Improving USA no longer second-rate (football-soccer)

[Anarcho-Socialist]

Improving USA no longer second-rate
By Paresh Soni

The USA face England in Chicago on Saturday in a friendly, and the question many people might be asking is who cares? Not many English players, it seems, judging by the cast of star names who will not be present at the Soldier Field. There will be no Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard or Wayne Rooney on show.

And the American media, while taking more notice of the Premiership recently - particularly in the light of Malcolm Glazer's takeover of Manchester United - is unlikely to devote huge amounts of air time, newspaper pages or web space to the game.

For despite the popularity of the game at college level, and the success on the world stage of the women's team, soccer still lags well behind American football, baseball and basketball in terms of coverage. But the USA team's performances in recent years do warrant respect. This weekend's game in Chicago - which will be a 60,000 sell-out - is being seen by the American players and supporters as a chance to confirm their enhanced status.

(snip)

While England are sixth in the Fifa world rankings, Saturday's opponents - who have been thrashed in the other five meetings between the teams - are only four places behind them. In the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, Bruce Arena guided the USA team to the quarter-finals - the same stage reached by England - where they were beaten 1-0 by Germany.

More at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4587247.stm

[musiclawyer]

I hope USA wins big

Send a message that we are tired of countries sending their B teams. ESPN noon PST

[bennywhale]

4. The message won't be acknowledged. Eriksson will make 11 substitutions

at half time and no-one will give a toss about the score. Its frustrating but thats the nature of England friendlies.

[musiclawyer]

1. I hope USA wins big

Send a message that we are tired of countries sending their B teams. ESPN noon PST

[bennywhale]

2. The Americans are yet to embrace "The beautiful game". When they

eventually do, which must be inevitable due to its merits, they will realise what the entire planet has been doing for the past millenia. Kicking a ball about.

A more beautiful site in this world, i know not of.

If America could just embrace it they would all benefit from its addictive beauty immensely. However i don't think they will be much impressed with the England Team turning up with the tea lady in goal. They might as well have sent Scotland.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

5. I think it is only a matter of time

I think a game called "football" where a ball is exclusively carried and thrown about, interceded by many stoppages and commercials isn't sustainable.

[Bob3]

6. American Football seems to be doing okay.

Not only is the final damn near an national holiday, even the minor league games (i.e. the Colleges) have a fanatical following and are all over TV. There's even a minor league in Europe.

Soccer has to carve it's own niche out and develop it's own fans - it can't compete head on with Football or Baseball or Basketball.
They tied that in the 70-80's and the league ended up folding.

Hell Pele played for the cosmos in the 70's. That didn't establish soccer here, Having the world cup here didn't do it, The US women's team winning the world cup didn't do it, Young Mr. Abu won't do it. It's going to take time - lots of it. US Soccer has been chasing the magic bullet for 30 years - there isn't' one.

[bennywhale]

7. Football shouldn't have to have a "niche", it is the global game.

If you are anywhere on the planet the one language everyone speaks is football. I've played football with strangers in countries across the world, it forges friendships, it breaks down barriers.

What was the first thing the German and British soldiers did when they crossed into no mans land on Christmas day during WW1 in an unofficial ceasefire? They played football.

You see it can even end wars, if it wasn't for those pesky generals. football is the answer to the worlds problems, if only the Americans would learn to play it.

[Bob3]

8. All sports are a niche - not everybody follows everything

Soccer included - I've spoken to people from england who can't stand football - One was a rugby fan the other was mad for cricket. It takes all kinds to make a world.

Soccer will never be the number one sport in America. Ever. That moment passed in the 19th century when Baseball took root here and soccer took root else where and will not come back. I think there is an interesting book to be written on the rise of Spectator Sports in the late 19th early 20th century. Before that people played games they didn't watch them.

And soccer has also started wars - At least one in Latin America to my knowledge and the fans in Italy are not impressing anyone these days with their behavior.

[bennywhale]

9. Football does not start wars that is ridiculous. A match may be a spark

for something underlying, like it was in Bosnia also. Its not a case of "football taking root". Football is the oldest recorded game. The rules happened to be finalised in the 19th century, but recorded games go back centuries.

Its the simplicity of it thats the beauty. Baseball, basketball, American football all need specialist equipment. Football doesn't even need a ball. I used to play for hours as a kid with a stone.

Its universal and it is the global game. RE;rugby and cricket in Britain. They are the niche games played by mostly people from public schools and yorkshire respctfully.

People did watch sports pre-20century. Half a million people used to line the Tyne to watch a yearly boat race in the 17th century. The Olympics in ancient Greece, and unofficial football right across England for centuries.

The history of the American situation is not the history of the world. you should remember that.

And God only knows how people chose rounders, sorry baseball, over football.

[Bob3]

11. I don' t know why baseball became America's game

When Soccer became everybody else's game. The Civil war in the US may have had a part of in that - Baseball became the game of the Union army and the soldier's carried it home after the war.

Ancient Rome, Greece, and unofficial games notwithstanding -my point is that mass spectator sports with organized professional teams and leagues, schedules, uniforms, tickets and programs are a product of the late 19th and early 20th century. For example: Highfield was built around 1913; Wrigley Field in 1905. The Cincinnati reds formed in 1876 followed closely by the rest of the national league. The American League formed in 1901 (out of a preexisting league) The first FA cup tournament was in 1881; The first World Series in 1903. I have an Everton hat somewhere around here that says 1878 which I presume is the year the team was founded. It was all a part of the same social trend.

The cricket fan I spoke to in England was born in India. Apparently in India they refer to cricket as an Indian game that just happened to be invented in England.

And don't tell anybody from New Zealand that Rugby's a niche sport played by people from public schools. That would make them cry big tears.

[bennywhale]

14. Every game is a niche game except football which is a global

way of life. Anyway why is the baseball thing called the "World Series"?

(New Zealand has a population less than that of London. thats a niche.)

[EvolveOrConvolve]

10. Isn't sustainable????

The American "Football" Super Bowl is the most watched single event television program in the world. Team revenues are in the billions of American dollars, and attendance averages are extremely high. We've started exporting what has traditionally been an exclusively American game overseas.

It most definitely is sustainable.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

12. I was being facetious

:P

[bennywhale]

13. That simply isn't true. The world cup

final is the most watched sporting event in the world. Football is a global game American football is an American game.

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. It's because they say the Superbowl is a single event

They claim that makes it different from the final of the World Cup, because that has other games leading up to it. Of course, so does the Superbowl, but its American promoters pretend they're separate, so they can make the claim.

[Bob3]

3. it's a sell out because England is playing

When the big name English teams come over here (Man U, Liverpool) they can sell out the big arenas. When the US soccer league plays the crowds are smaller a lot smaller. Even the US national team does not play to packed houses.

I suspect the reason is that with Satellite and web casts and Tivo and the like that people that want to follow Soccer can follow the English league easily enough - while the US league struggles. The only thing that is going to make soccer a major sport in the united states (if that ever happens) is time lots of it, about 25-30 years time for the teams to get some sense of history and tradition that are such a part of the English league teams' mystique. Most of the English clubs are over a 100 years old - MLS is ten years old.