THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOLAR

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#world cup #lionel messi #cristiano ronaldo #argentina #ghana #portugal #usa #clint dempsey #brazuca #brazil #futbol #soccer #socceroos #ecuador #chile #eden hazard #eden dzeko #balotelli
6 years ago
2

Soccer’s big takeover: Will soccer become as popular as MLB and NBA in the U.S. One researcher thinks it’s inevitable

The future of American soccer will be determined by one man. And, perhaps surprisingly, he is neither Jurgen Klinsmann, Clint Dempsey nor Ian Darke.

Rich Luker, a 59-year-old baseball-loving social scientist based in North Carolina, is the brains behind the ESPN Sports Poll, the complex database that recently pronounced soccer as America’s second-most popular sport for those age 12-24, outstripping the NBA, MLB and college football. Luker is also the man who discovered that three soccer players – Lionel Messi (16th), iconic veteran David Beckham (20th), and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo (24th) – rank among the 50 most popular athletes in America. “Unbelievably, [Lionel] Messi ranks ahead of Dwyane Wade,” Luker marveled. “Only two baseball players, Albert Pujols and Derek Jeter, are ahead of him."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/relegationzone/id/262?cc=5901

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#albert pujols #american soccer #barcelona #baseball #basketball #christiano ronaldo #david beckham #derek jeter #espn #espn sports poll #football #lionel messi #nba #real madrid #rich luker #rooney #soccer #the international scholar #clint dempsey
8 years ago
2

One for the record books: USA beats Italy 1-0 on Clint Dempsey’s late goal.