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designated players
no apologies
“Soccer is not for everybody - as any sport - you need to look at it in a different way. It’s very unique in the way you appreciate the game. I’m not going to come on shows like this and continually apologize for the game. It is what it is. And there is a beauty, but it does make you work for it. And I believe, well I don’t believe, I know there is a group, and a growing group of people that appreciate this game, that love this game, that live within our borders, and it’s just growing. Embrace it or get out of the way.”
These were my favorite and the final words shared on Stephen A. Smith’s Quite Frankly on Friday. Alexi Lalas spoke them when the topic on the most recent addition to ESPN’s suite of punditry shows, usually known more for what they incite than what they inform, was soccer and its lack of popularity in the United States.
Needless to say, my arsenal, along with Alexi’s, was ready.
There’s no way else to say it. I despise Stephen A. Smith. I despise the fact that he has to be Stephen A. Smith, and is introduced as such. It’s right up there with people speaking in the third person about themselves. I despise what he represents: a shock jock of opinion and volume winning out over discreet fact and education. It used to be frowned upon when journalists became the news instead of reporting it, now they are rewarded for it.
So I was ready, guns drawn. Do your worst Stephen Smith. Rip into soccer so I can rip into you. But he didn’t. He didn’t rip into soccer, as we quickly learned, because he didn’t know anything about it. He directed good questions to qualified guests. As he would later say, he was learning. And while of course he was still the hearing-impaired, loud-talking grandpa that I believe belongs in a character sketch on Seinfeld not his own talk show, Smith even let Lalas take some shots at him.
“You’re out of touch,” Lalas fired at Smith in defense of his game (this became blatantly obvious when Smith spelled out FIFA, F-I-F-A, instead of saying ‘fifa’, as if it were a word, like anyone else on earth would do. I had to laugh, I’ve never heard anyone ever spell it out as if it was the NCAA or WTA. Smith bowed to Lalas, admitting his ignorance of the sport, and for maybe the first time since his jump from newspaper columnist to television personality became the journalist I didn’t know he could be. “Lalas trying to school me, that’s ok – I’m just learning,” Smith quipped. Never forget people can surprise you.
From there, however, the show was nothing terribly new for a soccer fan. These shows always aim for the completely unknowledgeable viewer whenever the subject is even slightly outside the mainstream (why do you think there is an NBA star talking about soccer?). Which brings us to the guests: US MNT-star-turned-MetroStars-GM Lalas (who I find it at least kind of funny is chosen to defend the popularity of soccer because he was more famous for his hair and tendency to show up to press junkets with a guitar than he was for his skill during his playing days), ESPN’s Mr. Onion Bag Tommy Smyth, MLS commissioner Don Garber, Bruce Arena, US WNT striker Abbey Wambach, and NBA MVP Steve Nash.
Oh, and there was New York Newsday (far and away the worst and least-read large paper in New York City) columnist Michael Mandelbaum, who opened the 45-minute segment lobbing the most ignorant attack on soccer I have ever heard (all respect due to Jim Rome). It appeared he and Smith traded personas for the day. ‘The professor’, as Mandelbaum was called during the short interview, spoke of a closed window of opportunity in the economic and social development of our country whereby a team sport could no longer take hold and become an institution. While he followed with statements like - there isn’t room for soccer and there is too little scoring, Stephen Smith began defending soccer. Then Mandelbaum said, “we (Americans) like a definitive result more than any other people.”
What?
“There is something else wrong with soccer,” he said. “Lots of ties.”
Something else wrong with soccer. Why, because the game is not as popular here as the Big Three pro sports, must there be something wrong with the game? Welcome to America and the egocentric perspective we as a nation take not only to politics and places like Iraq, but apparently to sport as well. It isn’t enough to admit the facts – soccer is growing and we are becoming more competitive as a country and a league – no, we must ridicule the game like some jock with senioritis picking on the new recruit.
Well, needless to say, Lalas and his band of soccer supporters came out onto the set riled (Mandelbaum was on a remote feed) and gave the usual defense: Soccer is young. If you look at the NFL when it was only 10-years-old, they argued, it was no more popular than the MLS.
