Interesting post by 615Dawg/Curmudgeon on Sixpack about our NCAA Chances

Unsolicited advice about how the soccer crew can make soccer better in this country:

1. Stop forcing it down our throats. There are some people that just aren't going to like it. Accept it and move on.
2. Accept that it is going to be a niche sport in a country that fills 100k stadiums for football. Many of the soccer diehards want to see it flourish on that level. Its just not going to happen.
3. Fix the youth system. Its a mess and it finally cost a World Cup bid. Too many daddies coaching younger players and not knowing what they are doing. Once kids get 10 years old, they should have a certified coach.
4. Move the high school season so it doesn't compete with basketball. There's some great athletes that are having to choose and the choices are becoming racial. Its a fall sport in college, it should be in high school as well.
5. You have to find a way to get it on to SEC college campuses on the men's side. You have an uphill battle with Title IX, but it will not thrive until its a viable college sport across the nation.

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Originally Posted by WeWonItAll(Most)

I'm not getting into this again, as its a pointless argument. But I'm curious what you mean by the bolded part

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There are too many youth teams. This trend started with soccer. Some kids aren't athletes, and the "there's always a place to play" combined with parents living through their kids has kids that should be doing something else playing Upward sports or super rec league crap. I'm not against giving younger kids every opportunity, but there becomes a point - maybe its 9-10 years old, where maybe its not their thing.

There used to be an Ad Council PSA that aired that had a mom trying a kid in every sport and he was a complete failure. Then he ended up being an outstanding vocalist, singing solos in the choir. That's what that kid needed to be doing. By giving kids unlimited avenues to fail, we have created a problem. Go watch a YMCA or Upward league baseball game for 12 year olds. These kids cant throw, they cant catch, they cant run, they cant hit. Its miserable. Those kids could be future engineers or talented musicians or cure cancer, but they cant hit a baseball. Stop lying to kids and telling them they can do anything.

All this started with soccer. Ruining lives.

You know what the curmudgeon did when he couldn't hit a middle school curve ball? I started running stats. I started coordinating video. I found my place. Now its if you cant be the superstar, go to another team. If you cant play sports, you're destined to be a loser. Screw that.

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Originally Posted by curmudgeon

There are too many youth teams. This trend started with soccer. Some kids aren't athletes, and the "there's always a place to play" combined with parents living through their kids has kids that should be doing something else playing Upward sports or super rec league crap. I'm not against giving younger kids every opportunity, but there becomes a point - maybe its 9-10 years old, where maybe its not their thing.

There used to be an Ad Council PSA that aired that had a mom trying a kid in every sport and he was a complete failure. Then he ended up being an outstanding vocalist, singing solos in the choir. That's what that kid needed to be doing. By giving kids unlimited avenues to fail, we have created a problem. Go watch a YMCA or Upward league baseball game for 12 year olds. These kids cant throw, they cant catch, they cant run, they cant hit. Its miserable. Those kids could be future engineers or talented musicians or cure cancer, but they cant hit a baseball. Stop lying to kids and telling them they can do anything.

All this started with soccer. Ruining lives.

You know what the curmudgeon did when he couldn't hit a middle school curve ball? I started running stats. I started coordinating video. I found my place. Now its if you cant be the superstar, go to another team. If you cant play sports, you're destined to be a loser. Screw that.

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Ok so that throws out both LB and DK cause both could hit a curveball extremely well. I'm starting to think you are yanking me. I don't think we were ever friends or even knew each other.

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Originally Posted by curmudgeon

Unsolicited advice about how the soccer crew can make soccer better in this country:

1. Stop forcing it down our throats. There are some people that just aren't going to like it. Accept it and move on.
2. Accept that it is going to be a niche sport in a country that fills 100k stadiums for football. Many of the soccer diehards want to see it flourish on that level. Its just not going to happen.
3. Fix the youth system. Its a mess and it finally cost a World Cup bid. Too many daddies coaching younger players and not knowing what they are doing. Once kids get 10 years old, they should have a certified coach.
4. Move the high school season so it doesn't compete with basketball. There's some great athletes that are having to choose and the choices are becoming racial. Its a fall sport in college, it should be in high school as well.
5. You have to find a way to get it on to SEC college campuses on the men's side. You have an uphill battle with Title IX, but it will not thrive until its a viable college sport across the nation.

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This is mostly great advice and stuff that I would say myself as a fan of the game. I wish MSU would find a way to start a men's team and begin establishing a program before other SEC schools do (UK and USC aside). I think that soccer is slowly finding its way South, and it would be nice to be ahead of the curve.

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Originally Posted by WeWonItAll(Most)

This is mostly great advice and stuff that I would say myself as a fan of the game. I wish MSU would find a way to start a men's team and begin establishing a program before other SEC schools do (UK and USC aside). I think that soccer is slowly finding its way South, and it would be nice to be ahead of the curve.

