All organizations have to start somewhere. We don’t think about the origins of leagues like the NBA, NFL, or MLB because they have been around for so long, they are just kind of a given at this point. Through wars and depressions, these titans of sporting entertainment have lasted the test of time, and are only getting stronger. We can’t imagine what life would be like without them, because they have always been there. And yet the MLS can’t seem to get off the ground, and it is entirely too easy to imagine life without it.
The world wouldn’t really be all that different. I don’t want to crush anyone’s dreams here, but it is a rare day when you hear that a kid wants to grow up to play in the MLS (especially when you consider the quality of foreign leagues). That’s kind of like dreaming of growing up to play second baseman for the AA League Corpus Christi Hooks (Sidenote: If I gave you an infinite number of guesses at what the Hooks’ slogan is, how many would it take you to get “This is Hooks baseball”? Like two? Isn’t that every baseball team’s slogan? Where has all the creativity gone?) And it’s weird when you think about it because so many kids play soccer. I played soccer for over 10 years in my youth, and never once did it cross my mind that I, or any of my teammates, would go pro.
Somewhere, there is some normal guy who played in a youth league with LeBron James, or Kobe Bryant, or Michael Jordan. You know there is absolutely no way those greats weren’t playing basketball by the time they turned 5. You’ve probably seen footage of the young Manning brothers tossing the pigskin around with their dad. There is unquestionably a large emphasis on starting prospective American athletes young... just not on soccer.
Why, you ask? I don’t think anyone has a definite answer. Clearly, the US has never been one to follow the flock (see: metric system). Perhaps it is a need to be different, to excel in areas that other countries can’t even touch. Nations around the world see their best baseball and basketball players migrate to the MLB and NBA. But the finest soccer stars, the ones that comprise our national team, they don’t generally play club soccer in our country, maybe because America has no intention on competing for supremacy in a sport that dominates hundreds of cultures across the globe.
Another possibility is that America has an aversion to the actual game play itself. It is the only professional sport that does not revolve around the hands. It seems a tad silly to suggest that Podophobia may be the downfall of soccer in the US, but stranger things have happened. Also, soccer doesn’t really fit in with America’s spectator culture. It is hard to sell soccer to Americans when it is quite possible the match will end in a 0-0 draw. The average American does not want to spend two hours of his/her life to witness an outcome that seems completely inconclusive (in reality, a draw can say a lot about a match, especially for the away team. Forcing a draw on another team’s home turf can be a major victory). We want high scores and constant excitement. Look at what we did to hockey. You played 3 periods AND overtime and it’s STILL tied? Preposterous! Go shoot 1 on 1 breakaways until somebody wins. On the other hand, soccer is much more of a chess match, where strategy and execution often trump talent and skill. We don’t really go for that.
However, I personally think the reason behind the struggles of the MLS is much more economic than that. Let me take you on a trip down memory lane for a moment. I don’t recall exactly which grade I was in, maybe 7th, maybe 9th, maybe 5th. Doesn’t matter. My friend Spencer and I did a report on racial percentages in the major sports (I believe including NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS). Our findings were completely unsurprising, as we “discovered” discrepancies, like how the NBA is predominantly black and NHL predominantly white. Shockers, right? Our conclusions, however, I feel were much more insightful. We concluded that the sports which required less equipment, basketball and soccer, usually took hold in areas with a higher black population and more poverty. Whereas, football, hockey, and baseball (which require much more precise equipment and territory) took place in more influential, white areas.
Applied on a global scale, our modest theory makes a lot sense. What do you need to play soccer? A ball and a goal. Not even necessarily a real soccer ball or real soccer goal, but anything you can obtain that will serve those purposes. While segments of America feel poverty’s crushing grasp, overall, the country can afford the luxuries of football equipment, goalposts, referees, and beautiful state of the art stadiums. A lot of other countries can’t. And thus, the people turn to soccer.
Despite the disconcerting state of the MLS, the US does put together a legitimately competitive national squad. A squad that, in fact, defeated Italy 1-0 yesterday in an international friendly. Although the game technically means nothing (there is no statistical significance, if you will), but it is a HUGE confidence boost for this American team. By my count, USA has beaten both of the last 2 World Cup champions (Italy and Spain) within the last 3 years. That has to mean something, doesn’t it.
I would like to conclude with a real world example. Last night, I was watching Sportscenter’s Top 10 plays (well, I only got to see plays 2 and 1, because someone thinks he’s too good for plays 10 through 3, and would rather watch Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd try to convince themselves that anyone cares about what they have to say... you know who you are). This was the number two play. One of the prettier goals you will ever see. The number one play was a routine alley-oop that I can see 5 times a game watching the Clippers. A nice play, but nowhere near as extraordinary as that goal.
This, my friends, is the bias American shows towards the game of soccer. It is secondhand to conventional American sports. It is possible that it will never grasp a firm hold on this country, but I think it will definitely more than take a Round of 16 loss to Ghana to capture it. See you in Brazil, boys.
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