Lionel Messi Is Crushing It Playing Soccer In Miami - Do You Care?

It's been less than a week since Lionel Messi made his American Major League Soccer debut and he's already crushing it.

After scoring a storybook-like winning goal in his Inter Miami debut on Friday night, Messi was back at it again on Tuesday night. He scored two goals to help lead his team to a 4-0 shutout over Atlanta United.

But do you care? Is Messi the answer for Americans to finally start paying more attention to a sport that everyone else in the world seems to appreciate?

IS MESSI ENOUGH?

I think the majority of fans would agree that being in attendance for moments like that game winning goal would be wild to see - whether you're a fan of the sport or not.

It also doesn't hurt that Messi is so damn good that he's essentially just a highlight reel of amazing plays, even as he faces lesser competition in the MLS than what he's used to when he played for Barcelona and in the Champions League.

The problem Messi faces - as does soccer as a sport in general - is that it takes 90 minutes to maybe, hopefully, if you're lucky, see a goal scored. In this day and age where society needs to be constantly entertained, that works against soccer - just ask Major League Baseball what they've had to deal with as interest has waned for years.

It was a relatively big deal when David Beckham came over from England to play for the LA Galaxy back in 2007. But the excitement quickly faded away. I think it's different with Messi. I love that he chose to embrace moving to Miami and realized that he now has the opportunity to become not only an international star, but an American star as well (yes, there is a difference).

FROM THE PLAYING FIELD TO HOLLYWOOD

With his wife turning heads in Miami, and Messi himself getting a reported $50-60 million dollars a year as part of his Inter Miami contract, not to mention all the endorsement deals, I think it's only a matter of time until he transcends a Ronaldo or a Beckham and becomes the go to name here in the States when people talk about soccer. Heck, he could even transition like Ronda Rousey or John Cena did into pop culture stars.

Hopefully the attention Messi brings to the sport helps American soccer players as well. Which begs the question - if Lionel Messi is playing a soccer game on national TV at the same time the U.S. Women's National Team is... which one are you watching? Based on a recent OutKick poll, you may not be alone... and that is exactly why Messi has the potential to be the person for the sport.