Tag Archives: soccer

Soccer taking off in America?

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Bill Simmons, aka the Sports Guy over at ESPN, writes in his latest column that he finally believes soccer is taking off in America (see Questions #19 and 20). This is a common debate, particularly at World Cup time: have Americans finally latched on to the “world’s game”?

Simmons develops several arguments, which I summarize here:

1. Many fans weren’t just excited about Landon Donovan scoring during injury time against Algeria – more understood what it meant.

2. The US performance in this World Cup brought Americans together and there are not too many other athletes or teams that can do this.

3. Moments like this make big impressions on young children who then carry their fervor into their adult life.

4. Media and technology now make it easier to access soccer.

In summary, Simmons writes:

Soccer is no longer taking off. It’s here. Those celebratory YouTube videos that started popping up in the 24 hours after Donovan’s goal…tapped into a collective American sports experience unlike anything since Lake Placid….Those clips choked me up. Those clips gave me goosebumps. Those clips made me think, “I forget this sometimes, but I’m glad I live in the United States of America.”

It is interesting that Simmons says this now. He says he knows what cynics would say: people have been saying this for years.

I think he is right in one sense: more Americans do now seem interested in soccer. TV ratings have been good, particularly for the US matches. ESPN has carried every game and its easy to find highlights and commentary on many outlets. Americans like rooting with each other for Americans – this is what happens in the Olympics in four-year cycles and that typically includes sports no one watches between Olympics. There are few moments that bring Americans together for a common purpose and sporting events like the World Cup are rare. Additionally, the US now has a reasonable soccer league, MLS, that has developed into a decent feeder league for First Division European leagues.

In another sense, Simmons is making a strange argument. What does it mean to say that “soccer is here”? Is it now a top-three American sport? Of course not. It may have already eclipsed hockey (check out the consistent broadcasts and ratings on Spanish-language TV) but it would need sustained interest, not just four year spurts, to come close to football, basketball, and baseball. The YouTube videos Simmons writes about of Americans celebrating Donovan’s goals (successfully edited together here) are positive; but they are just a small sample. In fact, most of these videos feature middle to upper class white males sitting in a bar when they should be at work. We are nowhere near national holiday status for big matches.

The whole discussion about whether “soccer is here” is tedious. America is a big country: we have lots of room for lots of sports. In reality, there are still just a few sporting events that draw national attention from the casual fan or even disinterested people. The Super Bowl is the best example while the NBA Finals, World Series, and Olympics lag behind.

Soccer doesn’t have to be as big as it is in other nations to be considered “here” but it does have to be a consistent draw in person and on television. Perhaps by the next World Cup, MLS will be thriving (increased attendance, more players headed to Europe) and the soccer generation who have filled youth leagues for decades will be older and more attentive. Perhaps not.

But if one is truly a fan of sports and competition, it’s hard not to get interested in the World Cup. In addition to national pride on the line, it features the world’s best players and a truly international cast.

Winning vs. a country’s culture

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Brazilian coach Carlos Caetano Bledorn “Dunga” Verri has had a successful World Cup run thus far: four matches and four pretty easy wins. For many national coaches, this would lead to general praise from the media and fans.

But not in Brazil. Dunga has been playing with a more defensive-minded system, particularly compared to the attacking-with-flair Brazilian teams of past decades. A quick description of the battle Dunga has been fighting:

Then there were the fans, who almost always favor the spectacular and revel in the nation’s tradition of breathtaking open-field play.

Brazil has always been about offense, offense, offense. It has the deepest pool of talent in which to select a team. Its players pride themselves on creativity.

Even some of the  country’s former stars, such as Carlos Alberto, captain of Brazil’s 1970 team, have blasted Dunga:

“I am not confident in this group because our national team do not play Brazilian football…I’m talking about movement and use of the ball. We have good defenders, but the midfielders: if you ask Brazilian kids, who are our midfielders, they shrug their shoulders.”

