, and Im not entirely sure USA could beat Premier league and Spanish league in money unless the goverment helped, you see spain isnt a very rich country but has clubs that are really wealthy. They can get lots of money because people will go to stadiums and everyone in the world wants to watch their leagues so they win a lot of money.

all I know is that Mexico seems to dominate it, but I might be wrong since I have watched few matches and the level is pretty low, I also think Mexican teams prefer to use their starters in league matches and some in Copa Libertadores where they play with better teams.