From my new VDARE column:
Female soccer embodies many of the most deeply-held values of white American upper middle class families: gender equality; parental (especially paternal) investment in their children; organized practice instead of play; ambitions for college scholarships; tacit race and class segregation via spending; and chauffeuring … lots and lots of chauffeuring.
So nobody in the American MSM has been so rude as to point out the remarkable lack of racial and ethnic diversity on the U.S. women’s soccer team.
Judging from the latest roster—if our World Cup team was the Tea Party, it would be denounced as nativist and racist. Certainly the women’s national soccer team would fail the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s notoriously “Four-Fifths Rule” for sniffing out possible “disparate impact” discrimination—discrimination where it doesn’t have to prove intent.
Yet Google News records no mention by the MSM of the lack of diversity on this lauded squad.
Read the whole thing there.
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111 comments:
They're all women, so they're 100% diverse. To think otherwise is a hatefact.
Perhaps one of your most insightful and outstanding columns Steve. In a better world, you'd be writing best-selling books and Tom Friedman would be grinding out accounting reports.
I am Lugash.
Excellent article Steve.
Is there a reason why you harped on the Pellicano case so much? Yeah, it did get tossed down the Memory Hole, and some entertainment execs should have been nailed. Do you know someone who was roped up in it?
I am Lugash.
Gender equality is not exactly it. Any men high school state champion team (even from Rhode Island) would demolish any of the women soccer teams. Such is the physicality of the game.
I am Lugash.
Isn't it odd how the term 'Memory Hole' got chucked down the Memory Hole itself? It's an amazing term, and even though it it sort of embarrassing to the Left, they could still sneak it in.
I am Lugash.
You couldn't have written this in 1999. The true hero of that world cup final was Briana Scurry, who saved the penalty that won them the match.
She didn't take off her shirt to show the world her sportsbra, so didn't make all the news photos.
Well if Al Sharton has yet to picket Major League Baseball he certainly won't touch USA womens' soccer. The reasoon is that Black people are so fixated on basketball now that they don't even care (or notice) that Major League baseball is down to 7% black from a high of 27-30% back in the 70's:
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/07/17/3225936/face-of-major-league-baseball.html
So, if they don't care about an actual moneymaking sport like baseball they surely won't bother to get their kids involved in soccer in great numbers...
Oh Steve. Where to begin!
1. The athletic differential between blacks and whites is smaller in women than men. For starters, white men dominate soccer (Spaniards, Italians) as you've noticed. The cardio is a huge hurdle. Arguably the US should field an all-white mens team. Even if black men were 1 STD better than white men, and black women where 2 STD better than white women, that 2 STD is applied against a smaller range suggesting white intangibles could better overcome this handicap in women's sports versus mens sports.
2. diversity only matters for men.
As for point 2, a powerful black woman goes childless (Oprah, Condoleeza, and on and on) whereas a powerful black man has his way with white women (Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones). From a white persons perspective it is more dangerous to empower a black guy than it is to empower a black woman (Colin Powell vs Condoleeza).
i've read that a population can replace itself with 1 man and 100 women, but a population dies out if there are 100 men and 1 woman. That's why you don't send women to war.
This assumes "once you go black you never go back". I assume there are white guys that would take Peggy Lipton.
Ethnic diversity is a more sensitive issue when black men are involved. Therefore, ethnic diversity involving men is the only game worth scoring points.
Soccer is not a great measure of raw athletic talent. It takes a lifetime of training, beginning at an early age, to master the skills.
It's not like the NFL where someone with raw talent can pick up the technical stuff in just a few years.
Someone with Bo Jackson's ability and one year of practice can play pro football. No amount of talent will let someone play pro level soccer if they are learning the game as an adult.
A country's success in soccer depends both on raw material and availability of systematic early training. I'm not sure the Mexicans are as bad as you think. Their deficits may be more on the organizational side than the athletic talent side.
BTW, why no comment on the fact that Japan won the championship?
"BTW, why no comment on the fact that Japan won the championship?"
Because I wrote it before the final game.
Isn't this a kind of Self-Refuting Article.
You say American soccer team is not the best in the world because it's geared more to preserve white privilege(expensive coaching, traveling about, college admittance credits)than to finding, developing, and keeping the best talent(who often fall into bad situations).
In other words, you seem to be arguing that the current system is BAD thing for US soccer.
But then, you laud the white privilege system as it is and suggest it should be kept that way--white run, white dominated, and white privileged. And then you use this as a basis for baiting upper middle whites for their hypocrisy in supporting 'diversity' while maintaining their own caste system.
Thus, the article neutralizes itself.
What should be the national priority when it comes to soccer?
Finding the best players at the expense of white privilege or maintaining white privilege at the expense of finding/developing the best players? For much of the article, you seem to excoriate the system as it is for favoring white privilege than building up the best players.
But then you defend this system as being in the interest of whites and suggest that since upper middle class whites are really working in their own racial interest, they should support lower-class whites to do the same.
I'm confused.
Also, the article seems to begin with the notion that diversity is not necessarily good for sports. After all, the American women's soccer team is entirely white and made it to the finals!! But, then it lost to... a bunch of short stubby Asians... which means it's not such a great team, which means America needs a different system to find/develop a much better team.
On the one hand, you seem to praise homogeneity for the talent of the American team, but then you seem to argue that the American team is not the best cuz the current soccer system in America favors the homogeneous community of privileged whites over everyone else. Again, I'm confused.
I honestly think that most Blacks could care less about soccer.
If you want to see some good Mexican athletes, look at the lighter weight classes in boxing and MMA. They have good stamina, toughness, and even quickness.
Soccer is not a big man's game. I think if Mexico got its act together as a country (i.e., makes it an official national priority) they could compete pretty well. Do you think they have any training programs comparable to the Dutch soccer clubs?
"This assumes "once you go black you never go back". I assume there are white guys that would take Peggy Lipton."
Peggy Lipton? Quincy Jones? Dude I hate to inform you but 3 decades passed while you were asleep.
I have an idea to make women's soccer more popular. Play it to music, almost like a dance.
Consider gymastics. Men's floor exercise is done without music. Women's is done with music. Women like it cuz it's more like a dance than calisthenics.
First half of the game is played by music chosen by team A, second half with music by team B.
In fact, one player, Shannon Boxx, is a little bit black.
Yes.
She was raised solely by her white mother in the beach city of South Torrance, CA.
Somewhat apropos considering that her father is black:
...over 70 percent of black mothers being unmarried,...
The only black player, and in the final I thought she should have been substituted off. But here she is actually given a relatively high mark for her play. Diversity of opinion I guess.
