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<P>Rich Bellacera wrote:</P>
<P>> Soccer is FAR from NOT being an American sport. I grew up playing <BR>> soccer (not rugby, not football)... the same sport with the white ball with <BR>> black <BR>> geometric shapes on it. Soccer is probably much more popular among kids in the <BR>> USA (and by extension, their parents.... ....LOL!) Heck, it is such a phenomenon <BR>> here in the USA that we have even coined a term for the mother's who take their <BR>> kids to practice/games: "Soccer Moms"... though, that has become a somewhat <BR>> derogatory term... but that's another story... </P>
<P>I think it'd be most accurate to say that soccer has not "taken" in America as a PROFESSIONAL sport. There is too much competition for the fan's dollar, including many sports that have been played in America for a long time. That being said, I always saw the logic of Gemstone's running the Riverside Rovers stories, since lots of American kids play and enjoy soccer. The more valid criticisms had to do with the ways in which the Rovers stories were told.</P>
<P>Chris Barat (pleased that the US women have just won the Olympic soccer gold medal) </P></BLOCKQUOTE></body></html>