[Warchant]

The World Cup has been awarded to South Africa for 2010 ... but that decision is now under siege. When the Cup was awarded to South Africa, it was sort of a "make-up" for giving it to Germany in 2006 (think back: South Africa was the front-runner for the Cup back in 2000, and we were all shocked when FIFA instead returned it to Europe).

Originally, the South African Cup was to celebrate the fall of apartheid in the country as well as the promise that African soccer and society hold. The problem is, since South Africa's delegation, led by the charismatic Danny Jordaan charmed the FIFA Congress way back in 1998, things have rapidly gone downhill.

Today, South Africa has a lot of problems: Its society remains largely segregated, this time as a function of an economy where whites still control a majority of the country's cashflow; it has an appallingly high crime rate; it lacks basic services for some of its residents; and most of all, it hasn't got the infrastructure to host an event of this magnitude.

As a result, there has been a low-key campaign behind the scenes — involving some African delegates who don't wish to see their continent held up by the world's press as, well, a crime-ridden cesspool unable to take care of its citizenry — to get South Africa to bow out.

There is precedent for this (Colombia turned back the 1986 Cup; China had the 2003 WWC relocated after the SARS outbreak there) and there are countries who wish to host it. One of those, funny enough, is the USA which has been involved in some quiet discussions with FIFA that have made it clear the country is willing to step in to host if need be.

While this might make some howl, if one thinks about this from a FIFA perspective, it makes a great deal of sense. 1994 was the best-attended World Cup as well as arguably the highest-grossing if adjusted for inflation (final numbers on 2006 are unavailable, but FIFA forecasts a $40 million profit according to President Sepp Blatter). It also has a number of huge arenas ready to go, experience in event-management, and best of all, a fan base from around the globe ready to pack stadia.

[Warchant]

i think i would pee my pants

[dst]

well I hope if this happens that Americans now will be aware of the off-side rule ... I remember back then ('94) when they were cheering for about two minutes for a disallowed goal until the stadium offcials managed to inform them it didn't count ...

That was funny (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) ...

Really Warchant ... how's Soccer's acceptance in the US ???
I don't think it will ever be regarded as high as baseball or the NBA but I wonder how's it going in terms of stadium attendance / TV viewing and how big is the fan base there ?? (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

[Warchant]

Really Warchant ... how's Soccer's acceptance in the US ???
I don't think it will ever be regarded as high as baseball or the NBA but I wonder how's it going in terms of stadium attendance / TV viewing and how big is the fan base there ?? (IMG:http://cyrus.medialayer.net/~m1ke/milanfan.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

well, the problem we have with soccer and tv in the states is that the people that are running all the stations are an older generation that grew up with baseball, american football, and basketball. the 1994 World Cup in the US sparked an interest, however, in a very young generation that started around kids my age (i was 13 at the time). slowly these kids have grown up and other kids have seen and fallen in love with soccer.

now the problem we're having is that this generation is just now reaching their mid-20's so there really isn't anyway we can influence the tv stations all that much. but there have been some studies done in our country and they've seen that soccer (football) is the fastest growing sport in our country among kids. i think the reason this is happening is because not everyone (including myself) is 6'6" and weighs 260 pounds, which rules them out of our football...and not all of them are tall enough to play basketball and not all of them can hit a 90mph fastball. you don't need any of those to play soccer...most anyone can go out on a field and kick a soccer ball around, and i think that's why is drawing a lot of american kids towards soccer.

so give us another 10-12 years and you're going to see a huge shift in american sports. with the growth of the MLS (major league soccer) in just 10 years i see great things happening with this country and soccer.

another thing that could occur if soccer does become big is the world's elite soccer leagues could be chanding and the US could easily take that spot. Granted countries like Spain, England, and Italy have a lot of money to throw around, it is nowhere near what people can spend over here...and the venues that we have would make the San Siro even look like your everyday stadium.

and i think with another world cup in this country the skies the limit. it would be the exact thing we need to let soccer explode here.

[dudernahata]

yea soccer here isnt as popular as baseball, football, or basketball but its getting there. if it is going to be in the united states again i am gonna go crazy. i will be 20 in2010 and itll be right here. oh i hope its here again. and in 2014 imma be in the world cup playing at age 24. =D