An athlete appearing on the cover of Time Magazine is a great honor. But apparently that honor only appears in the United States if it is a sport that Americans care about.
Lionel Messi, who recently won FIFA's Player of the Year award for the third time is on this week's cover of Time Magazine (right). But good luck finding that issue in the United States. In this country, Messi has been replaced by an image for a story on shyness.
Producing regional magazine covers is not new. Sports Illustrated often does this in preview issues, presumably to better promote that issue in different parts of the country. But in this case, Messi is not being replaced by soccer player with a more American appeal.
In the end, it is unclear who should be more offended, the sport of soccer for losing a chance to reach fans in the United States, or Americans whom Time may not feel are sophisticated enough to appreciate a soccer cover.
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