In USA Today, Bruce Horovitz has a report on Starbucks that makes no small claims. The coffee chain, simply put, is changing America.
Starbucks has a [glitzy] goal: to help rewrite society's pop culture menu. The company that sells 4 million coffee drinks daily in the USA is hot to extend its brand beyond the espresso machine to influence the films we see, CDs we hear and books we read. In the process, it aims to grow into a global empire rivaling McDonald's.
One of those world-changing initiatives is the chain's sale of fair trade coffee, about which more can be read in Kerry Howley's already-classic March 2006 Reason feature. But the other Starbucks innovations include "changing what we'll pay for coffee, changing coffee tastes, changing what we eat, changing how we order, changing how people meet, changing cities," and playing a big role in the music industry. (I guess Antigone Rising are going nowhere but down, but the rest of Starbucks in-store CDs have proven pretty influential.) Some consumers are welcoming the changes; others, as evidenced by this Fark thread (with obligatory Battlestar Galactica references), are more skittish.
All of this and I've never seen a Starbucks commerical on TV. Hollywood must freakin hate them.
coarsetad,
You haven't? They have quite a few in the summer for their
Frappacinos
The Onion was on top of this about five years ago:
"Starbucks to Begin Sinister 'Phase Two' of Operation."
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28657
The Fark thread seems populated by anticapitalist turds who find
it trendy to hate anything that is trendy. I mean, come on...some
of them even buy the whole "Fair Trade" line or horseshit!
Psssshhht.
On the other hand, some of them have legitimate complaints, like,
um, the coffee being burnt (over-roasted) to achieve consistency
over large market areas.
On sunday, wandering along Kensington High Street I felt the
need for a designer coffee. I was stood next to a traditional,
cake/tea/coffee shop named 'The Muffin Man'; (the kind of smug,
cloyingly 'nice' eco-title that makes my penis shrink) an
enterprise that desperately needs consumers to place their beverage
needs in, to stave off the global pressure of Starbucks. So,
feeling socially responsible, I went in and ordered a coffee.
And it sucked. Warm, pissy, minor league coffee.
I got up, walked out, went to Starbucks and bought a tasty
latte.
Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that I have no time for
the following three:
1) Commies
2) Hippies
3) Tradition / Bad Coffee
Reap competition. Long live Starbucks.
By changing our tastes in coffee, does that mean buying
overly-expensive coffee that tastes like shit?
As an avid coffee drinker, the only difference I notice between
Starbucks and Sunoco ocffee is that Starbucks simply burns the
beans.
Groundbreaking...
P.S. Not that there's anything wrong with Starbucks being big,
or corporate. I simply don't like it.
The crusty punks who throw bricks through Starbucks windows would
have you believe that I have no choice but to buy the crap.
I choose to brew my own, long live capitalism.
Ah, milkshakes disguised as coffee. Never a bad idea to
underestimate the rationality of consumers.
My girlfriend just (mostly) gave up blackberry, green tea
Frappuccinos when she discovered that they were a mere 700 calories
each. But "green tea" is healthy!!
C'mon, I've never met anybody who thought that Frappuccinos were actually good for you. Boy are they yummy though. Might have to get one this afternoon.
i don't know which tastes worse, burnt starbucks coffee or the equally popular dunkin donut-flavored coffee.
I have no problem with Starbucks, but then I like my coffee
burnt. The service there has been consistently good imo which
should be noticed and commended (if true).
Still, Misha's in Old Town Alexandria has better coffee and allows
smoking. The local coffee shop still has a place in my heart.
"the kind of smug, cloyingly 'nice' eco-title that makes my
penis shrink"
um... so, what, it's gone from a Venti to a Grande? or something
like that?
:)
As an avid coffee drinker, the only difference I notice
between Starbucks and Sunoco ocffee is that Starbucks simply burns
the beans.
Do you guys have Pret A Manger over in the states? It's an average
sandwich chain run by McDoanlds (it attempts to be hip and sassy -
they play Jazz music)but I have to admit it serves a good cup of
coffee. Strong. Not too milky and not too expensive.
