Brad Rothenberg

Our system's not designed to succeed at the international level.

And it's financial too.

It's not just popularity.

You're absolutely right that you're hitting 13, 14.

I played, but I was a fan of all sports.

I didn't have a local soccer hero.

I lived in LA.

I had a lot of heroes in other sports, and I grew up watching the Lakers.

It's impossible to expect teenagers to be attracted to a sport that doesn't have iconic heroes in your local community.

It's changing.

It really is.

We have Messi playing in the United States now, and he's really changed the fortunes of the league.

But the other piece is, until the average player is making the minimum salary for an NBA player, kids aren't going to be as excited about playing a sport where they're not going to be compensated as well as they are in other sports.

That's changing too.

As Major League Soccer becomes more viable, better commercial property, and they are, that will change in time too.

Soccer is a top five sport in terms of attendance and participation for sure.

The NBA has some challenges right now, whether it's the gambling issues or just players flopping.

I don't know how much higher the NFL can go.

It's certainly awesome.

And I love the NFL.