"It’s not just the best teams that are mostly white. It’s also the best players. Of the 50 top male players in the world in 2010, 39 were white, ten West African black by birth or descent, and one mixed."
I guess France didn't get the memo.
http://static1.purepeople.com/articles/1/54/20/1/@/397375-l-equipe-de-france-de-football-secouee-637x0-1.jpg
"No amount of talent will let someone play pro level soccer if they are learning the game as an adult"
That seems like a pretty dubious assertion, it would be nice to see this tested.
Ali Krieger speaks pretty decent German:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfqFOoY_cFA
How is that for diversity?
I'm a little confused, predominantly Mestizo Mexican Hispanics are underrepresented on soccer because...
1.) the system keeps them out, and
2.) they're not very good to begin with, as seen by Mexico's performance.
Which is it Steve? I'd say you're on more solid ground with 2. There's nothing preventing them from playing hooky and dribbling all day in shantytown lots right here in America.
"I guess France didn't get the memo"
Yes, they did...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/france/7841810/World-Cup-2010-France-squad-refuse-to-train.html
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=264034&cc=5901&ver=us
http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/groups/a/
Here is an obvious comment on the winning Japanese team: No diversity there either.
Gilbert P.
Ha! Not Sailer's work either. Do I detect Blowhole behind the scenes perpetrating a fraud since at least the article blaming the CIA for abstract expressionism?
Yet Google News records no mention by the MSM of the lack of diversity on this lauded squad.
There is a Slate article where two Frenchman write:
The French team made a fool of itself in front of the whole world last year, with social tensions destroying the team from the inside. It has also been shaken by a scandal including quotas based on the players' skin color. But hey, compared to an all-white American team—OK, there's one player who's half-Cuban—one can say that the racially mixed French roster reflects a multicultural nation and illustrates the success of the French integration model. Non?
Then there's this article by a Hispanic diversity consultant who says that the women's soccer team "does not yet quite look like America".
I honestly think that most Blacks could care less about soccer.
Well, you're wrong. It's huge in Africa.
"I guess France didn't get the memo."
France?
Peggy Lipton? Quincy Jones? Dude I hate to inform you but 3 decades passed while you were asleep.
Lol!
Another homerun article, Steve. I love reading your stuff. It is a tragedy that you don't have a bigger stage. If the LA Times were not so ideologically driven, that would be perfect. Keep up the great work.
To the anonymous at 11:15pm who loves to rattle on about "white privilege" (although Steve never used nor implied the term), losing to "short, stubby" opponents is not the embarrassment you think it is. Apart from goalkeeper and central defence, height offers minimal advantages to a football player. Two of the greatest players in history - Messi and Maradona of Argentina - are practically dwarves, and very few of the pantheon of great players have been above average height. A low centre of gravity and proximity of brain to feet are major benefits.
Regarding the skill vs athleticism question, the former is more important than the latter. Skill on the ball and intelligent reading of the game will trump simple physical prowess virtually every time. Of course, the most skilful players are often also the most athletic, perhaps the best example being the current Barcelona team, which may be the greatest ever seen. Though their athletic strength is their stamina rather than their explosive attributes.
For generations, England has favoured strong and athletic players over skilful ones, and both our national team and coaching pool have atrophied as a result. We are unable to get the better of more skilful opponents. The US shoud therefore think hard before prioritising athleticism in its players - though clearly this is being done for reasons other than winning games.
Steve,
Right on. The U.S. Women's National Team is the quintessential upper middle class suburban representation of America. I know because I grew up in the same environment and I am the same age as most of the women's team. I actually hung out with Heather O'Reilly a few times in high school.
As with the Olympics, Americans want to root for this demographic. Can't say that it is bad thing either and it is certainly easier to cheer on Abby Wambach than Pacman Jones. If you look at where these girls were raised, almost all of them grew up in upper middle class towns. Tobin Heath, who came on for Megan Rapinoe in extra times, grew up 15 minutes south of me in Basking Ridge, NJ, where they are scraping by on a median family income of $131,618.
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2007/05/the_hidden_gend.html
"Any men high school state champion team (even from Rhode Island) would demolish any of the women soccer teams. "
Such sexist notions keep women downtrodden. They need more self-esteem, not put-downs by anonymous assholes on the net.
http://www.watchwestham.com/soccer-world-7/
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/176168.html
I honestly think that most Blacks could care less about soccer.
yes but the same goes for swimming, yet the lack of blacks in US (mens!) swimming is a moral crisis that requires a diversity officer and staff.
To answer the question of this article.
"who?, whom?"
There is a working class Hawaiian lesbian named Natasha Kai, but she wasn't on the team this year. I think she was on the 2008 Olympic team. She's real working class Hawaiian, pickup truck, tats and all.
There is much more racial diversity among the boyfriends of the players from what I've seen.
But yeah no outrage over all that Whiteness just like there wasn't outrage over the hideously White temper tantrum recently in Wisconsin protesting the governor's action.
Mexico has a pretty decent (male)proffesional league.Organisation is not the problem,just a lack of really top class talent.Some excellent players over the years but never able to compete with Brazil,Argentina and the top European nations.
In the last World Cup,for instance,they were outplaying Argentina but,anybody who knew anything about football just KNEW Argentina would win,particularly the Mexicans.
Argentina won.
"No amount of talent will let someone play pro level soccer if they are learning the game as an adult"
That seems like a pretty dubious assertion, it would be nice to see this tested.
Not if you understand how sports work, it doesn't
That's like thinking that you can pick up a tennis racket for the first time at age 20 and be good enough to challenge an ATP pro while you're still young. If you didn't pick up soccer until your adult years you could literally practice 24 hours a day and have no hope of making a career out of it before age kills your chances.
Furthermore,as one previous poster said,the majority of top male players in the world are white.Watching the current Copa America,I have noticed that even Brazil are,once again majority white.All the greatest Brazilian teams were not only majority white but also middle class:contrary to the cliche of supernaturally gifted kids being plucked from the beaches and favelas.
Having said that European football is,in general,in decline due to the catastrophic collapse in the birthrate over the last 40 years.Italy would be the biggest casualty of this collapse.
The African continent has not yet produced a truly all time great player.None to rank with Puskas,DiStefano,Pele,Best,Cruyff,Beckanbaur,Messi etc.Great African names do not trip off the tongue,and I do not believe they ever will.They have had enough time to produce but have not.
"What is unreasonable is how the same people who spend huge sums to protect their own children from diversity will, at the same time, demonize their less privileged fellow citizens as racists for asking for some help from their government in guarding America’s borders."
Unreasonable? I'd call it treacherous, for starters.