It's my birthday in a month or so and I'm hoping to buy one of
those wazzy, snazzy home coffee makers with an Italian name and a
steamer attachment.
Can anyone tell me if they work?
I recall the Frank and Ernest cartoon where one tells the other of the time he got so confused by all the choices at a Starbucks-type coffee shop that he ordered an Al Pacino.
I can't believe you linked to a Fark thread. The only thing of
interest in Fark threads is amusing photoshops.
Now Foobies, on the other hand, is always of interest.
um... so, what, it's gone from a Venti to a Grande? or
something like that?
Good lord, you flatter me. More like 'regular' to one of those
teeny-weeny expresso paper mugs.
I bet you there's some nitwit doing a psychology PHD paper on
'post-modern concepts of manhood and beverage consumption'.
Sigh.
Still, WORLD CUP IN TEN DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YYYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of the funniest moments of this season's Sopranos was the failed shakedown of a Starbucks. Apparently mom and pop coffee shops aren't the only "family" businesses that feel the pinch when Starbucks moves in.
Still, WORLD CUP IN TEN
DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I'm fortunate enough to have three places within easy to
moderate driving distance that roast in-house, and not to
Starbucks' level of char. That, combined with a little Solis pump
machine, keeps my coffee habit happy.
Starbucks brought specialty coffee to the masses, and anything that
gets the American palate away from weak, Robusta-laden coffee is
good news. It keeps the market viable for those of us who want more
from our beans.
Mark - If you're talking about a wazzy-snazzy machine that says
Gaggia or Rancilio on the side/back and includes a heavy brass
boiler, yes they work quite well. If you're talking about some
plastic wonder that includes the word "thermoblock", uses steam
pressure, or touts how foamy it makes your Java, then you're
pressing your luck.
Do you guys have Pret A Manger over in the
states?
yes - that's my favorite lunch spot around wall street actually...
never had their coffee. they're run by mcdonalds??? does that mean
the coffee is kept at 211 degrees?
I know y'all addicts don't want to hear it, but you'll feel much better if you quit caffeine. After the headaches stop, at least.
Apologies, Rhywun - according to Wikipedia they have a 'minority
stake' in Pret, or own the properties and franchise them out to
Pret to do their thing. My favourite sandwich is the Crayfish and
Rocket. I can remember McD's going on about how healthy Pret was
when they were getting it in the neck for destroying the youth of
America (as if! everyone knows it's videogames).
And MP. Boo to you sir. Boo to you.
Mark: enjoyed the Pret a Manger in the basement of the National Gallery. Glad to see they are in NYC. But just how do you Brits pronounce the name - in the French fashion or what?
Over here we shorten it to Pret and pronounce it exactly like
the first syllable of pretzel. Unless of course you have a high
paying job in the city and attend history of art classes in the
evening at the Royal Academy in which case you say it with full
french pretense whilst wearing a beret.
Come on guys! Get excited about the world cup! Boy, you have you
work cut out in your group. USa, Italy, Czech Republic and Ghana.
Still, if you get past Ghana you could maybe shock the Italians -
they're in crisis at the moment with the Juventus scandal. The
Czechs, however, will stuff you.
My favourite sandwich is the Crayfish and Rocket.
that sounds very... british - i wonder what it is... something
tells me you brits get a different selection than us yanks. our
selections lean heavily toward various combinations of turkey,
cranberry and avocado. my favorite is the caesar salad. but the
best part is no waiting for them to make it - very important here
in NYC.
2000 Starbucks outlets? Did you mean 200,000? There are like 2000 just in my city.
I remember reading an interview with a Brazilian coffee grower
who was asked how much the Starbucks craze has added to coffee
consumption and, therefore, his business.
His reply was: "Starbucks does not sell coffee, they sell milk" and
pointed how much more volume Starbucks sells in milk over
coffee.