Leave it to the immigrant to defend soccer the best. Tommy Smyth, albeit annoying, made what was probably the best points. His sound bytes included statements like - Americans don’t think globally and MLS has to create or sign its own star. He also stated an argument I like to make in regards to the scoring criticism. If you make one goal worth seven points, soccer has as much scoring as the NFL.
Garber pointed to the development of talent, which was supported by Arena, always the businessman, who also spoke to the all mighty television dollars and the difficult competition for the American sports dollar. I was waiting for it, and finally both Garber and Arena spoke to the changing demographics of the nation, which anyone with any sense has to suspect will help to propel soccer into the mainstream media outlets.
It was basically the same old – same old, nothing you haven’t heard here if you’ve been reading long enough. The soccer argument as tennis match. Back and forth, back and forth.
I didn’t think for a second Stephen Smith really cared what the answers were – my guesses are his producers, knowing ABC and ESPN now suddenly have a huge stake in the success of soccer Stateside with their newly signed television deals, made the call to produce a show out of it. Yes, I’m a cynic, and yes you could argue that my relationship with Nike is dictating a similar relationship, but while we are at it, I think it is worth noting too, that the show was aired on a Friday night, historically the least-watched night of television viewing. These things are not coincidences.
So, quite frankly, Quite Frankly entertained me and incited me – the two things Stephen Smith wants to do, so I guess he was successful on the whole. What I learned, more than anything is this: Steve Nash is bright and articulate, just as Alexi said that night. Nash probably made the best summation of the entire argument when he said, “It (soccer) is sometimes lost upon Americans because there isn’t that tradition there. You didn’t have your dad teaching you what a great pass was like you do teaching you what a great touchdown pass was or what a good bounce-pass is in basketball. So, I think it’s pretty natural that without that tradition, you’re gonna have a little lag as far as the interest.”
So, yes, bright, articulate and one hell of a point-guard, but I just don’t get how or why the NBA MVP became the spokesman for American soccer. Whether it is with Nike, Esquire magazine, or ESPN, Nash has been all over the place, if not defending, then having to explain soccer. I’ve seen him play soccer in person numerous times, and yes he is good, and yes his family has played some professional soccer, and yes we need all the support we can get, especially when it comes to high-profile, professional athletes. but where is a professional soccer star? Couldn’t this show muster at least one male soccer star?
Here you are, a show about soccer and not a single star (no, Lalas and Abby, all due respect to both of them, do not count). Stephen A. Smith on his best behavior, it turns out, was not the only surprise that night, just the only good one.
David S.
on Dec 20th, 2005 - 10:21am
Hey Adam,
Great story! There were a ton of great points backing up soccer that I wish a lot of kids at my school could hear. I also think that it is great that Steve Nash is helping defend soccer from the attacks that it often receives. Keep up the good work.
Sam
on Dec 20th, 2005 - 2:59pm
Wonderful story. At my high school i play on the soccer team and it is unbelieveable the lack of respect a player would recieve. First, our head soccer coach is also the head defensive lineman coach for the football team, and he never played soccer a moment in his life. I’ll grant you, he tries, he reads books on coaching talks around he really tries to be a good coach, but the bottom line is that he lacks the experience needed to be a successful and respectable soccer coach.
Second, our Junior varsity team has been using the same worn down purple (our school’s color is blue) warm ups and jerseys for the past 6 years. Soccer is by far the most addictive sport out of all of them. You don’t see a profesional football player in the U.S. sharing the same constant passion that soccer players do. The bottom line is that the U.S. is to stubborn to realize that perhaps soccer is better, perhaps soccer has grown past bieng a sport for young suburbia. My dream is to one day have all Americans refer to soccer by its true name, football.
Murf
on Dec 21st, 2005 - 1:35pm
Nice post. It would have been nice to have an American soccer star on the show. However, it’s also good to have Nash on the show since he already carries a lot of respect from the non-soccer fans watching.
Suppose you were watching a similar program on some sport you aren’t interested in and Beasley came on to say how much he liked the sport. Wouldn’t that peak your interest more than having a star from that sport say it’s great?
Alex
on Dec 21st, 2005 - 2:13pm
GREAT story! I agree with everything you wrote. It’s sad that in this day and age, you need a GREAT Basketball player (who happens to be good Soccer player) to help promote the sport on national television. It’s a great thing because his fans might take an interest in Soccer but in reality, it really doesn’t make any sense that we can’t get just ONE MLS star.
