US is bidding for 2018 and 2022 World Cups

[77danj7]

I remember sitting in European Street eating during the 2006 World Cup. They were about the only place showing it on tv during the day...It is amazing that the US is pretty much THE only country that is not crazy about futbol.
Other countries/cities would die for a chance to be in the mix to host a world cup.

[blizz01]

It is amazing that the US is pretty much THE only country that is not crazy about futbol.

That's because we're not traditionally good at it (internationally).  The most successful sports in the U.S. for the most part, originated here, or at least we put our own twists & rules on them - we're stubborn, as soccer continues to be THE most popular youth sport in the United States & obviously around the world.

[77danj7]

True...the US is pretty bad although maybe starting to make some strides.

[cdb]

What a terrible loss yesterday at Azteca, we should have pulled that one out. We played scared. I also caught the English version of game on Mun2. telemundo and mun2 are owned by NBC Universal, and it was the first time the same station broadcast a game in 2 languages or something like that. They put out a press release a few weeks ago on ussoccer.com about the Mun2 thing.

We played scared yesterday and drew too far back after scoring. Packed it in way too early. Nice goal by davies, made their keeper look silly. Mexico is our number one rival and I just hope we see them again in the WC like we did in 2002 and knock them out. Go USA!!!! Also Altidore should have started over Ching.... And what was with the yellow cards and lack of calls for us, ref must have been paid off or scared, cause he definitely called the game to Mexicos advantage.

[cdb]

True...the US is pretty bad although maybe starting to make some strides.

We have been taking strides, and we are not pretty bad, we are consistently in the top 20 of FIFA rankings. If it was college football or basketball, would the Top 20 be pretty bad? Not at all, and this is the whole world these rankings.... Watch the USA shock the world next year at WC 2010 and make a run into the quarter or semi finals...

[blizz01]

The 3 most popular sports in the world are Soccer, Cricket, & Field Hockey - where do those fit into the USA's hierarchy of needs?

[JaxByDefault]

Also Altidore should have started over Ching.... And what was with the yellow cards and lack of calls for us, ref must have been paid off or scared, cause he definitely called the game to Mexicos advantage.

I agree--we should start Davies and Altidore up front despite Altidore's horrible first touches. If you didn't know what position Ching plays, anyone watching the game yesterday would have sworn he was a midfielder. He was tentative and never up front.

The yellow cards on the US were bogus. The only yellow card shown to Mexico was when one of their players choked Feilhaber. Ridiculous!

[Jason]

In the US I'd say the pro sports are ranked:

1.  Football
2.  Baseball
3.  Basketball
4.  NASCAR
5.  Hockey
6.  Golf
7.  Soccer
8.  Other racing types
9.  Fighting (Boxing, UFC)
10. Tennis

[cdb]

And they switched out the referee crew because it was supposed to be a crew from El Salvador, but because they are behind in qualifying to Mexico, FIFA thought there might be a bias, so they brought a crew from Panama.... I think we will qualify, but would have loved to have seen us break that curse at Azteca. That was the team to do it. We need the young guys out there that dont let the hype get to them. And Gooch looked nervous all game yesterday, he better screw his head on straight, that type of crowd is weekly in Serie A.

[cdb]

In the US I'd say the pro sports are ranked:

1.  Football
2.  Baseball
3.  Basketball
4.  NASCAR
5.  Hockey
6.  Golf
7.  Soccer
8.  Other racing types
9.  Fighting (Boxing, UFC)
10. Tennis

Its sad to see that Nascar and Hockey would be more popular than soccer. Nascar isn't even a sport to me, and I don't care what rationale you try to bring to that argument. Going in a circle in the same type of car as everyone is not a sport. Road racing maybe. But anyway, the MLS is building a solid league, give it time and we will have one of the better leagues in the world. Teams like Seattle, Chicago, Columbus, and the 2 LA teams have solid followings and good crowds at all games.

[charlestondxman]

The World Cup would be huge for Jacksonville. Having it in the Municipal Stadium would be big, as there are so many teams which have huge followings.

In Atlanta, they get 60,000 people for exhibitions. Here, they probably would get that many for the World Cup, maybe 80,000.

[Sportmotor]

Id go to the world cup, I think it would be awsome to see live

[blizz01]

Great article today from ESPN.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090817

[ProjectMaximus]

Again, I dont know what this really means ultimately, but Jacksonville made the next cut in the selection process. I received this email today:

Dear Maxwell,

We are releasing some important news about our World Cup bid today, and I want you and all our supporters to hear it from us first.

Your city could be the future site of a FIFA World Cupâ,,¢ match!

Today we're announcing the U.S. cities that are still in contention to be included in our bid to host the FIFA World Cupâ,,¢. We still have to narrow this list further, but right now these cities are one step closer to possibly being at the center of the soccer world in 2018 or 2022 -- and your enthusiasm could help your city make the final cut!

Support for our bid has picked up some serious steam in the past week since our launch of http://gousabid.com. Understandably, the same thing is happening in the other bidding nations. If we're going to win the honor of hosting the FIFA World Cupâ,,¢, it'll be because of the overwhelming grassroots support of soccer fans like you who believe in our bid's official theme, The Game Is In US.

Now you can strengthen this movement by sharing our petition on Facebook and Twitter. Click these buttons to be part of our online community:



   



Here is the list of cities that are still in contention to be part of our bid that is due to FIFA in May 2010:

Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York City, Oakland, Orlando, Philadelphia, Glendale-Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, and Washington, D.C.

Take a good look at this list, because you could be watching a World Cup match in one of these cities in 2018 or 2022!

Also, be sure to share your thoughts about this list of cities on Facebook and Twitter. It's the best way to connect with other supporters, get the latest news about our bid, and share our movement with all your friends.

Spread the word on Facebook

Spread the word on Twitter

Thanks again for your support, and stay tuned for other big announcements!

-- David

David Downs
Executive Director
USA Bid Committee

That's 27 cities...basically NFL cities plus Orlando and LA, minus Minneapolis, Green Bay, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo.

[77danj7]

Wow...we have a shot.  We need to get some momentum on this...it really would be one the most amazing experiences for the city to be a host.