My favourite sandwich is the Crayfish and Rocket.
that sounds very... british - i wonder what it is
Aaaah they mysterious nomencalture of shellfish. Crayfish are like
big shrimp with pincers. They rock my world. Jesus, Pret do a
christmas combo of turkey, cranberry and check this MAYONNAISE, in
the same goddamn sandwich!!! Cranberry and mayo! Yuck! Makes me
wretch just thinking about it.
That sort of sandwich preparation isn't just wrong - it's
immoral.
Maybe it's just a latent puritanical streak, but I've been
unable to plunk down $3.50-$4.00 for Starbucks' stuff ever since I
bought a $10 Chinese-made personal cappuccino maker a few months
ago, given that each fix only costs about a quarter's worth of
premium beans bought at the local supermarket, along with maybe a
dime's worth of milk, water, sugar, and (sometimes) Hershey's syrup
or whipped cream.
I can occassionally bring myself to go for Dunkin Donuts'
relatively cheaper cappuccinos, but the quality just isn't up to
par with the mermaid brand.
Mark, prepare for a disturbingly strong U.S. run.
Hhhmm - the states aren't bad. Reina, McBride, Donovan and Adu, who
I haven't seen play but he's supposed to be pretty good. We've had
a round robin sweepstake at work and I picked the USA out of the
hat so I'm feeling a need to talk up their chances.
I can't wait! England are going to suck. No Rooney.
Sigh......
Also, Rhywun, Crayfish are big shrimps with pincers. Not sure if
they're the same as langoustines?
Rhywun - Crayfish/crawfish isn't a foreign concept in the US -
are you from a region where that's not the case?
Mark - i'd guess, since "crayfish" is a common-enough word, that
"Rocket" is the foodstuff of question.
Mark - i'd guess, since "crayfish" is a common-enough word,
that "Rocket" is the foodstuff of question.
Really? Oh, OK. It's lettuce.
Crayfish/crawfish isn't a foreign concept in the
US
i know what crayfish are... it's the "rocket" part i was having
difficulty fathoming. i was thinking it might be some sort of
rhyming slang...
Hi rhywun:
had figgered it was "rocket" that was the issue...
Mark has enlightened both of us. (prob'ly brits are still sensitive
to "iceberg" references. i keed)
Come on guys! Get excited about the world cup!
Sorry. NBA playoffs. Nowitzki is the only Euro with a ball I'm
concerned with right now. Mavs in 5.
Cranberry and mayo! Yuck! Makes me wretch just thinking about
it.
Actually it's the shit. My post Thanksgiving sandwich is white
bread (preferably Sunbeam), turkey, canned cranberry sauce (the
jelly kind you can slice) and a heart stopping glob of Hellmann�s
mayo. Throw in a glass of sweet iced tea and we're talking white
boy heaven.
I'm surprised 'Rocket' hasn't taken the States by Storm - it's a
fullproof way of charging people an extra $5-7 for a few leaves.
Plus - it sounds sophisticated, and people will part with all the
money under the sun if they think it will make them look good at
dinner. It's kinda peppery - often served with Spinach.
Personally, my favourite food group is Lucky Charms.
Sorry. NBA playoffs. Nowitzki is the only Euro with a ball
I'm concerned with right now. Mavs in 5.
HA! Basketball sucks! ( I realise these are fighting words) I went
to a Knicks, Celtics game in NY and even though some beanpole tied
the game with the last throw of the ball, sending it into overtime,
by that point I was so bored, all I could do to amuse myself was
try to pick my nose with one of the excellent foam hands I had
purchased. And Nowitzki sounds like the sort of person who's wanted
in the Hague for Serbo-Croat war crimes.
The only North American sport I am prepared to accept as
potentailly awesome is Ice Hockey. For a number of reasons - speed,
fights and strong player adherence to ridiculous facial
hair.
Well there's your problem. You went to a Knicks game. Please
don't hold the Knicks against the rest of the league. They are more
of a work release program than an NBA franchise. Watch the
Suns/Mavs series if you want to see how great basketball can
be.