Hab
on Dec 21st, 2005 - 5:02pm
Great article. It shows the ignorance many in this country possess when it comes to soccer. Id like to add that having Steve Nash on the show was quite possibly the best thing that could have happened during its brief time on the air. Not many Americans, even the youth who are more interested in soccer, will listen to a show comprised of only soccer players or analysts unless they are truly a complete soccer fan already. Soccer needs someone already in the hearts of the people, someone with whom they can connect to help sell it. It’s my personal opinion that the media isn’t trying hard enough to publicize soccer even if it is the nation’s fastest growing sport. If theres so much opportunity out there to be taken, how come ESPN doesn’t even show highlights of the ‘Soccer Saturday’ games they own the rights to on their daily highlight show SportsCenter each morning? I guess we can’t be positive, but does anyone else (and I’m assuming if you’re reading this blog like I am that you do) think that maybe people would pay more attention to soccer if they saw even a few seconds of it each day as opposed to another sludgemush display of baseball statistics? And hey, corporate media leaders of America think about this: if you treated soccer as an equal sport in this nation (which it most certainly is) then just maybe soccer fans would start paying enough attention to your shows that you could exploit the great market that’s here now. This would build a following faster than you could imagine, and in the process the game of soccer would finally be able to break through and progress to a level equivalent of that of the rest of the world. And one last hint; and let’s give it to Nike for the sole purpose that they are probably in the best position to help the game at the moment: remember way back a few years ago when there existed the WUSA? That was by far the best establishment of professional soccer in this country. The games were filled with good-quality soccer, attracted great players from all around the world, and even broke down the doors for a women’s entrance to soccer on a broader stage. Then all of a sudden it disappears, and noone wants to help possibly the single most beneficial thing the American game could have had: the opportunity for soccer to be spread to an even wider audience in this country, to attract new people to the game each day, and to let them interact with the world’s best on a daily basis. It is truly a shame that it has come and gone so fast. But just a suggestion: that’s right Nike, wouldn’t you like a piece of that? Why not become even more involved and really contribute to this nation’s game, rather than running off a bunch of iron-on transfer t-shirts from your website? Wouldn’t it be better to say, sponsor the recreation of a league such as the WUSA and plaster the Nike name on everything imaginable? You’d be doing us all a favor, and in return you’d gain almost exclusive access to the best new market in the country for a sporting youth. But thats just an idea. I appreciate all you’ve tried to do so far, and kudos to Adam for some excellent articles.
matt
on Dec 21st, 2005 - 6:26pm
Where in the world is Landon Donovan? Ever since the “whirlwind media tour” he went on after the 2002 World Cup, it seems like he hasn’t been on TV since. Is he too busy now?
special-k
on Dec 21st, 2005 - 7:35pm
yeah good stuff. the media is supposed to look at facts and sports announcers dont always do that the simple fact is that there are more people (adults and childern)soccer in the u.s. than any other sport this country has. we invented the term soccer mom. I have a friend who played college baseball at LCU (National title winner) and he pulled his young child out of teeball to out him in soccer to work on his cordnation so he could be a better all around athlete. If we didnt have people trying to push on us there favorite sport and looked at the facts that attendence in the mls is growing every year and dying in baseball and basketball every year I think the U.S. would start to see we are sitting on a gold mine of potenial.
Eddie
on Dec 22nd, 2005 - 1:14am
this is a great site. keep up the good work, and keep it opinionated
Peter Newman
on Dec 22nd, 2005 - 3:04pm
Hello - I’m a British guy from London. Its amazing to read that a debate over the ‘new’ sport of Soccer is even taking pace at all. Not only is it by far and away the oldest team game in the world - dating back to the 9th century, it is easily the most popular game in the world - the biggest and most popular sport in most countries. Most Premiership clubs date back to the 1800s, and some professional clubs date back to the 1700s - they are almost as old as the USA itself!
Did you know that on Xmas day in 1914, in the height of the First World War, British and German troops, who had being firing at each other only moments earlier, left their trenches and played a game of soccer in ‘no man’s land’ between the trenches? It is was very famously filmed, and was a rare moment of peace in a war in which millions died. The Germans wons 3-2 by the way.
