Do Americans Overestimate How Great Other Athletes Would be at Soccer?

[Iplayboard]

Over the summer Bill Simmons wrote a paragraph about NBA stars playing soccer.

"By the way, I've been watching the World Cup for four weeks trying to decide which NBA players could have been dominant soccer players, eventually coming to three conclusions. First, Allen Iverson would have been the greatest soccer player ever-- better than Pele, better than Ronaldo, better than everyone. I think this is indisputable, actually. Second, it's a shame that someone like Chris Andersen couldn't have been pushed toward soccer, because he would have been absolutely unstoppable soaring above the middle of the pack on corner kicks. And third, can you imagine anyone being a better goalie than Shawn Marion? It would be like having a 6-foot-9 human octopus in the net. How could anyone score on him? He'd have every inch of the goal covered. Just as a sports experiment, couldn't we have someone teach Marion the rudimentary aspects of playing goal, then throw him in a couple of MLS games? Like you would turn the channel if this happened?"

I think that many of the things he says are quite absurd. To say that Iverson could have been a great player is one thing. But to say he would indisputably be the greatest in the world is pretty arrogant considering how popular the sport is throughout the world.

Also, the part about Marion is pretty laughable. He makes it seem as though Kasey Keller could give Marion a 15 minute lesson and Shawn could actually be a good keeper. Furthermore, I think Marion is too tall. At 6'9 he would have a tough time diving for low shots.

The height problem is even worse for field players. There are very few world-class players who are quite tall. Two that come to mind are Jan Koller (6'8) and Peter Crouch (6'7). For comparison, the average height in the NBA is around 6'7. It's not as though the United States is the only country in the world that produces really tall people, yet you see hardly any players above 6'6 starring in Europe.

My question isn't just in regards to what Bill Simmons wrote. There seems to be a common belief in the United States that most great athletes in football, basketball and baseball could have been world-class stars in soccer as well. While some would (Iverson is a good example) I think that the physical size of many NFL and NBA players would hurt their cross-over ability.

Do you guys agree that the degree to which American athletes would dominate soccer if they had taken it up when they were younger is overstated?