So yesterday I read this story on my boy Shawn’s site over at the Offside Rules.  Basically it talks about how Randy Moss has been using soccer recently to improve his footwork and skills. Randy Moss and soccer? That’s right. Then today we get this article emailed to us that is from the New York Times talking about how big of an influence soccer has played  in the development of some of the NBA’s best players (Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitski, etc). It’s an interesting read and if these types of stories start to get more traction than I would imagine you would start to see a shift in the perception of how soccer is viewed by the big American sports. Take a few minutes and read it.

Sometimes change and growth is brought about through different avenues than we would normally expect. Ever since the days of the NASL the thinking has been that big time players from abroad would the the leading factors in growing American soccer. What if in the end it is professional players from other “American” sports that actually help drive soccer forward in America. With stories like this surfacing more regularly, it might not be such a wild idea.

What do you guys think?

Complex has a great interview with Suns superstar Steve Nash and what he’s doing behind the scenes with Nike (a recyclable shoe he’s wearing all season long)  and his family becoming more Eco-Friendly.

It’s no secret that Steve Nash loves soccer. It’s also no secret that we at The Original Winger are huge fans of the Phoenix Suns point guard. After watching Steve and new Sun Shaq beat the Celtics last night, I came across this story of how Nash is looking to get involved with Tottenham Hotspurs at some point in his life.  Nash is a lifelong Spurs fan who talks about his dream of being involved with the club, but that he wouldn’t do it to make money. From everything I have read and heard about Nash, I actually believe the kid on this. I think Steve Nash might end up being one of the biggest American ambassadors that soccer has. If you read this Steve, give us a shout!

We all know Steve Nash is a soccer fan.  He and his family grew up playing the sport, he’s trained with the Red Bulls, etc.  So why is he our fan of the week?  Because he is throwing down his own coin to be one of the eight owner operators in the new Women’s Soccer League.  People often times talk big game, but they do little to back it up.  Then you have cats like Steve Nash.  He has consistently been one of the biggest supporters of the game in the US, but he has gone about it with his own sense of doing it.  With Nash’s experience in the NBA and his partner Jeff Mallett’s experience as Chief Operating Officer of Yahoo!, these dudes should bring some interesting ideas and vision to the new league.  With all that Steve has won in his life, I’m sure being our fan of the week will rank right up there with his most important awards!  Congratulations!

Tomorrow morning the new Women’s Soccer League will have a new investor and a new owner, Phoenix Suns and Canadian Steve Nash. A self confessed soccer nerd and father of 3 year twin daughters will team up with fellow Canadian and former Yahoo! chief operating officer Jeff Mallett amongst the 8 team league.

Steve Nash, like Nomar Garciaparra, has always been extremely vocal about how important soccer has been in his life and the influence it has played in their sport, whether NBA or MLB. More proof that Nash loves soccer (his brother Martin plays for the Canadian National Team), like he showed last year wen training with the Red Bulls during the NBA offseason.