You're so nice that it makes me nervous.
The girls' under 18 team in Corning, CA a few years ago was all Mexican and Asian. They were pretty good in regular season, but got creamed in District Cup tournament because only 10 of them could produce birth certificates.
Articles like the "Swiss Team Enriched by Ethnic Diversity" piece that you mention are standard fare for the MSM. They love to use multi-racial European national soccer teams to propagandize for the race-replacement of Europeans. That's why I rooted like hell for the Spaniards to win the World Cup last year: their entire squad was ethnically Spanish. It was quite enjoyable to watch them fell the "Germans", who featured several Turks, a Brazilian, and an African in prominent roles.
Jonathon is right about France. Also the England soccer team, who never actually win the world cup but usually do fairly well,always contains more black players in proportion than the population. Black England players seem about as good as white ones at missing penalties, and married black and white footballers (as they're called in the UK) seem about equally good at playing away.
The England women's soccer team included 4 black players (out of 11) which again is many times more than the proportion of the population.
There are, SFAIK, no South Asian professional footballers at all in England.
"Gender equality is not exactly it. Any men high school state champion team (even from Rhode Island) would demolish any of the women soccer teams. Such is the physicality of the game."
I'd go further- a decent boys' high school team would beat these girls handily. As far as basketball- An all-star group of 7th graders would destroy the Uconn women.
Dan in Dc
"Isn't this a kind of Self-Refuting Article."
No, it isn't.
"There's nothing preventing them from playing hooky and dribbling all day in shantytown lots right here in America"
Sure there is: truant officers.
Excellent column. Precise analysis you'll never see in them MSM -- classic isteve.
You're the best cultural analyst in the country, and have been for quite a while.
There are a couple of other factors at play here:
1) Club soccer in the U.S. is still dominated by English professional trainers, and Latino parents don't want some bloke teaching their kid how to play, since the English and Mexican styles are so different.
So they form independent teams or move to small clubs that are Latino-only, where dads are the coaches. This does two things: 1) it limits player development since they don't have professional training; and 2) it keeps the best Latino/a players from moving up to better opportunities provided by the large, established clubs.
On the girls side, especially past the age of 12 or so, it is not at all unusual to see lower-level Latina-only teams that have one or two strong players and a bunch of girls who simply don't have the body type or fitness level to compete.
At a bigger club, those top players would be funneled up to better teams where they would have stronger training and more intense competition.
2) Young black girls who choose soccer often don't master the requisite technical skills because they are able to rely on their pace and physicality for so long.
They dominate at the younger ages by simply outrunning everyone else to the ball.
But by the time they reach high school age, the white girls have passed them by technically.
That's why the USWNT is basically all white. The black women players at our top college programs -- which feed the USWNT -- are mostly flash, without the ability to possess and distribute the ball.
Steve, one trend that I've observed around youth soccer in Texas is that some clubs are making a concerted effort to recruit Mexican players on the boys side.
To entice them, the clubs offer all kinds of scholarship money and often pay out regardless of need.
Where does the money come from? It comes from the girls side of these clubs, where almost 100 percent of the players are paying full freight (upwards of $1,500 a year for most clubs).
As long as the girls parents keep paying, this will dramatically change the make-up of our men's national team in time.
"Perhaps one of your most insightful and outstanding columns Steve."
Agreed, the way you effortlessly referenced facts from all over (from "Cameron Diaz" to "fast twitch muscle fibers") was quite impressive.
2. There's nothing preventing them from playing hooky and dribbling all day in shantytown lots right here in America.
Except that American police have the annoying tendency of actually enforcing truancy laws.
I live in New York but when I meet people from California they often love Mexican food. They complain how it is so much better in California. They do seem to eat it a lot. This seems to be the extent of their interest in Mexican culture these days though. Do you think this is a way for people to claim to be "diverse" or for "diversity"?
Any men high school state champion team (even from Rhode Island) would demolish any of the women soccer teams. Such is the physicality of the game.
I don't know about that. It used to be the case, yes. But skill also counts and the women in the WC Final were a lot better than a boys high school team.
Plus the women play with more honesty and integrity than the men. The last "real" World Cup was an embarrassment to the sport, with diving, cheating, cynical fouling, and whining to the refs at an all time high.
Again, I'm confused.
You could have shortened your comment considerably if you'd said just that.
After all, the American women's soccer team is entirely white and made it to the finals!! But, then it lost to... a bunch of short stubby Asians... which means it's not such a great team
If you think that making it to the finals and losing means a team is "not such a great one", you really are confused. Also, the Japanese are not short and stubby people.
Anonymous said...
Thus, the article neutralizes itself.
You put the word "thus" where your argument belongs. There is no self-refutation. He is saying:
1. US soccer would be better at producing pro soccer players if it were not being used as a proxy vehicle for segregation.
2. At least under present conditions in the US, there is nothing wrong with the desire for segregation, and, besides, this desire is pretty much inevitable. (Steve usually passes lightly over the first part of this, for obvious reasons)
3. Given that 2 may not be expressed openly, it must be expressed via proxy, and this expression is going to fuck up whatever it is that is being used as a proxy.
4. Soccer is a fine proxy for its expression. Note, Steve does not like soccer and does not care much if US soccer players suck, so fucking it up doesn't bother him much.
5. Obviously, it would be even better to express the need for segregation openly and un-fuck-up US soccer development, but given that this is not an option, soccer is a fairly innocuous place to put the proxy.
These are extremely familiar Sailer themes and are not even a little bit self-refuting. You may think they are incorrect, but they ain't self-refuting.
The intellectual tension you are picking up on is a feature of the Liberal Elite whom Sailer is criticizing. They want things for themselves and their children which de facto require segregation, but they are extremely emotionally invested in anti-racism and integrationism as ideologies.
Anonymous said...
I'm a little confused, predominantly Mestizo Mexican Hispanics are underrepresented on soccer because...
1.) the system keeps them out, and
2.) they're not very good to begin with, as seen by Mexico's performance.
Which is it Steve?
Chocolate ice cream is delicious because: 1) it's sugary, and 2) it's chocolaty. Which is it, Anonymous?
You mentioned West Africans' lack of physical endurance. Isn't it interesting that they lack emotional endurance as well? Do the two necessarily come together? Sweat shop factories wouldn't work in West Africa because, among other things, you can't force those people to sit still and work for many hours on end. The ability to exert oneself on any task over a long period of time, even if the task isn't physically exhausting, isn't there in that subset of humanity. I don't know if that's related to the lack of physical endurance.
