Now that the World Cup is over for team USA, the majority of American fans will return to not caring about soccer at all for another four years until the next World Cup. Provided the US again qualifies. This isn't anything most people don't know, and I don't want to say there's anything wrong with this. The very same happens for Olympic sports. Only once every four years do we care at all about gymnastics, swimming, running, snowboarding, etc. as competitive sports, so Soccer isn't totally unique in this regard.
However, Soccer has been professionally played year-round now in the US for over 10 years, yet the sport has really failed to catch on and have the same effect it does in other countries. Interest in the MLS is quite low. When David Beckham came over to the Los Angeles Galaxy, it was regarded as potentially the spark that would make Soccer big in the US. But his presence made virtually no difference except for over coverage by ESPN.
Every four years though, interest in Soccer does rise a bit as USA's National Team competes against the world's best. I'll be honest, four and eight years ago, I think there was significantly less interest in the US Soccer team in the World Cup then there was this time around. But every four years, analysts, reporters, players, and coaches all seem to think that somehow the newfound American interest in the World Cup will carry over into genuine interest in Soccer. I'm here to say, that's just not possible. Soccer in America will likely never reach a year-round interest similar to that of England, Spain, Italy, hell, anywhere in the world.
So, what is wrong with Soccer? Well, I don't think it's the sport. I think it's us.
Soccer is for celebrating. Soccer is one of the truly few sports where, on a given day, almost any country really can win. Seriously, do you think in 100 games, Ghana could beat USA in basketball? Sure, there are powerhouses in Soccer too, but countries most Americans couldn't pick the continent it belongs to on a map have a chance to be the best in the world. Soccer is about pride in a team or in a country. A goal is a celebration. A win, an even bigger celebration.
Typically, American sports fans do not celebrate sport. American sports fans boo before they cheer, ridicule before they praise, and frown before they smile. While watching today's match between the US and Ghana, aside from patriotic "USA" chants, the only other comments about the game were negative. "Why is Dempsey always on the ground?" "Why is this guy starting?" "What was Bradley thinking?" "The referee is terrible." Not once did I hear, "That was a good effort from Cherundolo," or "Donovan did well to switch the field there."
Perhaps this results from a lack of knowledge about the sport in general. There were people who were actually surprised when a Ghana player went down and faked an injury late in the game when USA needed another goal and were even more enraged when he got up and was okay as soon as the stretcher got him off the field. Perhaps the American Soccer fan doesn't know that deceiving the ref, stalling for time, getting any advantage you can is a part of the sport that other countries accept. Perhaps the American soccer fan just doesn't like or approve of this though. It could seem underhanded and despicable. But I honestly don't think fans of Ghana would've been shocked to see the US stalling and moving slowly if they had gone up a goal. And they certainly wouldn't be surprised if the ref had made an incorrect call because a player was trying to get his team a free kick. Instead, fans of Ghana, or any other country for that matter, idolize and worship their players, remember memorable goals like Americans remember home runs, and appreciate their teams even in loss.
That's what Soccer is about. Appreciation, not derision. So until the American sports fan changes, the status of Soccer in America will remain the same.
Or maybe because soccer has the dumbest ruleset ever. Instead of stopping the clock, you guess how much time to add? You can't go past a defender or it's offsides? Players are able to do the dumbest stuff to waste away time. There are other instances of stupid rules as well, but I don't want to go overboard.
ReplyDeleteNot as important, the structure of the game could be improved to make it more exciting. Make the field smaller and get some guys off the field and it opens up the game to a lot more. (would probably requite the goal to be made smaller) It be a lot more fun to watch. Also, there needs to be something to differentiate offense and defense. As it is now, a team ahead can just stack their whole field of players on defense and just kick the ball around to waste time. Make offensive not allowed to go past midline to defense and defensive players not able to cross as well with midline players able to play both. Opening up possibilities would make the game a lot more enjoyable.
And yes, soccer has been around for a long time and changing the rules wouldn't be ideal at all, so America's opinion on soccer will stand. In my opinion, soccer is the LEAST balanced and sensible sport around and up there for one of the most boring. It's a sport ridden by quite a few rules that don't make any sense at all and mostly just takes away the whole fairness of it as well. Soccer is truly a frustrating game to watch.