The debate about the ‘lack of scoring’ is laughable. As any real football fan (sorry…soccer fan) knows, scoring goals is just one aspect of a multi-faceted intensely rich game. Do people watch NFL only for the touchdowns? No of course not - they watch for the tactics, the passing, the tackling, the defense, the blocking. Only NBA offers the kind of constant, boring scoring which the NASCAR-watching,attention-span-deficient hillbillies need to keep them occupied lest they start making advances on their own sisters.
Let your sports pundit guy say what he wants. Obviously the US will never love soccer like the rest of the world - in the same way NFL will never take off in the UK, despite it being similar (except for the girly padding) to Rugby and being pretty decent to watch once you’re into it. Just as football (sorry…soccer) fans will not lose loyalty to a club if it is losing, national populations will not become disloyal to their national sports (even if they are boring and outdated, like baseball).
Screw ‘em and move to the UK if you don’t like it!
Charley B
on Dec 23rd, 2005 - 2:40pm
Peter,
Not sure what the purpose of your post is other than rattling off pro-British football anecdotes and historical data.
That’s great. Congratulations. Maybe Adam can send you a medal or two.
Oh, and if you have the film to back up your story about what occurred during the first World War, feel free to share with everybody where that can be found. My British friends are saying that’s a hefty myth.
I want to disagree with your sentiment that the United States will “obviously never love soccer”. Don’t think that’s obvious or true.
The personalities around the game, and the game itself in this country have undergone some major reconstruction during the short reign (it’s only just started) of this latest generation of players.
I believe the tides have started to turn, and after people are properly exposed to the kind of players we’re starting to see play classy and smart football (Gooch, Eddie Johnson, Beasley), they will reconsider their anti-soccer mentality.
Also, consider we’ve never had that special player come through yet - “the one” who will change the world’s mentality of American Soccer. Once that special player emerges and starts to exert his influence over the game globally, a lot of people will come out of the woodwork and start paying attention to this game. We need a superstar, just like basketball had Dr. J and later Jordan, football with Vince Lombardi and Broadway Joe, and baseball had “the Babe” and others. Those special players and personalities cemented those respective sports as worthy of attention - and each of those sports took off shortly thereafter.
Don’t Tread dawg - and feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you’re ever in San Francisco - I’ll be happy to personally show you what’s up with American Soccer.
Peace.
Charley
Adam Spangler
on Dec 23rd, 2005 - 5:05pm
…um, what he said.
And furthermore, no one said soccer was a new sport, just that the MLS was young compared to other North American sports. Here is a history lesson for you. Americans have been playing soccer since the day we decided to kick England to the curb as if it were an overbearing girlfriend. That independent spirit of North America invented some pretty nice little sports over here, so soccer has some competition.
And funny you mention it, but I played four years of rugby in college. It is a vastly different sport than American football. When rugby players start flying into eachother from 30 yards, sorry 30 meters, away from each other, instead of mostly engaging in the close-knit action that figures into a rugby match (with that rare exception of Jonah Lamu chasing down an opposing wing from the opposite side of the field), than you can start talking shit about American football. I love rugby, so I won’t stoop to your level.
Why can’t we all just get along? a soccer fan is a football fan is a futbol fan is a hooligan (minus the senseless violence).
sounds like someone needs a New Years Resolution of globalization.
ps -the medals are in the mail.
kyle
on Dec 23rd, 2005 - 5:07pm
the lack of popularity in soccer has to do with a nationwide conspiracy to suppress the sport. if espn were truly interested in sparking interest in the world cup the would have some sort of analysis show i.e.-Baseball tonight, nfl live, nba shootaround. Both for the MLS and for the worldcup, and why not the premiership. Fortunately globalization is bigger than this country, and the money involved has become too much to ignore… And it’s getting better all the time.
I thank god that I won’t have to listen to the mindless banter of Ty Keough ever again. He managed to keep the commentary so boring and basic that it offended the knowledge of even the unknowledgeable fan.
Adam Spangler
on Dec 23rd, 2005 - 5:11pm
…and that’s just Kyle being Kyle. I Love it.
I’ll have a little something to add to that in a couple of days - this TV thing is huge for me. Did someone say holiday contest?
Fernando
on Dec 23rd, 2005 - 5:49pm
Ty Keough is an idiot. As well as the other soccer announcers we’ve all been forced to listen to over the last fifteen years or so.