Somewhat apropos considering that her father is black
I haven't seen any pictures of her father, but considering that Shannon Boxx is about as black as an Englishman with a tan, I suspect he's perhaps one quarter black.
Hey, you have to admit that it was funny as hell that a bunch of 5'3 112 lb. Japs with full-time jobs steamrolled the Nike Olympians.
Conversely, the American coaches’ emphasis on “athleticism” hurts the chances of mestizos, who tend to be slow and short.
I don't know about slow but short stature shouldn't be much of a concern to any coach who actually follows the sport. At present the best team in the world, and almost certainly the best of all-time, is FC Barcelona. In its normal starting line-up you'll have Messi (5'6") and David Villa (at most 5'9") upfront with Bojan (5'7") often coming on as a sub. The midfield revolves around Iniesta (5'7") Xaxi (5'7") and one player over 6' (Busquets). A couple of their defenders are about 5'8" . The Spanish team that won the World Cup and European championships had a lot of the same players. And, obviously, the Japanese team that beat the US yesterday, also beat much taller Sweden and Germany as well.
There are quite a lot of good mestizo players. The Paraguayan team that put Brazil yesterday (albeit in penalties) had a few of them as do most Argentine and Uruguayan sides. Many play for top clubs in Europe.
I wouldn't say Mexico is no good at soccer as some have said. FIFA rankings aren't that accurate but to get into the world's top ten means your team is pretty good (Mexico is ranked #9). I would say Mexico is a middle power in the sport that has had bad luck: losing in penalties to eventual finalists W Germany in 1986, penalties to semi-finalists Bulgaria in 1994, losing to a wonder goal in extra time against Argentina in 2006. True they've never had that breakthrough to get into the elite but soccer is the most competitive sport in the world so there is no shame in that. What is clear is that their players have greater technical skills than the US squad. They've better ball control, more confidence on the ball, better at passing in confined space, and if the Rose Bowl final was anything to go by more cool under pressure when down unlike the Americans who went into meltdown mode as soon as they lost the lead. Given the size of the mestizo population in the US you could probably find a couple of world class players who could make it on to any US team just as long as you put aside American sport prejudices regarding the importance of height.
The problem though is that even if you do train them from youth that doesn't mean they will choose to play for the US when they grow up. Giuseppe Rossi chose to play for his parents' country, Italy, despite coming from New Jersey. Virtually every half-decent Canadian player with a claim to a European passport (quite a few) has rejected lowly Canada for the land of their parents despite receiving most of their training in Canada. Given the expressed loyalty at the Rose Bowl from many who were born in the USA I suspect playing for Mexico would be the first choice of any Mexican-American. Unless it's much more lucrative $$$ most will choose blood over the 'proposition nation' no matter how much money and resources the US has provided for their development.
I think people over-estimate the black athlete based on their prevalence in Football and Basketball. In Football the primary attributes are size and speed, in BB its height, jumping ability and speed.
Their dominance lies in the fact that the Blacks just as big/tall as whites but faster.
In Baseball they never achieved that level of dominance even when BB was the #1 Pro Sport. Like Soccer, being tall or jumping high are minor strengths. And as Bill James has shown stealing bases is quite overrated.
So Blacks never achieved more than 25% in BB. Which is probably what they'd achieve if soccer was our No. 1 sport.
Or look at Brazil or Nigeria soccer teams.
I honestly think that most Blacks could care less about soccer.
I disagree. As far as I can tell, blacks couldn't care less about soccer.
Why should we be complaining about one of the few places in America where it's okay to have mostly white people participating? I'm not quite following here. From high school onwards, certain womens sports are a haven for girls who don't want any part of the club-hopping party lifestyle, thus it should be no surprise that white girls from upper middle class families are the most involved...
Very interesting article Steve. The Tea Party is probably more diverse than US Women's soccer but the MSM doesn't bring it up. It's not harping on them. So very true and I hadn't noticed.
And the real question is - why?
I'll buy the argument that it would be uncouth to do so because Women's soccer is by their standards inherently good. It's the essence of SWPL righteousness. It simply can't be bigotted by their logic.
It's probably also got something to do with, as you pointed out, Women's soccer doesn't really matter. It's a cute thing for girls to do. The nice middle class ladies *love* bragging about their daughters getting scholarships. They couldn't care less about watching games.
I'm sure they'll consider the fact that you brought this up as further proof of your perfidiousness.
I never cheer for American womens teams.What does it prove if they win?THat you have women who are more masculine and muscular than, say,the women of France? Thats an honer because...? I also hate womens sports because I resent the lousy shit-eating Title IX,pure feminist horsehockey,that has paved the way for massive discrimination against white college guys who want to play sports. In womens sports,I cheer for the sexier girl(s) Just like in Basketball,whatever team has the most white guys gets my support. Re Peggy Lipton:She is starring in a new movie,called "Jackpot". John Gries(yes,THE John Gries) plays Sunny Holiday,a man who longs for success in country music.He sets out with his manager,played by Garret Morris(LOL!!!) to find fame on the road.Adam Baldwin and Anthony Edwards join Peggy in supporting roles. I have a feeling who Peggy Lipton sleeps with is of concern to no one,probably including the guy himself!
"The African continent has not yet produced a truly all time great player.None to rank with Puskas,DiStefano,Pele,Best,Cruyff,Beckanbaur,Messi etc.Great African names do not trip off the tongue,and I do not believe they ever will.They have had enough time to produce but have not."
That's silly.
Zidane's parents were Algerians, but he did benefit from having been born in France.
And, of course, there was Eusébio.
There is a chasm between American football fans and soccer fans. American fballers tend to hate soccer and fear soccer's rise will come at their expense.
American fballers mock soccer as a pseudo sport since average sized white guys can dominate the game instead of genetic freaks of the NFL and NBA.
Selectively, Steve doesn't seem to disparage sports like boxing, MMA, swimming, golf, baseball, etc that don't overly favor over-sized guys with short explosive speed like the NBA and NFL. No - soccer seems to be the only sport singled out here for such criticism.
Steve son appears to play football, so Steve is decidedly in the anti-soccer camp. His world cup posts last year demonstrated his limited understanding and irrational dislike of soccer.
Here we have it again:
the American women's soccer team is entirely white and made it to the finals!! But, then it lost to... a bunch of short stubby Asians... which means it's not such a great team
Where did Steve get the idea that height is a prerequisite for top level soccer players?
you have to admit that it was funny as hell that a bunch of 5'3 112 lb. Japs with full-time jobs steamrolled the Nike Olympians.
I have to admit, it's funny as hell that you think the Japanese team is composed of "5'3 112 lb. Japs with full-time jobs".
