This Is American Soccer, US Soccer, MNT, WNT, and MLS - Tackling the subject of Soccer in the US, and worldwide.

It was down in Chinatown at my favorite field in the city, this little jail of a field that never ceases to be filled with games. It’s like going to heaven and knowing the doors will be open, as long as you don’t mind getting your ass kicked in heaven. Because the players on this pitch tend to know a thing or two about kicking that round ball around and they don’t mind showing it to you – make that shoving it down your throat – when you step onto the pitch. So, It was down in Chinatown at my favorite field in the city, when a group of kids were tying their shoes and getting ready to play. With a absence of tact, one of the kids said as he climbed to his feet, “ready crackers, these Mexicans are going to be beat our asses. We might have the authentic jerseys, but they have this game in their blood.” Said in jest, no doubt, and about people who clearly weren’t Mexican. Money can’t buy you love the cliché sends, and I think its safe to say it can’t buy you a national pastime either. Turn this artificial grass into parquet and this conversation might be different, but this is soccer, and the white kids with the EPL jerseys on were in the very least a little insecure about their skills.

It reminded me of my childhood in Atlanta, where the dusty baseball fields were populated with immigrant footballers more often than American batters. Shoes and socks were a luxury, and if the clothing was soccer specific, well, that probably meant I was playing with them. Work boots didn’t seem to affect the ball skills or speed when placed in front of my pre-pubescent talents that must have looked like the gates of Graceland opening up to the ball-handler. “They have this game in their blood,” would have made enough sense to me back then, and New York has done little to change that. This is not our sport just as this metropolis is not either. It belongs to the world.

So when Tony Miguel (our un-official staff videographer – does anyone else want to give him a run for his money – or run for his volunteerism) approached me about doing something about the Latino communities in the tri-state area and their commitment to the beautiful game, I was happy to work with him. Tony’s initial thought process evolved around his curiosity regarding the lack of Latinos in MLS, college, and even club soccer given their population increases in the US. We bantered about the obvious reasons, the lack of funds, the politics of the club environment, the all too often sweeping-under-the-rug idea of competitive, organized sports. It’s nothing new, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be said again… but in these cases, I feel it always best to let those in the community to say it themselves. Don’t take my word for it, take theirs – which from what I can tell is this: soccer is part of life and whether in an EPL jersey or work boots, the game will be the game, always begging to be played.

I sent Tony out into the community to find out what the game meant to the individuals he found. I didn’t want some sweeping generalization about Latinos; I wanted people talking about how they saw the game fitting into their lives, their families, their communities. The first of Tony’s explorations is after the jump. Does your family and/or community have strong ties to soccer? Share your written or still or moving pictures with me.