Thanks for explaining what a corner kick is. I really had no idea.
Wish we had people commentating that both knew the sport and the fans who are watching. No one has been able to figure that one out yet.
Chris
on Dec 25th, 2005 - 11:14pm
I just happened to come across this website (blog), very nice work. It’s good to see at least a few individuals are backing US soccer. Keep up the good work Adam!
Steve
on Dec 26th, 2005 - 9:45pm
Great story, as young adult we and many of my friends have fell in love with soccer over the years and appriciate its beauty..as the game grows in the US so will the respect…heck my tv stays on Fox Soccer Channel and GOL TV.
Peter Newman
on Dec 27th, 2005 - 5:39pm
I’m still waiting on my medals, boys. Actually I was not attacking US soccer - far from it. I think its a shame that soccer is not accepted in the US just as much as you guys do. Nor was I attacking the USA, so Adam’s 1776 reference was a bit silly (and uncalled for?). Furthermore, I was not suggesting that MLS is a ‘new’ thing… I was lamenting the fact that the idiot FOX sportcaster seemed to treat it as if it was.
As Adam points out, MLS has been around for years, but soccer is STILL not accepted as a mainstream sport in the US. I know it will take a lot to overturn the big 3 sports, and my point was that MLS has had plenty of time but to no avail. The answer can only be cultural. Now…obviously I’m not attacking you guys because you ar bona fide soccer fans…However, the majority of your compatriots seem to be unable (or unwilling) to appreciate the beauty of the game. I know that the standard in MLS is pretty high now - so the only answer as to why the game has not taken off since the conception of the MLS almost 30 years ago must lie with the American sporting psyche.
In answer to the assertion that the MLS is just ‘waiting for a ig start to come along’ and drag the game into the public consciousness: Didn’t Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Moore and George Best (amongst others) all play in the MLS at some point? If those lads couldn’t interest the public in the game, you have to wonder who will!
Disagree if you want, but the evidence does seem to suggest that the US public are highly unlikely to embrace the sport in the way it deserves.
P.S: the 1914 truce game was well documented and photographed. Furthermore, there were other similar games up and down the western front that day.
P.P.S: Charley - I didn’t mean to offend you. Sorry…dawg.
Elias
on Dec 28th, 2005 - 2:43am
Off the topic a bit at this point but, it is mildly humorous that Nash is a Canadian defending American soccer. It works. It is good to see that others are a bit perplexed by the lack of interest in soccer in the US. I think that Peter is off when he says it is a cultural thing. I fell in love with the game as a 4 year old living in a small village in a remote part of Alaska having never seen the game on television or in the news (I didn’t even have a TV). Culture had nothing to do with it. By the way, Moore, Beckenbauer, Best, Pele, Chinaglia etc… played in the NASL, not MLS.
Everyone needs to look at the difference 11 years has made. Look at the wretched 94 WC star jerseys we had! (Was that the last year Adidas sponsored? Coincidence?) In eleven years we have a league that is here to stay and is still working through growing pains while producing patches of talent. We have players plying their trades at Fulham, Blackburn, Man. City, Man. U (unfortunately), Charleton, Hanover, Mainz, Moenchengladbach, Hamburg, Leeds, Reading, PSV, Feyenoord, ADO Den Haag etc… A 2002 showing in South Korea most countries would be proud of, a non-obscure, non-satellite soccer specific channel.
I’m not too worried about what people like Jim dumbass Rome think about soccer. I will just enjoy watching MLS and the fan base in the US grow slowly over however many years it takes. Generations that I coach will grow up to have their own families and coach their own kids. The appreciation for the intricacies of the game will be absorbed and passed on. I think patience is the key. And, if you are fortunate enough to live in a city with a MLS team, attend the damn matches.
And, I can’t stand Stephan A Smith either Adam. Great stuff as usual.
Charley B
on Dec 28th, 2005 - 2:32pm
Peter,
Just to clarify what I mean by having a major star come along that will change the game - I’m not talking about German, British, Welsh, or Brazilian stars. I’m taking about an American star. Born here, raised here, and playing here.
