I have many friends here in America who simply don't get soccer. They think its boring. That it's for kids. But football, called the Beautiful Game around the world, is finally coming into its own here in the U.S.A.I read an article in Sunday's Dallas Morning News about how soccer is becoming the favored sport for Gen-X intellectuals...how America is finally grasping the great game.
Baseball is becoming too corrupted by steroids, HGH, and economic inequality to keep my interest. Soccer stirs national and provincal passions like no other sport except maybe college football. The fans are the most intense and have the most fun in the stands than any other sport.
But for simple minded Americans its about points on the scoreboard. Most Americans don't like ties or 1-nil games. But America's tie yesterday against Italy was as thrilling as a victory in most other sports. We tied Italy...one of the great powers in the soccer world...even though we were a man down due to a red card! The stands were packed with spirited Americans which show that the U.S. is finally coming around.
Attendance is up for our domestic league MLS. Most teams either have a soccer specific stadium or are in the planning stages for building one. In ten years MLS will supplant the NHL as the fourth major league in the U.S. if not sooner.
Soccer is not simply about the score. It's about ball movement and anticipation and the experience in the stands. It's about tactics and artistry. And soccer looks accessible to everyone. You don't have to be a freak of nature to play soccer. You don't have to be 7 feet tall or 300 pounds to get on the pitch. And you can play soccer anywhere anytime with just about anything resembling a sphere.
And every nation on earth plays soccer. When I was in Spain one of the great icebreakers in conversation was about soccer. It didn't matter that I was from the United States. We all could talk about Ronaldo or how Real Madrid was Satan's personal team.
So keep your eye on the television this Thursday. If the Yanks beat Ghana and Italy beats the Czech Republic we move on to the round of sixteen. Go Yanks!