Here is how most Americans veiw the World Cup:
Team USA beat Latvia.
That's cool.
Team USA got stuffed by the Czechs.
Who gives a shit? It's soccer.
I wonder if they can get the same market share as McDonlads since their product line is so limited. You can get a coffee in McDonalds, but you can't get a burger in Starbucks (yet).
It's a perennial drunken discussion in Europe (when I say Europe I actually just mean with my friends) about how long it will take for the States to become a force in football. We normally conclude that within our lifetimes, fifty, sixty years then we might well see Team USA get to the semi-finals. Maybe not. It would be great if there was a sport that everyone cared about that the States and Europe could play each other at. (The Olympics? Bbbooooorrriinggg. It's like a three week long keep-fit tape).
" It would be great if there was a sport that everyone cared
about that the States and Europe could play each other at."
only for europeans.
the "competitive at parlor games" mentality doesn't manifest itself
in that way over on this side of the pond.....
the "competitive at parlor games" mentality doesn't manifest
itself in that way over on this side of the pond
Is that because you're rising above us or simply afraid of getting
beaten?
And everyone's always bagging on the Mexicans - they're an untapped
footballing resource! You guys should have scouts all over
california and in thirty years time you'll be set for world
football domination.
It's a perennial drunken discussion in Europe (when I say
Europe I actually just mean with my friends) about how long it will
take for the States to become a force in football. We normally
conclude that within our lifetimes, fifty, sixty years then we
might well see Team USA get to the semi-finals.
If we get the bug out of our ass about immigration we could
probably cut that in half. I read a great article a while back that
suggested we should recruit Team USA from East LA city parks rather
than East Coast universities if we're serious about competing on
the world stage.
I see we cross posted Mark. But, it just make sense that a team
of guys that grew up with the game in their blood and are used to a
tougher style of play might be better than a team of pampered
suburbanites.
But then again who gives a shit? It's only soccer.
I'm not sure the U.S. team isn't capable of making it to the
semis right now, though I wouldn't put money on them actually doing
so. This is the first U.S. team that can actually score goals.
Whoa.
Usually, whatever "goodness" our team has is limited to goalkeeping
and defense. Great to have if you can counter, not good enough to
go all the way if you can't.
"the "competitive at parlor games" mentality doesn't manifest
itself in that way over on this side of the pond
Is that because you're rising above us or simply afraid of getting
beaten?"
again, neither.
We normally conclude that within our lifetimes, fifty, sixty
years then we might well see Team USA get to the
semi-finals.
If a handball call hadn't been overlooked in the US-Germany
quarterfinals match in '02, it might've already happened. Though it
is going to be tough to get out of the opening round this time,
given how the team was shafted by the draw.
The World Cup is practically the only soccer event that I care to
watch. Partly because of the drama added by the nationalist
element, and partly because there's something to be said for paying
a little attention to the world's largest sports spectacle.
Beyond the World Cup, soccer feels too much like a tranquilized,
lithium-addled version of ice hockey for me to care much about it.
Especially since I'm not a huge hockey fan to start with.
I would comment on it, but I need some caffeine right now. I will back after I get my dose.
>I'm surprised 'Rocket' hasn't taken the States
>by Storm - it's a fullproof way of charging
>people an extra $5-7 for a few leaves. Plus - it
>sounds sophisticated, and people will part with
>all the money under the sun if they think it
>will make them look good at dinner. It's kinda
>peppery - often served with Spinach.
Never fear. American restaurateurs have been gouging their clients
for some time: "Rocket" in British, "Arugula" in Italian.
Team USA beat Latvia.
That's cool.
Team USA got stuffed by the Czechs.
Who gives a shit? It's soccer.
May be the US losing badly in basketball and baseball the last few
years will get Americans excited about soccer. Americans do not
like soccer because they are not good in it (the we are number one
mentality). Getting their asses kicked in 'their' sports (baseball
and basketball) and their soccer team getting better might change
things in the near future.
Mark, The knicks are the worst, most boring team to watch in
basketball. For fun games, check out the western conference games.