What is unreasonable is how the same people who spend huge sums to protect their own children from diversity will, at the same time, demonize their less privileged fellow citizens as racists for asking for some help from their government in guarding America’s borders.
You know the old saying, "Do as I say, not as I do".
Also, Steve's line of reasoning is uncharacteristically weak when he critiques soccer.
Soccer does not require millions of dollars in physical plant and precise analytic coaching like speed skating or swimming sprints.
You're running around 90mins kicking a ball with your feet into a net - it's pretty simple and intuitive. Some of the best players in the world learned with little else than a ball as young kids before their exceptional talent was discovered.
In California, I always saw certain school and park fields filled with Hispanic families playing organized soccer games at all levels. In the Midwest now, a SWPL team parent was lamenting his kid's traveling team was destroyed by a very Hispanic team in the capital city. He's been told that whites don't catch up physically until middle or HS.
Steve defeats his own argument by claiming US training via traveling teams is unproductive compared to the Dutch method. By this reasoning, Hispanics who don't waste time sitting on planes and minivans but are instead just playing constantly would have even more of a leg up over the SWPL white kids. It's not like US colleges or prep schools are not dying to give a scholarship to an excellent Hispanic soccer athlete.
Why Steve thinks talent doesn't rise in soccer unlike other easily intuitive and accessible sports is part of his anti-soccer bias.
nobody in the American MSM has been so rude as to point out the remarkable lack of racial and ethnic diversity on the U.S. women’s soccer team.
In fairness, soccer is not a very "diverse" sport on any level. (Where "diverse" has the peculiar American meaning of "a lot of blacks")
Probably the best soccer team in the world is Barcelona Football Club. They typically start three out of eleven black players, and those three are far from the best players on the team. Manchester United is probably the second best team in the world, and they have one black starter.
In the American context the lack of blacks in soccer is often attributed to the best black athletes going into higher paid sports such as basketball. But soccer players in Europe make as much as the best players in American sports, and the sport sucks in the best players from all parts of the world.
In spite of the derogatory comments being made here about Hispanics, the best non-European players are from Latin America.
"The African continent has not yet produced a truly all time great player.None to rank with Puskas,DiStefano,Pele,Best,Cruyff,Beckanbaur,Messi etc.Great African names do not trip off the tongue,and I do not believe they ever will.They have had enough time to produce but have not."
Well, there is Eusebio... but yeah, who else. And even in the case of Eusebio... it was a Portugese colonial possession, and his father was white Portugese, and he moved to Portugal in his early teens.
I honestly think that most Blacks could care less about soccer.
If by "Blacks" you mean "American Blacks", sure.
But soccer is a much bigger sport in Africa, and in other European countries with a black minority, than are any of the American sports.
I notice the Japanese team wasn't very diverse either.
How inspiring that these two teams overcame the handicap of their non-diversity.
_Osvaldo M.
"I have noticed that even Brazil are,once again majority white."
So in your opinion, professor, multiculturalism works?
To the anonymous at 11:15
Steve wrote the article to explain how the current system works and why we had an all-white female team.
He was laying out the facts. You know, like a good journalist is supposed to do.
The overall message is "Upper Class Whites have cornered soccer in this manner because it keeps the diversity out, their daughters safe from said diversity, and gets their daughters good scholarships to college"
An added benefit is that we've produced several excellent teams as a result (even though we lost yesterday, we still made it)
Steve's Message was in the last sentence..."If upper class whites are willing to go to these lengths to protect their white daughters from diversity...why can't they acknowledge this and realize that immigration is harming the lower classes."
"Several players had been members of the Tepco Mareeze women’s club — a now-defunct member of the Japanese pro league. Midfielder Aya Sameshima even worked at the nuclear plant well before it became the object of the world’s anxiety."
"At least when the match began, though, Japanese supporters tried to temper their expectations. Nadeshiko’s starters had an average height of 5-foot-4 — a distinct size disadvantage."
"There are just 25,000 girls registered to play youth soccer in Japan, a country of more than 125 million people, Byer said.
This compares to around 200,000 girls registered with the American Youth Soccer Organization in the U.S. State of California alone."
"unlike the U.S. Women's Professional Soccer League, Japan's L. League is non-professional. In fact, many of the league's players work normal day jobs to pay their bills.
"Aya [Miyama] and some of the other players from the team are from Mimasaka, a hot spring town. A lot of those women work in the hot spring resort hotels during the day, after the job they go and train," said Byer."
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/football/07/15/japan.world.cup.final/index.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-japan-soccer-win-means-late-night-joy-for-recovering-country/2011/07/17/gIQAy9DlKI_story_1.html
Anonymous often has difficulty with complexity, and is showing that trait today. He thinks that the only reason to write is to say "This is GOOD!!!" or "This is BAD!!!" Anonymous switches back and forth regarding whether he wants to agree or disagree with Mr. Sailer's GOOD!!! or BAD!!! but the one thing he insists on is that Mr. Sailer be a propagandist. He's supposed to assign good and bad labels. He's not supposed to be discussing or analyzing. (Also nothing can have two causes.) In the Murdoch thread Anonymous was sure that Murdoch was bad, so he found offensive any hint that Murdoch's property, contract and free speech rights should not be suppressed. My point is this: If you have something to say I suggest you use a pseudonym. Putting the Anonymous label on your comment confuses me.
I get so tired of your lesbian-baiting posts, Sailer. Will you get back to foreign affairs already?
The stuff about blacks being favored in football and basketball because of interruptions for commercials isn't very persuasive. Even if basketball and football didn't have as many breaks for ads, athletes are NOT running and jumping all the time. There is huddling after each play, and in basketball, there's a lot of standing around and jockeying as well as running and jumping.
Also, Jack Johnson beat all the white guys in marathon bouts that went for many rounds.
"Why should we be complaining about one of the few places in America where it's okay to have mostly white people participating?"
None of this really matters. No one would even know about women's soccer if it weren't for feminist MSM pushing it. Most Americans love football, basketball, and football. The only women's sports that garners genuine attention is women's tennis(dominated in US by Williams sisters), gynmastics, and figure skating.
Women that really matter in sports are into cheerleading and groupie-ing, which lately means white women shaking their butts and spreading their legs to black athletes. THAT is the real sports culture in America. Women's soccer? Just a media-hyped stunt like 'heather has two mommies'.
We don't want soccer to be diverse. We want to watch "girl-next-door" upper middle class white girls, many of whom (though not all) are attractive and heterosexual.
There are just 25,000 girls registered to play youth soccer in Japan
You have to be registered to play soccer in Japan? I knew they were a regimented society, but had no idea that things were this bad.
