Investing in ‘Futbol’ Would fill a gap for American athletics, and there’s never been a better time

As is the case after every USA Men’s National Team loss in the World Cup, there was a heavy discourse around whether America could be a soccer superpower if they had their best athletes playing the sport from a young age. I would argue that without the proper infrastructure, it won’t make a difference if we have saquan barkley or Anthony Edwards; athletically, we could be superior, but skill-wise, probably not. 

It got me thinking, specifically about the two most popular sports in the US: basketball and football, of course. Both require insane genetic luck. Just statistically, NFL and NBA genes are hard to come by. To make the NFL, you have to be in the top 5% for strength or speed (and sometimes both). For the NBA, you better be at least 6’3. And if you aren’t much taller than that, it’s still probably wraps for everyone besides maybe a handful of people who have the skill and athleticism to make up for it. Generally, you'd want to be 6’6 or taller to have a good shot. 

This leaves plenty of athletic youngins in a weird spot. If they’re not tall, like ridiculously tall, then balling beyond high school is a million-to-one shot. If they aren’t over 200 lbs, fast, and strong, then college football also feels unrealistic. The problem is: there’s plenty of great athletes in the states that don’t fall into either category. So, for a kid with big dreams, but not big arms, where can they turn? Baseball, definitely. Track and field, maybe. Wrestling, sure. UFC, yeah, good luck. These are good alternatives, and many have mainstream appeal in both America and the world, but none have something like, I don’t know, the World Cup. They aren’t as popular or important to the global community as soccer is.

To understand what I'm trying to get at, take Messi. 5 '7, generously. 150 lbs in his dad years. Fast, but by no means the fastest. Not 1% genetically in speed or strength, most likely. If he walked into any LA Fitness looking for good runs, he would be unlikely to be picked up. Couldn’t get 2 yards through an A-Gap if he trained for five years. Yet, he is possibly the greatest athlete alive. Now, by no means do I mean to call Messi’s athletic profile unimpressive. Anyone can find, just by looking at the tape, that he possesses a kind of superhuman lower body control. Other professionals look like Sunday League in a game where Messi is controlling the ball the way he likes. The world's best players so plainly don’t have the same sort of touch and pure movement. It’s like the way LeBron James dunked a basketball in the mid-2000s, or any Wemby highlight in the last calendar year. Or the OBJ catch. Just the thought of: 

“Man, nobody else in the whole game can do that. Nobody else in the whole world can do that.”

Young athletes crave this feeling. The best ones often have a relentless pursuit of the idea that others could see them as transcendent, as a true master of the craft. They strive to achieve such rare levels of greatness that they can become more than a person; they can become legendary. Why do we idolize Mike? Tom Brady? Tiger? Because they have that. So, back to the question: Where can a 5’7 150 lb American high school freshman turn? Why not soccer? The World Cup did many good things for this country, but mainly it showed Americans that we can come together to care about this. This can unite us, and winning this can elate us. There is glory to chase there. 

We should be showing kids and teens the unimpeachable, sustaining glory of international soccer victories. Win, and you’ll never be a mere mortal again. You can become like Mike. Like Messi. We should be making the financial barrier to entry lower. We should broadcast and cover more European soccer. Hell, even the MLS can get in on the fun. Simply, we should be taking soccer more seriously as a sport for our youth.

Would this fix America's soccer problem overnight? Certainly not. It would still take years, likely decades, to catch up to the Spains and Frances of the world. But it would be worth it. And as Americans, we love to be on top. We NEED to be on top. And futbol shouldn’t be any different.