Here is your chance, USA.
The best athletes play soccer in every other country in the world. This has been the American excuse for far too long.
With the impending NFL lockout and a possible NBA lockout, athletes in the nation’s two most physically athletic sports will have to decide where to go to get a job.
Chad Ochocinco has shown surprising humility during his transition from star NFL player to reserve on Sporting Kansas City. While he is the first to do so, it wouldn’t surprise me if more followed in his footsteps.
While soccer requires more endurance, the pure speed of football players combined with their strength would present a problem for fullbacks throughout the MLS. Also, the height and physicality of basketball players bodes well for crosses inside the box.
They wouldn’t have to be stars, either. Those players who are on the bench for most of the game could help many soccer teams and possibly bridge the gap between the US and other countries.
When a player has been using their strength and agility all their life to make money, why stop? Soccer will let the players do that, and it will keep them in shape until the end of the lockout.
Reach the reporter at jjmckelv@asu.edu
