4 ms·

> Also, somehow small towns always find money available for soccer related stuff (like building stadiums, events, etc.) but there is no money for improving heal

> Also, somehow small towns always find money available for soccer related stuff (like building stadiums, events, etc.) but there is no money for improving healthcare or building parks. I mean Texas can hold a candle there. Nearly 30 high school football stadiums with 10,000+ capacity (and 20,000 in a few cases), built for amounts sometimes exceeding $50M each. Some of the stadiums are shared with track and field etc., but others are "exclusively used by the high school football teams".

iso1631 3mo ago
To take the other side, my understanding is in the US there aren't any "second division" teams. You've got 350 million people and about 30 professional American football teams, or 10 million people per team That would be the equivalent of having the top 6 teams in England's Premier League -- which based on last season would be Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Bournemouth* College and High School are more like the equivalent of national teams in England, although in America is seems that the taxpayer pays for these, where in the UK they are private businesses. * There was a coup attempt a few years ago by a bunch of european teams to leave league football behind and make more money, because in the uk "only those 6 teams win". Chelsea and Tottenham fancied themselves, Tottenham narrowly avoided relegation and finished 17th, and Chelsea were topped by such internationally famous teams as Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth
- FireBeyond 3mo ago
  > To take the other side, my understanding is in the US there aren't any "second division" teams. You've got 350 million people and about 30 professional American football teams, or 10 million people per team There are - but popularity is vastly different. My understanding is that minor league baseball has a notable following, basketball is smaller but there are still some passionate fans, and that football is mostly "keeping players warm". There's also the "D1 College" as a "second division" of sorts.
stwr 3mo ago
That’s crazy, in the Netherlands (though about 16x smaller than Texas) the 10 biggest stadiums in the country are Football (soccer) stadiums ranging from 10400 capacity at #10 to about 56000 capacity for the #1 stadium (build for 130 million euro). All at the highest paid level of professional football. 30 _high school_ stadiums at 10000+ I can’t even fathom!
- joe_mamba 3mo ago
  >30 _high school_ stadiums at 10000+ I can’t even fathom! Just like those European football fans visiting the US for the world cup this summer, the European mind cannot fathom the American (over)abundance.
- iso1631 3mo ago
  Where do they even find 300,000 people to watch high school football each week. The big high school sports games here in the UK get the parents, at least of most of the kids playing. Do non-sports events get massive following from non-parents -- school plays for example? Still the US tax payer is an infinite gold mine I guess. Local football teams in the UK tend to pay for their own stadiums

iso1631 3mo ago

To take the other side, my understanding is in the US there aren't any "second division" teams. You've got 350 million people and about 30 professional American football teams, or 10 million people per team That would be the equivalent of having the top 6 teams in England's Premier League -- which based on last season would be Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Bournemouth* College and High School are more like the equivalent of national teams in England, although in America is seems that the taxpayer pays for these, where in the UK they are private businesses. * There was a coup attempt a few years ago by a bunch of european teams to leave league football behind and make more money, because in the uk "only those 6 teams win". Chelsea and Tottenham fancied themselves, Tottenham narrowly avoided relegation and finished 17th, and Chelsea were topped by such internationally famous teams as Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth

FireBeyond 3mo ago
> To take the other side, my understanding is in the US there aren't any "second division" teams. You've got 350 million people and about 30 professional American football teams, or 10 million people per team There are - but popularity is vastly different. My understanding is that minor league baseball has a notable following, basketball is smaller but there are still some passionate fans, and that football is mostly "keeping players warm". There's also the "D1 College" as a "second division" of sorts.

stwr 3mo ago

That’s crazy, in the Netherlands (though about 16x smaller than Texas) the 10 biggest stadiums in the country are Football (soccer) stadiums ranging from 10400 capacity at #10 to about 56000 capacity for the #1 stadium (build for 130 million euro). All at the highest paid level of professional football. 30 _high school_ stadiums at 10000+ I can’t even fathom!

joe_mamba 3mo ago
>30 _high school_ stadiums at 10000+ I can’t even fathom! Just like those European football fans visiting the US for the world cup this summer, the European mind cannot fathom the American (over)abundance.
iso1631 3mo ago
Where do they even find 300,000 people to watch high school football each week. The big high school sports games here in the UK get the parents, at least of most of the kids playing. Do non-sports events get massive following from non-parents -- school plays for example? Still the US tax payer is an infinite gold mine I guess. Local football teams in the UK tend to pay for their own stadiums