What's Wrong With American Soccer (And What is Soon to be Right)

Before you pass this article over with the simple idea that the words "American" and "soccer" in the same sentence is what is wrong with American soccer, consider this: "More soccer is now broadcast in the United States than in England. The sport just has been revealed to be the second-most popular for Americans 12-24 years old, behind NFL." The bottom line is that even if Americans cannot come to love watching soccer, they are coming to respect it as a sport where real talent and heart are put on display. The problem? The skill level of our national team and league is struggling to keep up with the rapid pace of the growing soccer interest in our country. The result? People either think that soccer really is just meant for English pubs and little leagues or they begin to support other national teams and watch other country's leagues in place of our own.

So why not love Brazil for their style or bamboozling of opposing defenses with intricate and rapid offensive structure? Why not support Manchester United for consistently, whether expected or not, outclassing and, for the most part, outplaying every team they encounter? That's what soccer is all about right? I myself am a massive Chelsea supporter (if you hadn't guessed from my previous blog postings) and will probably never find the courage to support an MLS team more than I do the Blues. Call me a hypocrite. But, imagine to yourself playing high school football in front of your entire student body, but they are all dressed in the supporting team's colors and are all cheering your rivals on because they think you aren't good enough to be supported. Might it be slightly disheartening? And, to take it a step further, try to imagine anyone wanting to come play for your high school if such conditions existed. In my opinion, the only reason the likes of David Beckham and Thierry Henry have graced the pitches of our fledgling league is to get their taste of the "great American dream." They are old enough to not really make it in the big leagues of the world anymore, but can come play for the MLS, make more than guys half their age (and twice their athleticism, although not skill level) and party in the great cities of New York and Los Angeles!

Please do not misunderstand, I love our national team just as much as the next guy and my heart is broken each and every time they build up my hopes by miraculously beating the likes of a number one ranked Spain and then dash them again by losing, in the World Cup nonetheless, to the likes of Ghana. I will also watch MLS matches every time I get the chance, if for no other reason than that the screening of soccer on my limited cable package can be few and far between and I need to take all I can get. But it is also just as hard for me as the next guy to enjoy watching the tired legs of the Colorado Rapids play boot ball as much as I enjoy watching Eden Hazard beautifully back heel for a waiting Torres to meticulously weave an outside-of-the-foot shot through mobs of Newcastle players. Call me a traitor. One of our largest and most disturbing (because I see no possible and much less immediate solution) problems as American soccer lovers is that we are competing for athletic prodigies with baseball, football, and basketball; not to mention that volleyball, wrestling and track come before soccer on the majority of American's favorite sports to play lists. Compare that with Brazil or England or Spain or Italy or France or Ghana or (need I go on?)... where the ultimate measure of one's life is whether or not you can make it to play professionally and where more people believe in soccer as a religion than ecclesiastical institutions. Soccer gets the left-overs for the most part in America and the cream of the crop in every other country.

As much as I have been the bearer of bad news thus far, I am pleased to inform you that all is not lost. There are over 60 Americans playing in top leagues around the world. That does not include those playing in other leagues that are most likely better than the MLS but perhaps not considered a "top" league. That is where it begins. I understand the workings of Landon Donavon's soft heart and the reason he has not permanently moved to a more prestigious league; keeping our best players in our leagues is one of the main ways to make our league better. But it's not time for this yet. We need world-class talent from other countries as well. You won't be so offended by this statement if you think of the top players in the Premier League and then realize that the majority of them are not English. We must continue to grow our players in the most competitive leagues in the world to give them experience for when they play for our national team on a World Cup or even Gold Cup stage. Our biggest problem in these tournaments stems from our players not having huge tournament experience and choking when they are in front of 50,000 fans taking part in the largest sports tournament in the world against players making $1.8 million a year, compared to playing for Real Salt Lake in front of 17,000 against players making $154,000(although the median is just $80,000). As they experience La Liga and Champions or Europa league soccer they will continue to perform better on those national stages. As we become a powerhouse in national soccer, our domestic league will naturally follow suit. Better players from around the world will understand that the level of soccer in the United States has risen and they can find competitive soccer here as well. As much as I hate to admit it, a passion for the game is no longer the only thing driving professional soccer players; money talks. So, with a more competitive and in turn entertaining league we will attract more fans and sponsorship and television deals which will drive up revenue and consequently allow more money for transfer fees and salaries. This will continue to extend down into our semi-professional leagues, college and high-school soccer, as well as our development programs.

Soccer is on the rise in America, and no one is happier to see it than I am. It is going to take time, but to see the strides we have taken just within the past 5 years is incredibly heartening. The other day I saw two soccer plays on SportsCenter's Top 10. Also recently I saw SportsCenter cover the transfer of Robin Van Persie from Arsenal to Manchester United. Four or five years ago such would be unheard of. Nothing makes me happier than to know that the rest of America is catching on to what such a small minority of us know to be the beautiful game.