Charley B
martins
on Dec 28th, 2005 - 4:18pm
yea i cant believe i watched that whole episode of Quite Frankly.it was pointless, yet funny because Stephen A knew nothing about soccer. why would you make an episode of something that you nothing about?why not research it a little,maybe? or maybe why didnt they have someone like demarcus beasley or eddie johnson to enlighten our friendly show host?seriously.
but anyways this was a great article i agree with everything you’ve said
Kevin O'Shields
on Dec 30th, 2005 - 12:34am
FYI,
At one time Steve Nash was in the Canadian MNT pool of players.
His brother Martin is, but lacked the 3-ball range so he stuck with the beautiful game.
Mark
on Dec 31st, 2005 - 1:36pm
So often in American society, pundits focus on “what isn’t” rather than “what is.” That’s our natural tendency when it comes to discussing politics, culture, business and so much more.
So I would like to briefly touch on “what is” happening with soccer here. Specifically, I believe soccer is gradually becoming more familiar and popular in the U.S., and there’s considerable anecdotal evidence to support this. For example:
- the fact that Smith featured soccer on his show
- the existence of this and other soccer blogs
- the massive volume of soccer videos on the net
- Fox Soccer, our family’s favorite cable channel
- the number of Americans playing in Europe
- growing success of America’s mens and womens NTs
- national popularity of youth soccer leagues
- improving skill and quality of play at all ages
- stability of MLS
- growth in soccer-specific stadiums nationwide
- existence of national youth soccer team rankings
- the pervasive term “soccer mom.”
Sports Illustrated’s self-described sports curmudgeon, Frank Deford, loves to rail against the beautiful game from time to time. Meantime, the same magazine’s “Faces in the Crowd” column usually features one and sometimes two young soccer stars each week.
Even ESPN’s Sportscenter shows an occasional soccer highlight in their top ten plays segment.
None of this was happening in 1982, when I first was introduced to the game because one of my clients at the time sponsored the World Cup. And little of it was evident even the 1990s. The 1994 World Cup and the USWNT victory in 1999 have had a considerable impact in advancing the game’s following here.
My two sons play travel soccer. My older son is an ODP player in Michigan, one of the strongest soccer states in the nation.
Every weekend, we’re seeing the game gain prominence in the lives of kids and parents alike. We know dozens of families whose lives revolve around soccer, and for the vast majority, that’s a healthy obsession.
I know this isn’t a factual or scientific proof. But I believe it clearly points to a growing foundation and promising future for soccer in America.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the U.S. men win a World Cup sometime in the next two decades.
And when that happens, what will Stephen A. Smith and Frank Deford say then?
Kris in Key West
on Jan 6th, 2006 - 8:58am
Good article. There is one thing that bothered me. Not giving Alexi his due. The original pioneer of soccer/rock, he inspired more youth players than you will ever know. I don’t see many Americans playing in Serie A as he did.
Emmanuel Ko
on Jan 7th, 2006 - 11:03pm
I love that Yall told it straight to that soccer( real name Football)
connor
on Jan 10th, 2006 - 6:55pm
the original pioneer of soccer/rock…good lord…and the only pioneer of soccer/rock…i’ve had enough of this pro-soccer/anti-soccer banter i don’t understand why anyone would really bother. if changes happen they will most definattely occur over a long process of time, soccer will not rocket into the major american sporting demographic over night it takes time just as it takes time to understand the game itself. i look at my own life and my personal timeline of turning from soccer hater to a passionate follower of the sport and its taken 4 years and i still don’t consider myself an expert. understanding comes with immmersion, no different than anything else in the world such as race toleration or religion, and the capability to immerse yourself in soccer 10 years ago was virtually non-existant. soccer is gaining more and more of a foot hold in american media to the point were it was on Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. nothing to get excited about but a sign of progress none the less. The world cup in germany is the biggest oppurtunity of all time for our country to be exposed to the sport, i’d say even more so than when the World Cup was staged here because that was something of a one-off. now soccer is here to stay
joe
on Jan 11th, 2006 - 9:20pm
word.
the result of this show, the ignorance of the majority of american sports personalities, the absence of soccer stars in the limelight, not givin lalas his props, what the british think, steve nash (<— a beast btw) holdin it down, none of it really matters because neither you nor i are going anywhere. We are the ones who matter in this debate, and we are not gonna give up the beautiful game because the rest of the country doesn’t pick it up. Soccer is here to stay in each of us, and as long as its here, national interest, skill level, publicity, and reputation are only going to get better. Soccer will have its time in America (though we all hope that time comes sooner than later) Dont worry ya’ll, it’ll happen. We’re here, the game’s here, we ain’t goin nowhere, so neither is the game. dont tread
tony
on Jan 20th, 2006 - 2:10am
steve nash is a spurs fan. and either his mum or dad or both are from the UK.
