Does Soccer Matter?

The USA will never "get" soccer. It will never be, in the USA, more than a sport played by kids and those few who grow up in "soccer communities." Oh, sure, many bandwagon fans will jump on board over the next month as the World Cup gets underway. People who have no clue what the English Premiere League, or even MLS, is will watch and cheer on the United States club. Most of those "fans" won't be able to name a single player on the team pre-World Cup. Once the USA is eliminated (more than likely quarterfinals IF they're lucky enough to get out of the group stage) most of those same "fans" will go back to not giving a rip about soccer for another 4 years outside of driving their kids to games at the YMCA.

I hate that soccer holds such a lowly status in our country. I genuinely love and appreciate the game. As a hockey player and fanatic I do get irritated at the soft, wussy little soccer players taking dives and flopping around on the ground like a fish out of water if someone breathes in their general direction, but overall I enjoy the game.

Why won't the sport take off in the USA? Football (as it's known everywhere else) is the single most popular sport in all the world yet it's a fringe sport in our country and always will be. Why? The answer is the soccer culture in this country. We're soccer snobs. In general, two groups of people play soccer in the USA: children and upper middle/upper class white kids. The really top tier soccer players in the USA, for the most part, come from wealthier than average families and are groomed as soccer players from day 1. Kind of like gymnasts and figure skaters. They attend camps and developmental programs almost from the start. Your lower class kids usually can't afford that kind of thing so they quickly lose interest in soccer. A country's sports passions are built on the playgrounds and streets. When was the last time you saw a spontaneous playground soccer game break out? Unless a lot of Latino kids are involved my answer would be "never." It's basketball and American football that are played in the neighborhoods and streets, especially in the inner cities and so soccer becomes a niche sport.

Football, however, is totally the opposite around the world. The reason it is so insanely popular is much of the rest of the world is not rich. Even if you're "poor" in America you're well off compared to (literally) 90% of the rest of the world. Kids in other countries can't afford the equipment necessary for so many other sports. What do you need to play football (soccer)? Let's see...a ball and...well, that's about it. You need something that can be kicked and will roll decently well. You don't need certain clothing or equipment or rims of a certain height. If you have a ball and a somewhat flat patch of ground you've got a game. In many villages around the world there might be only 1 ball for the entire village, but at least they have a ball. And so the kids grow up playing "the beautiful game."

Some of it, especially in Europe, is cultural. Kids are raised on soccer like our kids in the USA are raised on American football and so they develop the passion of their parents. But for much of the world the passion for soccer stems from an economic reason. They have no other options. So they've learned to love a game that is incredibly simple and maddeningly complex at the same time.

I'm excited about this World Cup because I enjoy cheering on our national team and watching the best players in the world participate in something that is the truest world championship of any sport (how can we call NHL, NBA, MLB or NFL teams "world" champions when they only play teams from the USA and Canada?). But I'm also excited because of what it represents. To Africa, soccer is a diversion from the incredible poverty, constant wars, and rampant diseases such as malaria and AIDS. It's a chance for that continent to show that it has more to offer the world than the negative things it's known for. It's a chance for South Africa to show the progress its made over the last few years and maybe help break free of its image as a racist, hate-filled place (an image I wish Alabama could shed as well).

Starting June 11 I'm definitely cheering for the Yanks (as is the American team is known), but I'm also excited to watch an event that brings people of so many cultures and economic statuses together. Hopefully some little kid watching in a forgotten village or slum somewhere around the world will hear about the heroes of their country and dream that one day that can be them too. Too many places around the world are dreamless. Kids have no hope of a better life, but for many soccer provides that escape and gives kids a chance to dream. Game on!