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Frustrating isn’t it Mr. Lipton?

Yesterday was one of the slowest sports days of the American calendar. Yesterday had three quality, and two meaningful soccer games on TV. Yesterday should have been a day for soccer. It was not, not anymore than any other. Why does soccer continue to rest at the fence unnoticed while everyone cranes to glimpse the media darling?

I’m not to Pia Sundhage levels quite yet—last night the new US WNT coach lost the third (and best) player for the Olympics when Abby Wambach followed Leslie Osborne and Cat Whitehill unto the disabled list with a broken leg. On the bright side, opportunities now open up for the younger class of ladies. With the new women’s professional league on the horizon, and the team trying to recover its image after the World Cup debacle, this is an important Olympics, and one that officially will end the old guard power structure hanging on from glories past. More depleted, yes, but there is now more motivation as well. I’m looking for Kai and Tarpley to continue to step it up. This team can still win, as evidenced by holding on after Wambach’s accident to beat Brazil.

Through frustration there is always opportunity.

I still think American soccer can win out. I’m just tired of seeing opportunities passed over. Yesterday was one of the slowest sports days of the American calendar. Yesterday had three quality soccer games on TV. Yesterday should have been a glorious day for soccer. Yesterday should have been a day when SUM and MLS promoted the SuperLiga and USSF promoted their Brazilian friendly. Yesterday could have found a few new fans, ticked off a few Neilson points to add to its portfolio.

Instead, yesterday just sped by like any other, soccer the quiet kid listening to headphones in the backseat.

Maybe it’s all just wishful thinking, but take for example Mixed Martial Arts, another sport feigning for respect. UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the biggest brand name in the genre, promotes their programs, pay-per-view specials, and DVDs. It is something that companies tend to do when trying to sell their product and services to the consuming masses. It’s a rare thing when simple word of mouth wins over the crowd. I don’t care for professional fighting, but damn if I don’t know when the big bouts are. Until recently, ESPN didn’t pay MMA much mind. And when they do, coverage tends to be the whole “is this or isn’t this a good sport?” discussion. Sound familiar? MMA does just fine without SportsCenter, and in spite of Joe Rogan (I’m gonna tell you something, Joe Rogan, that you might now know about me…). The masses have spoken and now the Worldwide Leader is beginning to chase that cat of nine tails that whips the network with its dangling dollars.

Soccer need not become a brutal blood sport to gain attention (though pay-per-view you could talk me into maybe). But it is up to soccer’s administrative triumvirate to fill in the space the media refuses to cover. Don Garber could learn a thing or two from Dana White. Sure ESPN/ABC/Disney/god could have helped by televising the games and talking them up on SportsCenter et al instead of trolling through the over-fished hegemony of Brett Favre’s future and Josh Hamilton’s past. But you can’t force that to happen. People have to come around on their own accord.

But they (regular soccer fans and casual lovers of sport are all included here) aren’t going to come around in droves for games broadcast only on the Spanish channel, not to mention the fact that we’re told by trusted soccer media that the tournament has “little redeeming value in it.” Forget for a moment the financial finagling over the SuperLiga and its place in the crowded schedule. There’s plenty of good reasons SuperLiga is flawed. Concentrate on the fact that over the last two years it has provided mostly passionate, skilled soccer inside exciting games without widespread promotion or serious broadcast. Work out the other problems and it could be truly super. Start with telling people about it!?! Even if you have to pay for the privilege. Throw some cash at it. See what happens. Just once; you never know until you try; sometimes you have to spend money to make money; If you can’t do something right, don’t do it. If you have a plan B, you aren’t focusing enough on plan A; (add your cliche here).

Paid For By The Committee To Promote Soccer In America

Soccer could do well to treat itself like a political campaign. Every season somebody wins an election as a nobody. How? They hit the streets, buy ads in the media, and show their faces (it also helps if you have a good product/service to offer). Most basic: put yourself where people can see you. Be honest but different.

I would love to see a breakdown of how marketing dollars are spent by MLS and its clubs. I can only take a wild absurd out-of-the-blue guess and bet that you could do without some of the crap that falls under marketing/promotions and buy a few primetime ad slots, place a big game or two every year on a network (besides MLS Cup—kind of like they did with the MLS showcase before the Euro final). This could get outrageously expensive, maybe on the order of a record-breaking extreme sport extravaganza. But like a motorcyclist planning on flinging himself off an enormous ramp toward a mound of dirt with a motor between his legs you have to ask yourself: how bad do you want it? Hillary Clinton spent millions of her own money on her own campaign. SUM, MLS, and USSF need to strap on a motor and jump off the cliff. Until the mighty threesome of American soccer decides to throw a little caution to the wind and give 100 percent to the cause, fans aren’t likely to take the leap of faith. There will always be a few looking to be martyrs, but they often die alone.

Yesterday was one of the slowest sports days of the American calendar. How obvious can I make this? Even a Philly (general) sports blog talked about soccer!!! With the summer largely to itself, Major League Baseball sat for a day on its All Star laurels. It was a rare occurrence. Even a Tiger-less British Open had yet to pick up much publicity. The apple of American eyes was ripe for harvest. And there sat soccer, with two SuperLiga games and a US WNT Olympic tune-up against Brazil, with nary a word but emails to faithful friends. Which begs the question: what the?

Tell me Parkhurst is thinking about the SuperLiga money share here. These were great games that deserve more coverage. Now that might begin with monetary incentive for clubs and players, but the spending shouldn’t end there. photo from ISI Photos.

Slow growth is one thing. Not providing resources for growth, however, is different. Grow me a redwood tree, a comparison I used previously with soccer in mind. But give it some fertilizer. Have patience not negligence. How many people have to point out the obvious until someone gets it right? Let us hope the answer to that question is somewhere soccer can differ from–be better than–politics.

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Banner photo of James Lipton and Josh Hamilton at the 2008 MLB All-Star game captured exclusively for TIAS by Yvonne Lai.

Caption/Description Santos Laguna forward Vicente Matias Vuoso (30) is pulled down by New England Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst (15). The New England Revolution defeated Santos Laguna 1-0 during a Group B match of the 2008 North American SuperLiga at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on July 13, 2008.

By the way – I just saw this banner ad on a celebrity gossip website. That’s a start Fox Sports Espanol!