Freddy Adu We Hardly Knew Ye, And We Hardly Give A Shit You're Leaving
If only ESPN had thought of their hit "What's Now" series 4 years ago, Freddy Adu would have been the Nowiest guy on the planet. He would have been more Now than Karl Malone, Priest Holmes and even more Now than Limp Bizkit! He was 14 years-old and he was going to take Soccer, a sport we all played when we were younger but grew bored of because of how much it sucked (and because all the foreign exchange students would come over for a year and kick our asses in gym class), and make it relevant again. He was going to make the US National team competitive again and he was going to make the MLS millions. Well, it didn't really work out that way.
Freddy's MLS career, while not a complete failure, did not live up to the hype. Even at the height of Freddy's popularity, his presence didn't gain the MLS any viewers because the product they put out was still third rate and you can tell it's third rate because we get the English Premier League games on cable. It doesn't take long to see that American soccer is to Premier League soccer what the WNBA is to any organized sport involving males. I don't know that this fact is necessarily Freddy's doing, he was simply overhyped.
In an era where some sports young guns have exceeded the hype (see Lebron, Sydney and Reggie Bush), Freddy just faded into Bolivian. And with him went the hopes of the MLS. It just seemed that it wasn't time for Freddy's coronation. And now he's gone; off to Portugal for a life of bigger and better things. I'm sure all 7 of the MLS fans are weeping right now but in terms of America's international prospects as a team, this is a good thing. Freddy will be taking on better competition and this can only make him and the US team better (Freddy did serve as the U-20 Team Captain this summer and excelled in that role). It's kind of pathetic that "The Next Big Thing In American Sports" spent 4 years flailing in a league no one watches playing a sport Americans have never given a shit about. So I guess it's fitting that he leaves with little fanfare, headed to a team that no one's ever heard of and it's seen as an upgrade for him.
Good luck to you Freddy. Maybe when you come back you, and we, will be ready for your true reign.
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6 comments:
great blog - keep it up & thank you.
Benfica is a team no one's ever heard of? It's only one of the biggest all time European teams.
As usual, americans fail to recognize anything without stars and stripes.
Benfica is one of the legendary teams in football (yes, football) history, one of the top 10 teams of all time for FIFA.
It has won the European Championship for 2 times and has played in another 7 finals. In Portugal, they are the most successful team with 31 national championships.
I understand where you were going with your post, but please keep in mind that there is life beyond the American border.
And Malai Kofta is one of the most popular vegetarian dishes in India, but if you asked anyone on the streets of the US or UK what the fuck Malai Kofta was, they'd have no idea. Unless those streets were in front of a Med School. So I guess it's all relative.
First, to be perfectly frank, if Freddy Adu were going to Chivas USA, no one in the US would have any idea what that is and that is an MLS team. So your "stars and stripes" call may be a little off. It's just soccer in general we don't give a shit about.
When I say "no one" has heard of Benfica, I mean no one who would normally read my blog or no one I'd normally interact with, i.e. my peer group. I'm not arguing that Benfica isn't relevant or great or even very popular in certain discreet environments. And I'm certainly not arguing that they aren't popular in Europe (so is Robbie Williams, but no one here gives a shit about hime either). But if you walked out onto the streets and asked anyone if they've heard of Benfica, unless you're in Pawtucket, RI, you're gonna get a blank stare. And that was my point.
And as for your "typical American" comment, we wouldn't expect someone in Lisbon to know what the fuck we were talking about if we mentioned Steve Spurrier or UCLA basketball, because they could give a fuck about college football or basketball. That doesn't offend us. People in Europe just don't care. So why are we supposed to pay attention to some obscure and apparently dominant team from a country no one pays attention to playing a sport that no one in America gives two shits about? What about this bothers you?
Just because it means something to you doesn't mean I have to give a fuck.
Just because it means something to you doesn't mean I have to give a fuck.
Which is exactly what I think of you and your blog! Long live democracy!
Have a nice life!
Oh Lord, this ry guy is killing me. NOBODY CARES ABOUT SOCCER or some dude named Benfica. Just like they don't know who Peyton Manning is in Brazil. There is life beyond the American border, but we're America, who cares?
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