So if Brazil wins a sixth World Cup title, what then? Will the country celebrate in the same way or will it be considered a less-than-great title? Sports fans can be an interesting lot, particularly when they are used to winning.

The Fellowship of the Vuvuzela

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This is making the rounds – but it is an entertaining mashup of Lord of the Rings and the World Cup. Watched a World Cup game this summer and wanted to get rid of the vuvuzela noise? Just bring in the Fellowship of the Vuvuzela.

Watch here.

Training a young American soccer star

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Two articles that disagree about whether young male soccer players in America should be going to Division One college programs to play. There are now many more female Division One soccer programs and they can offer more scholarships than men’s teams.

It has been my understanding that soccer is like baseball; college, for many, is a waste of time. (Baseball players have terrible education levels due to this common life in the minor leagues.) The best young soccer players in the world are often discovered before they are 15. College simply delays their development. Soccer has a sort of informal minor league system; young players play for lesser leagues (like MLS in the US or Division One or Two in England) before they are bought by a first-rate squad. American soccer players are only now consistently playing for better overseas squads, such as Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey, and Landon Donovan in the Premier League.

For women, it is a different story. There is a professional women’s league in the US – but it attracts little attention and pays little. College offers good competition while getting an education. Outside of going on to play for the Women’s World Cup, many players may never see the attention they get in college.

1. The New York Times: How A Soccer Star Is Made.

2. Minding the Campus: Why U.S. Men’s Soccer Will Now Decline.

The rules of officiating: consistency and openness

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Two rules regarding officiating I have witnessed in recent days: consistency and openness.

The other night, I provoked a 5-minute argument in the middle of a pick-up basketball game. The other team claimed I was consistently setting moving screens. (Ironically, before the game both teams were discussing how both the Celtics and Lakers set moving screens that are not called all the time.) But they were unwilling to call it as a foul. One of the key rules of pick-up basketball: players call their own fouls.

Perhaps another rule: be somewhat consistent in calling your own fouls. Don’t just complain about things you don’t like – you can call the foul and no one will argue. For many professional athletes, they also desire this consistency from officials. They may disagree about the validity of certain judgment calls (and most sports have judgment calls to be made on almost every play) but if they know both teams are playing by the same rules, they can handle it. Even the appearance of impartiality is enough to get players, fans, and coaches up in arms. Coaches like Phil Jackson have been recognized as masters of playing this game – criticize the officials in hopes of drawing better calls for your team in future contests.

Additionally, officials should be able to explain and be held accountable for their calls. This was not the case in the past, particularly in baseball. If you read baseball history, umpires often acted like dictators who saw no need to every offer any apology. But technology and league reviews now in most sports have reduced these traits. Scrutiny of every call is easy – plenty of replays, media outlets, and websites to discuss every decision. Witness the lauded efforts of umpire Jim Joyce who sincerely apologized to the Detroit Tigers pitcher whose perfect game was ruined by a bad call. Leagues are now willing to penalize officials based on bad calls. It doesn’t change the outcome of the game but it can bring a small measure of piece of mind.

Thus, the anger even a day later from the US Men’s National Team after a disallowed goal from their match against Slovenia. The issues:

1. A perceived lack of consistency, particularly in the second half. Players being mugged in the box are ignored. Phantom fouls are called.

2. The referee has not explained his call. What exactly did he see? Does he now see it as a bad call?

FIFA seems ready to admit the poor call as they are looking to remove the official from any further World Cup matches. I’m sure this will be of little solace to the US team but it does indicate we live in a new world of officiating.

One soccer match = World War II battle?

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Great headline from The Sun regarding England’s 0-0 draw with Algeria earlier today in the World Cup: “Never in the field of World Cup conflict has so little been offered by so few to so many (with apologies to Winston Churchill).”

Apparently, it is the 70th anniversary of Churchill’s famous speech during the Battle of Britain. For many fans around the world, soccer/football might truly be on the scale of wars between nations. For many Americans, even with all-out coverage this year from ESPN/ABC, it is merely a diversion.