Joga Bonito

Dallin

My Love for Watching Soccer, Particularly the Blues

This is part two of the two part series that I began in the first posting I did in this blog. As part of me is angry for waiting so long to re-post, another part of me is grateful as I have been witness to some of the most incredible soccer in the past two months. I realize that some will disagree with me when I say that I loved watching the way Chelsea played during the last three or so months of their season, so let me explain.

Part of this portion of the series is to explain why I love watching soccer so much. Why I am willing to wake up at 5 AM to watch a Premier League match live, or why I put effort into requesting certain days off work just so I can watch soccer. It all began with the 2006 FIFA World Cup. I had been playing soccer for a number of years at that time and was fairly confident that I had found something I loved doing, but I still had no desire to watch the sport. I, with the majority of the rest of the country, found the sport dull and uneventful for most of the ninety minutes played. After all, how could it be exciting to watch a sport where scoring only happens, on average, two or three times in an hour and a half; sometimes not happening at all? Because I had a few friends that enjoyed watching it, I spent the month of June engrossed in the most spectacular sporting event that occurs in the World (In 2010,almost half the world tuned in to watch the Finals in South Africa). There was so much passion, so much vision and heart in those players that it was impossible for me to not feel the ole’s when they happened, the beat of the drums, the chanting of national anthems throughout the course of the matches. This feast of football was something that I could not take my eyes off of. The World Cup is still my favorite to watch and waiting four years for the next one is almost more than I can bear.

It was all history after that. I found myself getting soccer wherever and whenever I could. When I reached High School age, because Champions League games were held during the day on weekdays and that so unluckily coincided with school, I found myself skipping class with friends to partake in the history that was made every night in the Champions League. Because of the disinterest most of this country shows in the sport, it is not easy to find a place on television that shows games on a regular basis. Fortunate enough for me, I worked at a job for three years where I watched soccer for the majority of the day at work (although I was keen that my boss not find out it was so, I am fairly confident he knew all along).

Because I was once blinded by the misconception that this is a boring sport to watch, I would like to clear some falsehoods from the way of those that are still missing the pure joy of watching this beautiful game. The complaint I hear the most among these people is how you can watch a game that has so little scoring and sometimes ends scoreless. I have had many wonderful opportunities to explain that the only reason they think like that is because American sports have trained them to. With basketball scores reaching into the hundreds, football measuring progress in terms of ten yards so those watching can feel like something happened even when the score is staying the same, and baseball allowing basically the same with every hit and runner on base, it is easy to understand why a lack of visible progress can be so detrimental to a viewer’s attention span. But once you learn how intricate the passing plays are, how much calculated movement every player in the team is making while they don’t have the ball, how to appreciate a breathtaking save from a keeper or a pinpoint pass or shot, the practice that goes into the perfect free kick, soccer is no longer 22 men kicking a ball back and forth hoping it goes in the net. It is a spectacle of enormous proportions as each individual player moves into correct position and continually evolves into a team unit that works out in every separate match how they are going to unlock the opposition’s defense to score the goal that brings victory. When you can watch football like that, every second is as tantalizing as the next, and the suspense of wondering when that stroke of brilliance will come will leave you on the edge of your seat for the entire 90 minutes.

Returning to another point that I feel I must defend, I will explain why my blood is blue, and why Chelsea FC is the one and only club I will ever support. During the 2006 World Cup mentioned earlier I saw a defender that displayed every trait that I wanted to have as a center back. He was an unparalleled leader, commanding the best from his teammates. He was always in the right place at the right time. He was strong and vicious, making those opposing strikers think twice about entering his territory to score a goal. And when I saw John Terry clear that ball off the line with an overhead kick, I realized that I always wanted to play the game of soccer with as much heart as he did. After the World Cup ended, I realized that I wanted to watch him play more and learn from him. I found he played for Chelsea and I began to watch all their games that I could. This time coincidentally coincided with the Abromavich era at the club and I began to enjoy watching the other Chelsea legends as well. The likes of Lampard, Drogba, Joe Cole, Arjen Robben; these were men that personified Chelsea football and made me a supporter for life. 

Over the years I watched them win numerous cups and league titles. They always seemed to play with heart that many other clubs lacked. Although they spent considerable money on players, they always seemed to come together in a Chelsea family that I loved watching. The epitome of why I love Chelsea can be seen at the end of the 2012 season. After being left for dead by much of the media, Chelsea fought back to claim an FA cup title and their first, ever elusive, Champions League title. Having overcome deficits in both the FA cup and Champions league round of 16, each new obstacle brought with it a declaration of unavoidable failure from the media. Playing on what I believe was pure heart they beat Barcelona and scored in the final minutes against Bayern Munich to win on penalties. Regardless of what others will say to discount them of their win, they deserved it. They had only themselves to blame for their struggles earlier in the season as well as their triumphs in the closing stages. That grit, heart, and team-spirit is what has led to my love of Chelsea Football Club and has made them my Club forever.   

Joga Bonito

Dallin