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I'd love it if we'd drop tennis for men's soccer. **** tennis. why the hell do we have tennis over soccer? Ladies tennis is fine but men's come on. Sorry if I offended any tennis fans.

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Originally Posted by Dawg61

I'd love it if we'd drop tennis for men's soccer. **** tennis. why the hell do we have tennis over soccer? Ladies tennis is fine but men's come on. Sorry if I offended any tennis fans.

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And 6 of the 8 players on the men's team are European. Talk about a sport bringing about the demise of America***

In all seriousness, we could add an equestrian team. We probably already have the facilities to house horses and I'm sure we could work in some cool opportunities for our vet school students to care for them and what not. I don't know how many scholarships an equestrian team gets, but Texas A&M's team photo has as many people as a 2A football team.

http://12thman.com/images/2017/8/31/....jpg?width=539

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WeWonItAll(Most)

And 6 of the 8 players on the men's team are European. Talk about a sport bringing about the demise of America***

In all seriousness, we could add an equestrian team. We probably already have the facilities to house horses and I'm sure we could work in some cool opportunities for our vet school students to care for them and what not. I don't know how many scholarships an equestrian team gets, but Texas A&M's team photo has as many people as a 2A football team.

http://12thman.com/images/2017/8/31/....jpg?width=539

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Beach volleyball! Everyone can thank me later.

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Originally Posted by curmudgeon

I honestly believe soccer is responsible for the pussification of youth sports and the demise of the college football kicker. It might be responsible for ANTIFA and the progressive movement that is going to end up killing us all.

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Even if you are joking, this is dumb. :)

Whatever Curmudgeon says about soccer- do a +1 for me

Quote:

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Originally Posted by curmudgeon

Unsolicited advice about how the soccer crew can make soccer better in this country:

1. Stop forcing it down our throats. There are some people that just aren't going to like it. Accept it and move on.
2. Accept that it is going to be a niche sport in a country that fills 100k stadiums for football. Many of the soccer diehards want to see it flourish on that level. Its just not going to happen.
3. Fix the youth system. Its a mess and it finally cost a World Cup bid. Too many daddies coaching younger players and not knowing what they are doing. Once kids get 10 years old, they should have a certified coach.
4. Move the high school season so it doesn't compete with basketball. There's some great athletes that are having to choose and the choices are becoming racial. Its a fall sport in college, it should be in high school as well.
5. You have to find a way to get it on to SEC college campuses on the men's side. You have an uphill battle with Title IX, but it will not thrive until its a viable college sport across the nation.

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I?m not the worlds biggest soccer fan, but there is a lot of wrong in your statements

1) No one forces you to watch it, so don?t. The volume of soccer on TV is a reflection of how popular it is.

2) It already has flourished at pretty high attendance level - albeit inconsistently. The Cosmos were selling out the Meadowlands in the 70s, various international exhibition games over the years - not to mention the ?94 World Cup and ?96 Olympics sold out multiple NFL and college venues. The Atlanta United sold out the new dome with 42,000 so much, they expanded it to football seating and they hold the record for the building at 71,874 people. Now, as a whole, MLS is starting to push MLB for attendance not the NFL and they are the ones who should be scared. 90 minute matches (not 4:45 every day) cheaper tickets, and more easily accessible sport for youth to play is a bad recipe for baseball.

3) Youth soccer may be a mess in MS - but in areas like Atlanta, you just described youth soccer 30 years ago not now. Youth soccer is highly organized, well coached, and has even attracted affiliation programs with EPL teams. Hell, my little community here on the coast has a youth club affiliated with Chelsea. The down side of that is it is more expensive then rec soccer - but it?s no different then travel baseball.

4) Competes against basketball in HS? I?ve never known it as a winter sport anywhere - most states it is fall or spring. In Georgia it runs Spring and tracks a similar season timeline to baseball. If a kid is on the basketball team, they might miss early season IF they make playoffs, otherwise not much conflict. If MS is doing it was a winter sport, you are an outlier and it is a problem.

5) After all the hate, you advocate making it an SEC men?s sport??? I get that you think that the SEC holds some sort of magic keys to athletic dominance becuae ?it just means more?, but the ACC has a 30 year leg up on us in this sport. It?s funny that 12 ACC schools have figured out how to do it with the same Title IX issues and the SEC hasn?t.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

He is a numbers guy btw and has been great over the years on breakdowns:

I think 23 wins gets us in

That includes the SEC Tournament.

This team is two last second threes and a blown 13 point second half lead from being in first place in the SEC.

at Texas A&M
South Carolina
Tennessee
at LSU

all winnable games. If we win all four, we will have a double bye in the SEC Tournament. If we win three, we will probably be the 5 seed and get an opportunity to play the 12-13 winner to pick up a 24th win.

South Carolina and Tennessee games need to be sell outs especially if we win in College Station on Tuesday.


23 is the most number of wins by a Power conference team ever left out of the NCAA Tournament. It was Mississippi State in 2010.

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This is not true... South Carolina was left out with 24 in 2016