A Sea Of Red

I'm not going to start the same old argument that "We would smoke everyone if growing up, all our kids had to play with was a soccer ball!"
Instead, which of our major sports stars would actually be good at soccer if they had played it since they were little?

What if our best athletes played soccer?

Our country would be a boring place.

01LUGrad wrote:I'm not going to start the same old argument that "We would smoke everyone if growing up, all our kids had to play with was a soccer ball!"
Instead, which of our major sports stars would actually be good at soccer if they had played it since they were little?

This has always been a topic I've loved to talk about.

I'd imagine guys like Michael Vick, Allen Iverson, Chris Paul, Russell Wilson, etc would be great mid-fielders, especially on the attacking end. The Kobes, Wade, LeBrons would be great two way mids (especially center mids distributing to others).

I could see Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, etc at forwards.

The big, athletic linebackers/d-linemen and small forwards would make great defenders.

If our best athletes played soccer from the time they were kids, we'd be in the top 4-5 in the world every year.

Maybe, we could score more than 1 point a game, but highly doubtful. That's pretty high scoring for suckor.

SuperJon wrote:

01LUGrad wrote:I'm not going to start the same old argument that "We would smoke everyone if growing up, all our kids had to play with was a soccer ball!"
Instead, which of our major sports stars would actually be good at soccer if they had played it since they were little?

This has always been a topic I've loved to talk about.

I'd imagine guys like Michael Vick, Allen Iverson, Chris Paul, Russell Wilson, etc would be great mid-fielders, especially on the attacking end. The Kobes, Wade, LeBrons would be great two way mids (especially center mids distributing to others).

I could see Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, etc at forwards.


The big, athletic linebackers/d-linemen and small forwards would make great defenders.

If our best athletes played soccer from the time they were kids, we'd be in the top 4-5 in the world every year.

How does Russell Wilson make it on this list?? Hes not that athletic..compared to the guys you have on this list

He's shifty with good vision. That was my thinking.

Don't know if we would be better than every other country, but the USA would certainly be a legitimate contender for the trophy virtually every year.

SuperJon wrote:He's shifty with good vision. That was my thinking.

just thought it was a little random..i see your point..RG3

RG3 is exactly the mold that I was thinking. You put a bunch of quick, athletic dudes with good vision in the middle of the field setting up for our athletic freaks up top and it's a scary combo.

LeBron in goal. Trying scoring on him

Dwight Howard in goal would be amazing.

He would definitely do better in goal than he does at the free throw line.

SuperJon wrote:Dwight Howard in goal would be amazing.

I thought of Howard for that, and then I got an image in my mind of Anthony Davis at KY covering enormous distances to go out and block 3 point shots. I think he might be even better.

The standard line of futbol experts is that tall guys can't play goal at the highest level because it's too hard for them to get down for the low shots. I don't think those guys have ever seen athletes as good as Howard or Davis try it.

Hakeem supposedly was incredible in goal back in the day for Nigeria. But he also was an imposing striker ... especially on corners.

Sly Fox wrote:Hakeem supposedly was incredible in goal back in the day for Nigeria. But he also was an imposing striker ... especially on corners.

Hakeem is one of the best all-around athletes ever. I would say the most overall skilled center the game has seen since Wilt Chamberlain.

Dwight Howard in goal? Mike Vick as a midfielder? Cam Newton as a forward? Lebron as a mid?

First of all, goalies have to be incredibly quick and great at making decisions, not just big. If I fire a shot, low and away on Dwight, he would have absolutely no chance at stopping it.

Midfielders, especially center midfielders, have to have incredible ball control. It isn't just about being the fastest guy on the field. Maybe put Vick at forward, but definitely not midfield. Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, RG3, and Russell Wilson would be great center mids.

Cam Newton and Lebron would be best put at defense. They're both big and physical. Maybe you could throw one on the outside as a mid, and have them rush the goal during the occasional corner. Put Gronkowski at defense too.

If you want a goalie, try Larry Fitzgerald or Richard Sherman.

This discussion is near pointless in my opinion, but it is interesting.

Barry Sanders would have been a great striker

We need to keep in mind that in this hypothetical world where our best athletes play soccer, they would have been playing the game since they were children, and thus would have a soccer skill set appropriate to their position as well as the athletic ability we know they have.

VAGolf wrote: This discussion is near pointless in my opinion, but it is interesting.

Let me know if you find a discussion here that isn't pointless.

Well played, LUconn. Don't be such a stranger.

Could anyone imagine Bo Jackson playing soccer...? Easily one of the most naturally gifted athletes ever.