"...which lately means white women shaking their butts and spreading their legs to black athletes. THAT is the real sports culture in America."
Damn, I need to watch more women's sports.
Anyone notice the lack of diversity on the Japanese team? All Japanese! Not a single Ainu on the squad. Go figure.
None of this really matters. No one would even know about women's soccer if it weren't for feminist MSM pushing it. Most Americans love football, basketball, and football.
I see your problem. You are under the impression that "most Americans" is the same thing as "most people".
Regardless of what "most Americans" think, soccer is a big deal all over the rest of the world.
They [Barcelona] typically start three out of eleven black players, and those three are far from the best players on the team.
Barcelona only start two black players (their two fullbacks). Their other nine starters are Villa, Pedro, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Pique, Puyol, and Valdez (all white Spaniards) and Messi (an Argentine of Italian descent).
We don't want soccer to be diverse. We want to watch "girl-next-door" upper middle class white girls, many of whom (though not all) are attractive and heterosexual.
Exactly. I like soccer and the US Women's World Cup matches were entertaining from a soccer perspective, but the matches would've attracted far fewer male viewers if the players looked like women's basketball players. Soccer and tennis are two sports where feminine, attractive women have a good deal of success. Alex Morgan is quite pretty and a number of other girls on the team are at least cute.
Mexico just won the U-17 World Cup (men's) and the starting goalkeeper was an American from California with Mexican parents.
"For generations, England has favoured strong and athletic players over skilful ones, and both our national team and coaching pool have atrophied as a result. '
Are you saying they don't even pick the smaller players when they are 12 or 13 in England? Are you saying if Iniesta, Xavi or Messi grew up in England they would have been overlooked and not even have been pros?
Since the 86 World cup Argentina hasn't done any better than England, but everybody loves Argentina's skill. England hasn't done that badly. Argentina got lucky Becham was kicked out in 98 or they may not have won. England has had quite a few good small players recently: Owen, Rooney, Scholes, Joe Cole to name a few. Those are pretty skilled players, but they are small. Giggs was skilled, but couldn't play for England.
The one guy I wonder about is Le Tissier. I wonder why he didn't get more of a chance with the England squad. I saw some great highlights of him on the net from the 90's. I didn't really watch the game back then, but looked him up and saw that he didn't really play much for the national team.
"...no mention by the MSM of the lack of diversity on this lauded squad."
No, they reserve that hostility for the family of the best soccer player in the world.
I'd just like to make a sideline comment about your accenting the paternal involvement with an "Especially" when talking about the white middle class value of parental investment. As a teacher in a ghetto elementary school, I don't think there is a wider lag between the middle class and ghetto fathers than mothers. Ghetto moms tend to live with their kids more often than dads, true, but it's not because they are personally more invested. In what i observed, the fathers around here flee because they have something to lose by being found, but the mothers tend to stay, most often, because they have a lot to gain by staying. During the school year, I make many phone calls, leave many messages and send many letters home every day. A lot of those have to do with recently incurred injuries, sudden illnesses and even a case where I followed my gut to the boys' bathroom and walked in on a little boy being molested by older students to the point of being injured. More than half of these welfare moms don't care enough to answer the phone or call back. It's always fun trying to find the mother as the child is being taken to a hospital. I won't even try to describe the lack of interest in the academic side of school on the part of the "mothers". Let's just say that buying junior a pencil is less important than getting their hair done.
So, I no longer believe there is any substantial difference in child investment between the genders. The hipster couples that use our preschool and kinder always attend all the meetings, concerts and clubs together. It's class, not gender that predicts parental involvement.
A translation of an article in the Mexican press:
There were those who said that the States would become a world power when soccer became mainstream. North of the river, the game is now played more than any other sport in organized youth leagues and they are quite far of being an international power. What happened? Well, things are never that simple in football.
I'll explain my theory of football powers. Divide the teams into A, B, C and D according to their quality. A are Brazil, Argentina, Germany etcetera. The best of the best. B are those good teams that are unable to win big tournaments consistently, including Portugal, England, Uruguay and… Mexico. Then there are those in category C, mediocre, sometimes reaching a World Cup, but not continuously. And then the D bracket, the worst of the worst.
With a bit of money going from D to C is easy. Moving from C to B is also not so complicated if you're a big country, invest enough money and manage your resources wisely. Travelling from B to A is almost impossible. Tradition is needed, a consolidated league, a great plan and a lot of work. In the last 30 years, only three sides have succeeded in doing it: France, Spain and Holland. And the ones who have moved down outnumber those who have gone up.
Thus, it was absurd to think that only money and desire would be enough for Americans to dominate the sport. And more so because, believe it or not, their work methods are quite lousy. The university system still dominates their minds, and that is no good for soccer. The Federation is a bureaucracy even worse than Mexico's. The clubs have no incentive to spot talent because the league doesn’t have much rating yet. And in the American psyche remains the idea of emulating British soccer and emphasize in the physical side of the game. And we have seen how things have been for both the English and the gringos themselves.
Mexican vs American Football
"I see your problem. You are under the impression that 'most Americans' is the same thing as 'most people'.
Regardless of what 'most Americans' think, soccer is a big deal all over the rest of the world."
What a fucking retarded comment. We aren't talking about "soccer," we're talking about the American Women's soccer team and the climate that gives rise to it. The world does not care much about that particular team, nor does it care about women's soccer in general. Hence the final between Japan and the US, two third-tier teams in the men's game.
Also, the original commenter DID NOT confuse "Americans" with "people"--he said "Americans" explicitly. Though I suppose he implied that we (Americans) have no reason for caring what sports the good people of Vienna, Moscow and Buenas Aires prefer to watch. What a crazy position!
Why is it that people feel the random need to mention that soccer is the biggest sport in the world? Everyone already knows this, and what does it matter? Is this supposed to guilt people into caring? Are we in middle school, or something? Will we be totally uncool if we don't watch soccer? Well I say, if "the rest of the world" jumped off a cliff, would you do that too? (Leftists and other internationalists, don't answer this question: we already know your answer.)
For the record, I enjoy watching (international) soccer immensely, but I don't do this to "fit in" with the other nations.
Just for fun, using my knowledge of the players, photographs and internet biographies, I've had a look at the constitution of each world cup winning side since 1945 (the ones before the war were Uruguay and Italy, which were probably all white, but there aren't so many reliable pictures or descriptions from those early days). This is only the players who actually played on the winning side in the final, so it's selective and a snapshot, but interesting nonetheless. I find the racial/ethnic nuances of Brazil a bit bewildering - "mulatto" may not be the best term for its visibly mixed-race citizens, who may fall into several different categories, but I've filed them all under it here. I beg their pardon if it's not appropriate.