They are especially exciting this year. But whatever you do, do not
make the mistake of trying to watch a baseball game otherwise you
might commit suicide from boredom.
When I read "World Cup in 10 days" I thought that a new coffee
shop was opening in your neighborhood.
College Football in 90 days
The Olympics, It's like a three week long keep-fit
tape.
If they are to ever make the Olympics interesting, they need to
bring back death-match gladiators. I'll fly to friggin' Bejing to
watch that!
I am eternally grateful to Generation X for spawning the market
for good coffee. Hippies loved only dope and Boone's Farm,
disparaging coffee as a tool of the Running Dogs.
Thus, for nearly two decades it was almost impossible to get a cup
of coffee that was drinkable. Unless, of course, one resided in San
Francisco or Seattle.
I wouldn't give you a nickel for a latte or one of those carmel
frappacino things Mrs TWC drinks, but it's hard to beat the real
coffee they serve. Ditto Peets. And in a trickel down market effect
all eateries have been forced to offer better coffee.
May be the US losing badly in basketball and baseball the
last few years will get Americans excited about soccer.
Maybe, but I think a more likely outcome will be greater pressure
on American NBA and MLB stars to play for their country as well as
a re-thinking of how to build a national team. You're already
seeing it with basketball. The latest incarnation of Team USA is
built around which players fit the international style of play
(which is tilted against the dominate the paint style of the NBA)
rather than which players will sell the most jerseys. The coaching
staff is also more internationally savvy. Mike D'antoni, shirtless
Champaign swilling hero of Italian basketball, is an assistant
coach on the US squad.
Also, I don't think national pride in international sports is as
big a deal in the US now as it was in the Cold War. Back in the day
you could get revved up for a USA vs. USSR showdown. These days�
foreign teams have familiar NBA faces on them. If you're a Spurs
fan how pissed can you be that Argentina won the Gold since their
star player, Ginobili, is your star player too? Plus, with the
behavior of some American superstars, rooting for Lithuania isn't
all that bad an option.
Sometimes I think that if the U.S. actually won the World Cup,
that would be the final straw. The rest of the world would freak
out and nuke us.
I may be grossly misunderstanding the importance of soccer to the
rest of the world, however.
Sometimes I think that if the U.S. actually won the World Cup,
that would be the final straw. The rest of the world would freak
out and nuke us.
I may be grossly misunderstanding the importance of soccer to the
rest of the world, however.
I'm not sure how anyone can say the US is "not good" when just 4
years ago, they outplayed the eventual runners-up. By most
accounts, we are better (on paper) now. We are certainly proven
better than those filthy Tricolores scum (and we were rewarded by
getting shafted when it came time to seed the 8 groups).
It's amazing that we still manage to do it without a true star on
the team. Donovan is the closest, followed by maybe McBride who was
just chosen as the Fulham Supporters' POY.
Whoever mentioned Adu has got to keep up better. He's whiny
teenager who has yet to grow up. It will be a long time before he's
on a Bruce Arena-led team. He's small and still weak and dives too
much. His attitude sucks. He's far, far away from the full US team.
He has the potential to be absolutely amazing, but he needs to drop
the prima donna routine.
And who the hell is Reina? I remember a Spanish goalkeeper by that
name. It's Reyna. You've got to do better than that. :) He plays
regularly at Man City. Don't tell me a Yank knows more about your
league than you.
As for the NBA, holy crap what a snoozefest. The only reason I gave
a damn was that the Cavs finally are good again and they have an
actual star player.
How can any soccer/football fan call any other sport a snooze fest? We're talking about a sport so boring the fans have to beat the shit out of each other just to keep things interesting.
You might want to get an original insult.
It would be an amusing jab if it were true, especially when you
consider that quite often entire college campuses can be sent into
a conflagration after a loss OR a win.
Ditto for pro teams and their cities.
Unfortunately for you, it's overplayed and hackneyed, which makes
it a whole lot like the NBA, baseball, and the NFL - pretty damn
boring.
