Brock,
Where do you live? I see Columbia, but did you mean to spell it “Colombia”? Because, you can’t be referring to the US when you say “in other soccer rich countries.” We may be rich, but we most certainly are not “soccer rich.”
The ten most valuable sports franchises in the world according to Forbes (yes, old news):
1. Manchester United Football Club, soccer ($1.83 billion)
2. Dallas Cowboys, football ($1.65 billion)
3. New York Yankees, baseball ($1.60 billion)
4. Washington Redskins, football ($1.55 billion)
5. New England Patriots, football ($1.36 billion)
6. Real Madrid Football Club, soccer ($1.32 billion)
7. New York Giants, football ($1.18 billion)
8. Arsenal Football Club, soccer ($1.18 billion)
9. New York Jets, football ($1.17 billion)
10. Houston Texans, football ($1.15 billion)
I don’t see LA Galaxy nor DC United anywhere on that list. But, even if they were, they couldn’t support the entire US youth soccer program all by themselves.
Of course our kids have to pay money to play – who else is going to?
