Kevin Garnett Explodes the “If Only All American Athletes Played Soccer” Myth

By: Daryl | February 26th, 2009

Above is a new three stripes commercial, featuring Galaxy/Milan (delete as applicable) midfield man David Beckham and Boston/Celtics (what? oh, that’s one team) power forward Kevin Garnett.

Here’s what I deduce from this video: Kevin Garnett isn’t great at soccer. He looks… clumsy. That’s no knock on Garnett, as he’s probably got a better first touch than myself.

But watching a 6′11″ man with shoes of whoknowswhat size kick a football is – for me at least – the final nail in the “if only [insert five NBA star's names here] played soccer, USA would win the World Cup” myth.

I can understand the argument that if all young American athletes concentrated on soccer then the national team and MLS (especially MLS) would be exponentially better. Of course it would. But I’m not buying the old argument that much of that talent is lost to basketball.

The argument goes that big fellas like Garnett and LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are natural athletes and could therefore take up any sport and dominate it. That argument is plain wrong.

Of course there are exceptions. But for the most part, b-ballers are just too… damn… BIG to be successful footballers. There’s a reason people say Peter Crouch has a “good touch for a big-man” (and other variations), and it’s because big men typically don’t have good touch.

If the opposite were true, then the beautiful game would look a lot like basketball, with big men dominating the field. But instead it’s munchkins like Leo Messi – who needed growth hormones just to reach his official/Wikipedia height of 5′ 6 (and a half)” – who pose the biggest threat.

Sidenote: As Off the Post and The Spoiler (who both posted this vid before us) already noted, this ad was most definitely filmed before Beckham turned his back on the ML of S and US of A. Will be interesting to see how his defection/attempted defection affects his marketability in America.

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Category: World Football

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One name for you

American Football DBs and Rbs could easily switch. You mean to tell me that a 6'3 Urlacher or a 5'9 BARRY SANDERS or 5'10 Walter Payton couldn't be good on a soccer field. What about a guy like Tebow? Reggie Bush - c'mon man. You guys are drinking the kool-aid. Remember Football has many body types. Quit using 6'5 WR and the linemen as the basis for your argument.
will

The argument that I haven't seen is for the youth in America who waste all their talent and athleticism, when they will soon learn that the simply Cannot hope to make a living off of it, not because of their talent, but because of their height. There is only one exeption to this rule in the NBA.

People complain a lot about how Adu doesn't have the size to compete on the international level. I don't personally agree, but I think our offensive ranks could be scary if we had all the gifted runts in this country.
Hawk

Nash is a great soccer player, have you seen the vids with the tricks? i.e. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
I know it dosnt translate into the real game but still. Credit to him.
Andrea

Shaq as a keeper...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Fillippelli

I have no doubt that if the better athletes in the U.S. gravitated toward soccer the U.S. would be a dominant force in the sport. I can look just at college basketball and some of the amazing athletes in the 5'10" to 6'3" range who, because their jump shot just isn't consistent enough, their ball handling just is just a lick below remarkable, their just a half-step slow, don't make it in the NBA. Take just some of these same athletes and get them playing soccer from the time they are 8 and it would be an entirely different situation for soccer in the U.S.

I have been an AC for my son's U6 and U8 teams and already have seen kids who are clearly excellent athletes and who have already developed decent soccer skills stop playing mid-season to go play flag football or even youth hockey, both of which are extremely popular in my neck of the north east U.S., and are sports their parents often will push them toward because they are more familiar with it.

U.S. soccer is what it is. But to argue that if the better athletes in the U.S. gravitated toward soccer it would not make a striking difference in the quality of players the U.S. turns out is utterly ridiculous.