I like soccer. I also like pro and college football. The NBA has sucked since the late 80s, but college basketball is still good. Baseball has its uses. Hockey is okay, but nothing more than that. Bullfighting is great at the collegiate level, but the professional version lacks heart :)
Let's do a quick Google News search for "soccer match violence"
and "football match violence" shall we? Ooh what have we
here?
-
May 19, 2006
Sierra Leone: Aftermath of Soccer Match: Let's Put a Stop to
Hooliganism
"It is rather strange that violence has become so synonymous with
soccer these days that hardly does a week passes by without hearing
of any incidence of this satanic practice."
-
May 30,2006
Shocker for EFCC - 1 feared dead in Jos
"One soccer fan was feared dead in Jos Sunday during a league match
between Mighty Jets of Jos and visiting FC Abuja."
-
May 30, 2006
Argentine police will watch hooligans in Germany
"The Argentine government will send ten Federal Police officers to
Dusseldorf, Germany, on Sunday, to watch "barra brava" (fight club)
members expected to go to Germany from across Argentina, local
media said Monday."
-
May 25, 2006
Crowds well behaved for Socceroos
"THE 95,000 crowd that watched Australia defeat Greece by 1-0 in a
pre-World Cup friendly soccer match tonight were mainly well
behaved, police say. Senior Constable Wayne Wilson warned violence
could still erupt as thousands of fans remained inside the MCG and
nearby carpark, but no major incidents occurred during the
match."
-
May 15, 2006
Berlin: Hooligans clash, police watch
"A 1,000-man police force failed to prevent violence between
hooligans at a soccer match in Berlin, Germany."
-
May 30, 2006
Schmid pledges security drive
"Switzerland's sports minister Samuel Schmid has expressed the view
that additional measures will be necessary to combat hooliganism
ahead of UEFA EURO 2008�."
-
May 30, 2006
Known hooligans surrender passports
"Thousands of known England football hooligans are handing their
passports over to police today ahead of the nationwide,
Fifa-backed, World Cup banning order deadline."
-
May 15, 2006
Basel face stiff penalties over match violence
"The Swiss Football League (SFL) says it is ready to impose
"severe" penalties on Basel after hundreds of the club's supporters
went on the rampage following Saturday's title decider."
-
Hackneyed joke - yes. Accurate stereotype - yes.
But, I don't blame soccer fans. If I just sat through a 90 minute,
0-0 blue-ball fest I'd want to punch somone and set fire to a
Peugeot too.
I think it's funny how most of the world thinks we are so
violent here in the US, yet it's Europeans, Latin Americans,
Africans, etc that maim and kill each other over a sporting
event.
My sport is ice hockey...it's got it all, but I also don't care if
somebody doesn't like it. I don't like basketball that much or
soccer, and I'm a fairly avid sports fan and played pretty much
every single sport or game known to mankind (ok, haven't played a
lot of the obscure ball games, but you get my drift).
Citing a story from Sierra Leone is a big helping of missing the
point. They've been warring for years now. The fact that sport is
proxy for politics and genocide has nothing to do with the nature
of the game itself.
I imagine the fact that a truce was called Ivory Coast's civil war
in order to celebrate their qualification is something you didn't
find.
Fact is, if tiddlywinks, bocce, field hockey, Ultimate Fighting,
lacrosse, or whatever the fuck you want had been the national sport
of most of the nations where there HAS been violence, you'd be
saying the same bullshit about them.
The violence stems from cultural, political and especially ethnic
tensions. Sport is a forum and a proxy battleground for these
tensions. It's where the (sometimes literally) warring parties
meet. The fact that it happens at soccer matches is
ancillary.
As for your other stories: #2 involves another West African nation
known for its civil war, #3 talks about the (vastly overhyped)
fears of hooliganism at the World Cup - because of past violence,
authorities put out scary press releases about cracking down; it is
very rare for something to happen at the World Cup (btw, "barra
brava" doesn't mean "fight club" anywhere I can find).
