Eleven Players in Search of a Fan Base

For the last thirty years, soccer sycophants have professed the coming golden age of soccer in the U.S.   The first professional league in the 1970s and the dynamism of clubs like the New York Cosmos with a who’s who in past prime European and Latin American stars did not do it.  The 1994 World Cup and the subsequent 1999 Women’s World Cup, though having the distinction of women ripping off shirts to celebrate goals, did not manage it.  During the 2010 World Cup, the U.S. men’s team won their group, highlighted by Landon Donovan’s magical goal against Algeria.  It was the Americans first time to win their group in an eon and to date, it has not managed to ignite American passion for soccer.  On each occasion, commentators have said that soccer had turned a corner and each time, American soccer fans, like unlucky grooms, have been stranded at the altar.   

I have a couple of theories as to why this is so and much of it is ingrained in the American psyche.  Additionally, it should be known I’m a fan and love the sport and so I write this article from that point of view.  Yet first, I should mentioned what is not a reason for its stagnate popularity.  I do not believe it has much to do with the pace of the game and whether it is “boring” or not.  I personally find basketball a dreadfully boring game yet it is quite popular.  Even my beloved sport of baseball, considered boring by many people, is the national pastime.  Secondly, I don’t believe it has much to do with the fact that the U.S. is not good at it so therefore, Americans write it off.  If there is one thing that Americans love it is an underdog and they have relished being in such a role in the past (my Russian readers will fondly recall the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team).   

Still, there are three reasons that might explain the lack of soccer’s success in the U.S.  One, it sounds silly but Americans have a problem with ties.  Like the person who only sees things as right or wrong, Americans can handle victory or defeat but the ambiguity of a tie sends them into a catatonic state.  To the average American, if nothing is resolved, nothing is achieved and the tie runs contrary to our sense of how battles are fought.  Two, the acceptance of faked injuries, something for which some national and club teams are notorious.  To the American mindset, the faking of an injury to procure a call or possession of the ball, or worse a penalty shot, is bad form and the height of poor sportsmanship.  It is also puzzling that many national teams and announcers accept it with a nod and a wink, as if it were a playful indiscretion and not cheating.   

Lastly, Americans are beset with a litany of sports options with longer and greater histories and connections to the United States.  Baseball, football, basketball and hockey are rooted in the 19^th-century and are an ingrained component of American sports culture.  That does not even include the sports which have regional dominance and preference like lacrosse and field hockey.  We also have various levels of these sports, from high school to minor leagues to colleges to the professional leagues.  Americans simply have little time to devote to a new passion.   

As I’ve said, I’m a fan of the sport.  I root for the U.S. but I understand we lack the infrastructure for young soccer stars to rise as they do in Europe and Latin America.  Perhaps, we will never have the tradition and the abilities to consistently challenge such powers as Brazil or Spain but we will always be competitive and there is a chance that one day, we will shock the world.  We’ve done it before.