[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

You'd be surprised.. all the tight ends in the NFL played basketball in college, some never even played football until the NFL!! Initially they said "these guys are too soft to take a tackle," and, "these guys are too tall."

Turns out they've become some of the most effective players in the NFL and have revolutionized their positions.

Keep in mind that Hakeem Olajuwon was one of the best NBA players ever, was 7 feet tall, and had the best footwork in the NBA because of his experience as a goal keeper playing futbol in Nigeria. HOF NBA point guard Steve Nash played soccer in college and seriously considered playing pro until he fell in love with basketball entirely by coincidence.

Several players in FIFA are over 6'4 including on England and Belgium, even a few 6'7" dudes..

You're right that its not working now, but if across a long enough arc and player development in one generation an entire sport can change.


So just saying that basketball players or American football players would not have the athletic skill set to play futbol is I think speaking too soon. While obviously 5'7" dudes aren't going to dominate basketball, baseball is increasingly popular internationally, including in Central America, and anybody can hit and catch a baseball with enough practice, focus, and ambition.

Listen, I'm not trying to say that the NBA is magically going to replace futbol internationally, I just think its very interesting that nations that used to be exclusively futbol nations are getting that much better at high level American sports like basketball, American football, and baseball. Further, it is getting clear that Americans are getting better at futbol, so even a marginal influence could yield sizable dividends all things considering.

Indeed futbol wouldn't be replaced, but I think that its interesting that it may suffer a bit of decline as it has to compete both for players and particularly audiences in countries where it previously had generations of ZERO competition.