1950 - Uruguay - nine whites of Italian, Spanish and Portuguese descent, one mulatto (the captain Varela) and one black
1954 - West Germany: eleven white Germans, one of them born to a German family in Romania
1958 - Brazil: four blacks, three whites of Italian/Spanish descent, three mulattoes
1962 - Brazil: four blacks, three whites of Italian/Spanish descent, three mulattoes
1966 - England: eleven white English, one of whom with some degree of Jewish ancestry (sources vary). [Six of the eleven were blond or red-haired - unrepresentative of the mainly (dark) brown haired population. When England won the Rugby World Cup in 2003, 10 or 11 of the 15 starters were blond or fair-haired]
1970 - Brazil: five whites of Portuguese/Italian/unknown descent, three blacks, three mulattoes. [This is widely regarded as the greatest international side of all time]
1974 - West Germany: eleven white Germans, one with a Polish surname
1978 - Argentina: twelve whites, mainly of Spanish and Italian descent, with some German and French; and two possible part whites/part Amerindian
1982 - Italy: thirteen white Italians, one of them half Romanian. One player born in Libya - apparently one of the interwar Italian settlers, but he looks quite North African. [Apart from him, only one player from the south - all others from north or central Italy]
1986 - Argentina: eleven whites of Spanish/Italian/Basque/English ancestry, one part white/part Amerindian (probably - Maradona)
1990 - West Germany: twelve white Germans, one with a surname that is clearly Polish, but actually only present in significant numbers in Germany
1994 - Brazil: three whites of German/Italian/possibly Levantine descent, three blacks, seven mulattoes [varying from quite light to quite dark]
1998 - France: seven white French (including one Basque and one Breton); one Armenian; one Armenian/Polish/Mongol; one Algerian Berber (the great Zidane); two black Africans; one black Afro-Caribbean; one dark-skinned Melanesian (New Caledonian)
2002 - Brazil: five blacks, four whites of Portuguese/Italian descent; four mulattoes
2006 - Italy: fourteen white Italians, one of them an Argentine of Italian descent, one born and raised in England. [five northerners, three central Italians, five southerners]
2010 - Spain: fourteen white Spanish (six Catalans, three Castilians, two Andalusians, one Asturian, one Basque, one Canarian)
A few take-home messages are that
- the great Brazilian teams, usually lauded for their blackness as much as their talent, aren't actually as black as we're invited to believe - the ratios of black/mixed/white shift a little from decade to decade, but stay pretty consistent. And the greatest Brazilian team of all was more white than black.
- apart from France in 1998, no European team with any significant degree of heterogeneity has won the World Cup. This observation could be extended to Argentina and Uruguay.
- even that French team is a lot more French than it's remembered as being. The majority African French side of 2006 reached the final but lost.
"Alex Morgan is quite pretty and a number of other girls on the team are at least cute."
Too bad her head injuries will cause her to suffer dementia in old age. And what about those sinewy neck and shoulder muscles that girls who do aerobics mostly don't get...
Anonymous (4:49) - fair comment, although Argentina has reached a final since 1986, which is more than England have managed. Most people would agree that Argentina tend to underachieve relative to their talent, while England either meet expectations or over-achieve relative to their talent. Both teams were humbled by Germany at the last world cup.
Le Tissier was a wondrously gifted player, but his fitness was questionable he appeared significantly overweight at times) and like many gifted players, he was never properly trusted by "old school" (i.e. meat-headed) England managers and never given a good run in the team.
Some small English players do make it through, but not as many as should do. At all youth levels, the emphasis is on results, so strapping, early-maturing boys who can run/boot skilled but slight opponents out of the game are selected, rewarded and remain in the game, while smaller, more gifted players are more likely to fade out of the picture. The success of Barcelona proves the value of nurturing the little guys, which we still don't do well enough in this country.
What a fucking retarded comment. We aren't talking about "soccer," we're talking about the American Women's soccer team and the climate that gives rise to it.
Uh huh. If you were less fucking retarded, you've gave noticed that the commenter said this:
"Most Americans love football, basketball, and football."
So no, we're not just talking about women's soccer.
The world does not care much about that particular team, nor does it care about women's soccer in general. Hence the final between Japan and the US, two third-tier teams in the men's game.
What possible relevance does the mens game have on the women's game? Are you trying to say that the Brazilian and German women not making the final shows that the sport is just not important in those countries? That's - I have to say it - fucking retarded.
For the record, I enjoy watching (international) soccer immensely, but I don't do this to "fit in" with the other nations.
You're too kool for skool.
"What possible relevance does the mens game have on the women's game? Are you trying to say that the Brazilian and German women not making the final shows that the sport is just not important in those countries? That's - I have to say it - fucking retarded."
What possible relevance does the men's game have on the women's game? What an absurd quesion. How about, they're living in the same country, part of the same culture, the same fanbase. Rumor has it that Brazilian and German females live in the same cities, same neighborhoods, even the same houses as their male counterparts! Some are even related! Shocking, but true. (I have sources.) To elucidate, notice how both the male and female American basketball teams dominate? Or how Canada dominates in both male and female hockey? You think these are coincidences? Further, Brazil and Germany do indeed have good female teams. Relatively speaking, however, they aren't as good as their male counterparts i.e. it is inconceivable that Brazil would lose to the US in the World Cup. Yet the women's team did just that.
We're not a soccer nation, yet we're one of the female soccer elite. Are American women somehow magically more athletic than the women of those many soccer-obsessed countries that can dominate us in men's soccer? Or is it that they don't tap their talent nearly as well in women's soccer, which points to a relative lack of interest i.e. an unwillingness to push women into sports. How do YOU explain the disparity? (And yes, they don't literally not care about women's soccer, just vastly, vastly less than for the men's sport. God forgive for being less than completely precise.)
"'Most Americans love football, basketball, and football.'
So no, we're not just talking about women's soccer. "
What in god's name does this have to do with anything? Are you trying to play on the definition of "American?" (If so, please don't respond, as I'd rather not debate with someone who plays such foolish games.) What is your objection to this obviously true observation? For my benefit, try and frame any response in terms of facts, logic, cause and effect and the like, rather than the brainless and feminine kneejerking you've utilized thus far.
"Ali Krieger speaks pretty decent German:"
Her English seems to be a problem though.
It's funny, just as I read this, I saw a bunch of girls crossing Notre Dame's campus in a soccer camp. I counted 5 non-white girls and I lost count of the number of white girls, at least 50 in the group I saw.
@anon 5.40.
No not silly,just the truth.