#4, nothing happened. This despite the fact that there is a huge
Greek immigrant population in Oz and there's a recent history of
major tensions and violence against the Lebanese community and
other immigrant communities (including Balkans and Greeks)
completely unrelated to soccer.
#5, no context, but perhaps your first legitimate citation. That
said, Berlin and Germany at large have a similar, but lower-level
set of immigrant issues as France.
#6, so the Swiss sports minister is talking of stepped-up security
ahead of a major event. Never heard of that before in the US. This
is no different than any major tournament. Politicians know the
perception of hooliganism. They try to sound tough. Yay.
#7, this has been going on since the problems in the '70s and '80s.
England has brought their domestic problem very much under control,
mostly due to pricing out the groups most likely to fight:
pissed-off youths. They've banned known hooligans for ages from
traveling. Again, these guys get a rush out of fighting in public.
Nothing's more public than a big match. It has precious little to
do with a particluar sport.
#8, hey, another real example! Tell me, how often does the NCAA
fine the living shit out of Ohio State or Maryland or wherever
after the students rampage?
Point is, thousands of professional matches come off each and every
week without a problem. This despite the massive stage this
particular sport commands and provides for long-held political and
ethnic grudges or social battles.
The critics are right about one thing: in most other nations, the
propensity for real organized violence is more likely higher
elsewhere than in the US. The US also has one of the highest rates
of assimilation and ethnic mixing in the world, if not THE highest.
People, by and large, get along.
None of the forgoing is going to budge any of the people for whom
what was mentioned above represents a different picture from what
they are convinced soccer is about. Their minds are made up.
And here I am thinking posters here were mostly immune to that sort
of thinking.
BTW, the notion that we can just pick up a bunch of Hispanic rec
league guys from LA and win something is pretty laughable. There
are loads of talented players who get passed up because scouting
those areas isn't nearly what it should be. There are also even
bigger loads of craptacular hacks in those leagues.
The fact that an ethnic group has "grown up" with soccer "in their
blood" doesn't make them good automatically. It usually just makes
them hot-headed pricks when a good team of Gringos beats the crap
out of them.
There's more than enough talent in the areas that are scouted.
There needs to be more from the inner cities and Hispanic areas. Of
course DeMarcus Beasley, Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey (to name
just three) aren't exactly white-bread suburb-dwellers.
The notion that the US is made up of a bunch of priveledged white
kids from Northern Virginia or the Ivy League is pretty
antiquated.
Anyone know where I can get some free trade coffee? I mean gourmet beans that undercut Starbucks, not Folger's rotgut. I've been searching for this on the Interweb for months to no avail. Maybe I should just become a wholesaler.
It's Reyna. You've got to do better than that. :) He plays
regularly at Man City.
Aaah, apologies Timon. Spelling isn't my strong point. I was
certainly thinking of the city midfielder but spelt it like the
Liverpool keeper.
Hooliganism is a problem with with a small 'p'. People seem
incapable of realising that if you get 70,000 drunk men in the same
place there's a good chance of a few problems. If a bunch of dumb
idiots from one country want to beat up a bunch of dumb idiots from
another then I couldn't care less.
What irritates me is the romantic idea that people have of Italian
and South American football as if their fan's shit doesn't stink
and that hooliganism is the sole reserve of England and Germany.
Try going to a Bari game in a Juventus shirt and see how long you
last! National Geographic has a pretty pathetic spread on football
this month along those lines. One of the headlines is
'Spanish football - morality play'.
Idiots.
Anyway, England are going to win the world cup so sit back and
enjoy!
It was a broad generalization based on extreme examples and
stereotypes. Some people would call that a joke - like American
soccer.
I'm sure that most football fans exhibit behavior no worse than
your typical Philadelphia fan. However, evidence suggests that the
odds of getting your head stomped by a pair of Dr. Martens go way
up at a soccer match.
Among top 15 in the world != joke.
Apologies if you were making yet another joke (or excuse for tired
jabs). Surely you can do better than the old standbys.
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