Tim Wander
on Feb 14th, 2006 - 2:25pm
I disagree that Nash’s presence was negative. A bona fide soccer star should have been on the show, but Nash was the NBA MVP last year and along with that kind of talent and dedication comes a lot of credibility. He is regularly seen juggling a basketball during games and during practices, so a lot of non-soccer fans have probably seen him and associate him with soccer. Any exposure for soccer is good exposure (within reason, of course. i don’t wanna look up one day and see freddy adu in jail or anything). but seriously. soccer (football!) is beautiful and once the people in the united states realizes this, the game will have no limits. the rest of the world has fallen in love with the game, why not us? the amount of action in one soccer match (most matches, at least…some ligue one games are pretty drab) is much more than any american football or basketball game. ninety minutes of action gets my vote over American football. think about it, there only actually playing the game for about fifteen minutes. they stand, huddle, dawdle, mess around, and every thirty seconds or so, they run a five second play. this is not meant to bash other sports, but enough said. football is brilliant!
Nate T.
on Feb 16th, 2006 - 6:47pm
I find it funny that Americans, and I am one, have this attitude that if its not popular here than its not really a sport. Do people not pay attention to what is going on everywhere else in the world? Actually the rest of the world laughs at us and our American Football. All I know is that soccer is growing more and more popular every day. Take a look at some statistics of how many kids are enrolled in some sort of soccer program and it will blow you away. Little league baseball coaches are furious and frustrated in towns all across this country because they are loosing so many to soccer. By the time these kids grow up you will have a country of dedicated, fanatical soccer fans. Male and Female!! These self rightous sports commentators and personalities are clueless. If you want to see a real athlete put any star with a pro soccer player and make them keep up for half a game. Oh say can you see how quick those pansies crumble.
jeremy l
on Feb 17th, 2006 - 5:01pm
In my opinion the reason Americans can’t really get into soccer is the lack of understanding of the game, and not wanting to put in the little time it takes to understand the beauty of it. It is like chess and who of can say we regularly watch and study chess. Too many these days want everything to be easy and easily understood and not willing to put any time and effort into it unless they think there is a possibility of them making it big and making crap loads of money. I don’t know if you guys agree but that is what I think. Great article Adam
Edgar Gaisie
on Feb 25th, 2006 - 6:09am
Sorry Adam, I don’t despise Stephen A like you do. Though I think you made some valid points about his approach to journalism, I must say he is entertaining as hell.
In fact, I feel soccer could use a personality like Stephen A to spice things up a bit. You see futbol commentators all around the world using the game for their grand stage. Weather it is the UK, South American,Europe, you name it, you can find some colorful personality who absolutley lets a player have it if they are playing terrible (like Simon from American Idol) and praises them (like the Beatles) on a worthy performance.
When it comes to superstars puting this sport on an elite level in this country, I think Tiger Woods is a great example. Since Tiger’s emergence in pro Golf over a decade ago, it is now an even more marketable sport for the young generations and minority communities.
Do you know how many African American, natural athelets would be professional soccer stars right now if they knew it could be a ticket out of the “hood” like Basketball, or Football. Ever since Tiger and the Williams sister’s success there has been a surge of black families buying gulf clubs and tennis rackets with nothing but a dream of their child becoming the next Tiger or Sarena. The same could happen with soccer. (I’m African American by the way.)
That’s why I think it’s important to pay the stars like Eddie Johnson as much money as possible and use him as a spokesperson for the sport. I don’t care how cocky they say he can be, because he will be the mouth piece for kids who relate to him very well.
Colin
on May 10th, 2006 - 9:58am
Did I just hear that Michigan is one of the best soccer states in the country…….wow
Larry Brown's Crank
on May 27th, 2006 - 11:03pm
Soccer is stupid, just as Rome said. What other sport has masked men punching 15 year old boys in the face?
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