Both Zidane and Eusebio were great players but not IMMORTAL.
Both were of the same rank as Platini,Van Basten,Gullit,Overrath,Brady etc.
Great players in their time but not all-time Greats.
Good research Anon 7.12.
Just one petty point.Argentina in 1986 included Jose Luis Browne.He scored in the final and was of Irish/Spanish decent.
Another point if I may.The most extravagantly gifted side I've ever seen was Brazil '82.Ultimately unsuccesful but in Brazil itself,the most beloved team ever.They were,from memory,9 whites,1 black,1 mullato.
Also nothing can have two causes
Lots of people seem to believe that, in other contexts. Or want others to believe it.
Svigor
"None of this really matters. No one would even know about women's soccer if it weren't for feminist MSM pushing it. Most Americans love football, basketball, and football. The only women's sports that garners genuine attention is women's tennis(dominated in US by Williams sisters), gynmastics, and figure skating. "
Le sigh. Does it not occur to you that maybe womens' sports aren't for the enjoyment of an audience (though I know a few guys who do watch it) but rather for the female athletes themselves? I fail to see anything wrong with promoting healthy and non-sexual activities for women. Womens' sports encourage positive character development and fitness, something most Americans are certainly lacking these days. Most young women who are into sports could care less that their sports will never be as popular as the mens' sports; after all, that is a given.
What possible relevance does the men's game have on the women's game? What an absurd quesion. How about, they're living in the same country, part of the same culture, the same fanbase. Rumor has it that Brazilian and German females live in the same cities, same neighborhoods, even the same houses as their male counterparts! Some are even related! Shocking, but true.
Steve's criteria for blocking or allowing comments continues to be a complete mystery. I don't know why my previous response to this was blocked, but let's try again.
There is no connection between how good a countries men are a a sport and how good a countries women are at the same sport. Just as there is no connection between how good a counties women are at a sport and how good the countries men are at the same sport.
For instance, the Japanese mens soccer team is, like the American one, second tier. Yet the Japanese women are world champions! How is this even possible under HEL's understanding of the world?
The thing is, skill at soccer (or any other sport) cannot be absorbed via skin to skin contact. If HEL slept in the same bed with Lionel Messi, he would still not be a terrifically skilled footballer! Incredible, but true.
You get good at soccer the same way you get good at any sport - by getting out there and playing it. Soccer is played by young women in America more than it is by young women in England, Brazil, or Germany.
You do NOT get good at sports by living in the same city, neighborhoods, or even families as other people who are good at sports.
Let's see if this gets past Steve's inscrutable comment filtering process.
"Womens' sports encourage positive character development and fitness, something most Americans are certainly lacking these days."
Indeed, women's character development has taken off with Title IX.
"I fail to see anything wrong with promoting healthy and non-sexual activities for women."
Yeah, kitchen sinks have too many germs.
http://www.newcriterion.com/posts.cfm/Women-s-Sports-and-the-Willie-Loman-Syndrome-6572
In terms of great African players. Using "Africa" generically and equivalent to "black" you have Pele, George Weir, Silva Eusebio, and Riger Milla. Close to great are Sam Etoo and Jay Jay Okochap--the supreme wizard with the ball
But let's note that on a per capita basis Africans dominate the French and English leagues.
Anon wrote that Eusebio's father was white. Not really, more like Madeira or Canary Islands white. In the U.S. he would be seen as a non-white Hispanic.
But why not Pele as African. It was just by accident he was born in Brazil. But phenotypically he's West African through and through--the whole face and body structure.
And Weir? Better than any of the European players for at least 5 years. Sam Etoo was the master scorer for Barca for the time he was there. A great of near-great player.
And ball skills? No one to touch Jay Jay Okocha except maybe Zeidan.
Anon,
Why quibble with names. It's a long time the players I mentioned played--except Eto[no need for that silly comma].
Weah[Anglo spelling] won more trophies than your man Batistuta so I would put him higher up the list. And Weah scored some unbelievable goals--more than Batis. That's for sure. I mean what did Batistuta win?
I see a lot of belief in black athletic superiority specifically regarding NBA and NFL in both the article and the comments. The mere presence of blacks in the NFL doesn't mean they are more naturally athletically gifted. 40 years ago the NFL must mostly white even though blacks were completely allowed to play. Does that mean that blacks have become more athletic in a few short decades? Probably not.
A better answer would probably various university presidents, athletic directors, and coaches that wanted to get blacks on the field.
Alabama won the national championship in 1967 white an all-white team, even though most teams at the time had black players. In 1970, they played USC, which had black players, in the regular season and lost. Coach Bear Bryant used this game as proof to fans, boosters, and the university that it needed black players. The very next season Bryant had brought in black wide receivers, running backs, and defensive backs. The rest of the SEC was soon to follow.
A single game was used as "proof" that you needed blacks to be successful, despite years of dominance by Alabama and other all-white teams in integrated college football. The snowball effect meant that more teams wanted more black players, until it became a self-fulfilling prophesy that the more blacks you have on a team, the better.
This is all despite the fact that the teams that win the state championships every year in football are most of the time overwhelmingly white. Most of the leading running-backs are white. When you look at all-state teams, the vast majority of players are white. They perform just as well as black players at combines, yes even on "fast-twitch" test like the 40 yard dash. Yet many of them get overlooked by big time programs, or they are shifted in positions by big time programs from RB to FB like Peyton Hillis. Hillis was a standout high school running back, but got moved to fullback when he arrived at University of Arkansas. Clearly his talent was overlooked as he was one of the top 10 rushers, and tied third for touchdowns of all NFL RBs in 2010. He was also the first white RB to rush for more than 1000 yards since Craig James did for the Patriots in 1985. To me this has nothing to do with an inherent disadvantage at performing well as an RB, and everything to do with pervasive stereotypes, clearly demonstrated in this blog post and comments, which forty years ago were largely not held.
As far as basketball goes, the NBA finals MVP this year was white Dirk Nowitzki. The Dallas Mavs also had 4 white players who got PT in the finals, while the Heat had only 1. Also, Duke won the 2010 NCAA championship with a 4/5 white starting lineup, 44 years after Texas Western beat all-white Kentucky with a 5/5 black lineup.
So much for black athletic superiority. Just look at www.castefootball.us and see for yourself.
Actually there's a girl of mixed race. Amy Rodriguez who's half Hispanic and Shannon Boxx who looks almost like she's half African American. So there are some mixed race girls on the team.
Yo anonymous, Amy Rodriguez is pure white. Yes, she is half Cuban; but since when is Cuban a race!?!? She is half white-Cuban and half white-American!! Dumbie!!
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