Yesterday espn.com ran not one, but two articles that were pseudo-soccer bashing (here and here). The difference between these and the normal "I hate soccer, soccer is for sissies, American football - now that's a sport, blah, blah, blah"-type article was that these authors, Jim Caple and Bill Simmons, both claimed to enjoy soccer but still did some discreet bashing by saying they are tired of people shoving it down their throats and forcing them to watch it.
So my question is who exactly is forcing you to watch anything? Is it ESPN who, prior to this World Cup, would show maybe 1 MLS game per week? Was it Fox Soccer Channel, a channel so obscure I had to order a special sports package from my cable company to get it? No, it was these same jackass sportswriters who, years ago, noticed that every kid in the United States was playing soccer instead of Little League or pee-wee football. They saw this and realized, "Gee, every kid in America is playing this sport. It's probably only a matter of time before it becomes popular, maybe even dominant. I guess I better start to get used to it."
Fast forward a few years. Soccer is doing okay, but obviously will never be the biggest sport in America for numerous reasons - diving, revenue system, league structure, etc... ABC and ESPN decide to show every World Cup game in HD and now these guys are hypocritically complaining about people forcing it upon them, when the ones who did the forcing were themselves.
Listen, not everyone loves, or even likes, soccer. That's fine. Not everyone likes hockey either or NBA basketball or (gasp!) baseball. But why do these knuckleheads feel the need to continually go out of their way to bash soccer? If you don't like it, just don't watch it. There's no need to get on your pulpit and tell everyone how boring and soft soccer is and try to force your opinion on us. The media won't (and can't) kill soccer in the United States - not with the ratings this (and the last) World Cup has received. Not with ESPN and ABC finally paying MLS for television rights for the first time this year (as opposed to MLS having to pay them, which has always been the case previously). Not with MLS owners building soccer-only stadiums across the country. Face it, soccer is likely here to stay, but will be at best the number 4 pro league (behind NFL, MLB, and NBA, but possibly in front of NHL). So save you're breath and your bashing and just enjoy the beautiful game. Who knows, you may even come to enjoy it...
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4 comments:
Portugal would have won against France if they hadn't tried taking so many dives in the second half. And Simmons is right that Americans won't stand for diving and the second-rate MLS. However, I feel that soccer could become the #3 pro sport in America, by surpassing the NBA. College basketball will always have a place in America, pro basketball can go.
Don't forget NASCAR!!! I predict it soon overtakes the NFL due to the upcoming Will Ferrell movie!
Soccer will never make a huge impact on the US pro sports landscape. It's a catch 22 situation. Let's break it down:
We need a world class national team. America hates being second best in anything. If there is a sport we aren't the best in, we inherently write it off as stupid or boring rather than admit domination by another country.
To get a dominant national team, we need to attract the top athletes to play soccer. If the best US athletes played soccer, we would dominate like you cannot believe. Think about an NFL cornerback playing midfield. How about a safety as a defender. A 6'4" NBA guard at forward to knock in any ball in the air. It would be amazing!
To get the best athletes to play soccer we need a world class MLS. A young kid needs to think, I can go pro in soccer and make 10 million a year if I'm good. This is also where media coverage comes in. I too and sick of soccer bashing. It's a cool sport, and kids should be proud to play.
To offer a strong league and top salaries, we need TV money. That will never happen by offering sponsers a little logo on top of the screen in commercial free soccer matches. To me, this is the most important factor in soccer's insurmountable climb.
Interestingly, it seems the best way to achieve a strong MLS and develop talent through increased money is to raise interest by the national team becoming a force. But to build the national team, we need a strong MLS! We're screwed.
All we need are 11 Matt Kirk's, Ted. No fuss, no muss...
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