Does the World Cup’s crazy popularity mean America is changing? Sort of.
As I’ve been traveling the last couple of weeks, World Cup fever is everywhere. In restaurants, in hotel lobbies, in airports, people are craning to see the latest action, the newest updates on standings.
We actually care that the American team got ripped off by bad reffing in their come-back stand against Slovenia.
And a lot of American beer will be tipped down a lot of American throats as we go up against Algeria on Wednesday.
So what does it all mean? How is this most New-World-Orderish of sports (no hitting? no tackling? no touching the ball with your hands?) making its way into the hearts and minds of America?
I still remember my first glimpse of European soccer. I was a kid and cable TV had just come to my town and ESPN — desperate for content, I guess – -was broadcasting Manchester United games at 2 am.
The chanting, sing-song cheers of the fans were impossible to ignore and soon I was caught up by the action on the field. I loved the pace of play, the stretches of strategic wandering and drifting followed by sudden strikes on goal.
But most Americans didn’t seem to care much, and our sports diets were already sated by truly home-grown passions: basketball, baseball, and (king of kings) football.
So how did we reach this moment in 2010, with the World Cup roar of vuvuzelas creeping not-so-slyly into our consciousness?
The answer, of course, is those wily kids. For a generation now, soccer has been the most popular school sport in the U.S., far outstripping our traditional pass-times.
Ask your average 20-something about the ins and outs of baseball and you’ll draw a blank stare. But they know soccer intimately.
One other factor is immigration. Latin America is, demographically speaking, the latest big thing to hit American shores, and all those newcomers are bringing their sports passions with them.
So does this new globalism in our sports diet reflect a shift in our culture writ large? The answer is Yes, but a qualified Yes.
The truth is, Americans have always been what I think of as grudging globalists.
We happily hoover up the cultural products (and yes, the political ideas) that come from other parts of the world.But then we insist that they are ours.
From the Beatles to James Bond to Mexican food, from Starbucks coffee to SONY electronics and reality TV, we’re game for just about anything — so long as we can pretend to own it.
Americans aren’t isolationists, we’re assimilationists.
My guess is that soccer feels much the same to most young people who play it and watch it. It doesn’t have that same exotic flavor that it had when I was watching Manchester in the 1980s.
It’s as American as the foreign-made shoes on our feet and the foreign-made music on our Ipods.
Which means that when we go up against Algeria, nothing needs be said except Go USA!
Other than the observation that people who having nothing else to do, i.e. in airports and hotel lobbies, are watching the games on daytime TV I’m waiting for evidence, such as TV ratings, that shows that the US is any more interested in soccer than in previous years…
England’s world cup win in 1966 that was supposed to ignite soccer fever in the US was nearly a half-century ago now. My experience in Alexandria VA was that all kids were shoved into kid soccer but abandoned it as soon as possible to play and watch HS football and basketball.
I think what would help make this more popular here, and we might try it out at other sporting events, is to start importing or making those horns the South Africans use. BUZZZZZZZZ!
It might be a whole lot of fun at a golf match.
Wait a minute, Brian….You’re saying Glenn Beck is waaaay out in right field????
Here’s what he said on Fox News:
“I don’t get the baseball thing, but the soccer thing, I hate it so much — probably because the rest of the world likes it so much, and they riot over it, and they continually try to jam it down our throat… It doesn’t matter how you sell it to us. It doesn’t matter how many celebrities you get. It doesn’t matter how many bars open early. It doesn’t matter how many beer commercials they run. We don’t want the World Cup. We don’t like the World Cup. We don’t like soccer. We want nothing to do with it. You can package it any way — you can spend all kinds of money. You can force it on our television sets. We will not enjoy the World Cup.”
Beck is such an idiot.
Anyway I have not been exposed to soccer that much, but I am REALLY getting into this World cup.
Americans don’t like soccer because we’re not that good at it. It’s that plain and simple.
Not yet.
We also have a crowded sports market which soccer has to compete in here; for players, fans and attention.
But this US team is good and very exciting. Our tender (see the new terms I am learning), Howard is a very interesting story and one of best in the world. We have a great shot at going to the 16.
Baseball is strategy. 90% of the time, nothing is happening. The pitcher has the ball. But will the runner on first try to steal? What signals is the 3rd base coach giving? What pitch will be thrown next? Suspense.
Football is strategy is motion. You had better decide quickly, and then watch it all happen at once.
Soccer is kick the ball, kick the ball, kick the ball.
not that i know anything about soccer, but really? no strategy in soccer? it’s laughable on its face.
If it wasn’t for the media promoting the crap of it no one would care. I am a 20 something and i could care less about soccer. Go Phils and Eagles
Huh, ya know I played soccer in high school and in the Corps. I even played against the South Koreans and we got our butts kicked, big time. Personally, I wouldn’t watch the World Cup soccer, or the Super Bowl or the World Series. I don’t watch the Olympics anymore since it went pro, and the only reason we ever watched golf was because we were so starved to see something GREEN in January. I don’t understand the enjoyment some people get out of watching sports. Just don’t get it. Complete waste of time. For that matter, the one “sport” I really don’t get? NASCAR! Drive a knife into my eyes please. BORRRRRRRRING. Boxing I can watch for 15 minutes or so, maybe some college wrestling or maybe a little bit of a hockey game, but other than that, forget it.
So put me in the “baffled and quite happy I’m not forced to watch sports” category.
I’ve gone from absolutely no interest in the sport to young kids playing with no coach, to coaching, to learning and training everywhere I could to help them, to getting licensed…meanwhile, subscribing to Fox Soccer Channel and watching the EPL. Following the league and playing fantasy soccer and becoming a big fan of the sport. Learning the aspects of the game, vernacular, rules, players and personalities got me into it. I even play the game myself every week. Come to think of it, I didn’t care about the NFL until I understood the game and learned the players names and their personalities. Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have that same appeal. I’m proud to be a fan of the beautiful game and finally understand what the rest of the world is excited about!
A couple of points:
The author says “no hitting? no tackling? no touching the ball with your hands?” To that I say, what version of soccer are you watching?? Soccer is a contact sport where people can get SERIOUSLY injured. Just ask Eduardo, Cech, et al. There is regular bloodshed. You’ll see more blood on a soccer pitch than you will on a baseball diamond or a basketball court. Only rugby or football will see more blood regularly (IMHO). These guys (and girls) are slamming into each other at full speed with no pads or protection. Is it legal? No, but it happens in every game. Regarding “touching the ball”… it’s a strategy, albeit an illegal one. Ask Maradona. ;) Again, happens every game. And the term tackling was part of soccer long before football!
JDM obviously has no understanding of soccer. The point he makes about baseball applies to soccer as well. At first glance, baseball is just a bunch of guys standing there waiting for the ball, but if you’ve played the sport above “playground” level, you know that EVERY player has an assignment on EVERY play. This player backs up that one, or covers a base in place of someone, etc. Soccer is the same. What you describe as “kick the ball, kick the ball… ” is what coaches refer to as “kick ball” (clever eh?) and is discouraged from the time the players are 10 (or younger) and you will not see that at the World Cup level! Look closer. Soccer is all about strategy – from the time the coach picks a formation, to how the ball is moved from one side of the pitch to the other. Watch the players off the ball and you will see them working to get into a passing lane, moving diagonally at pace to receive the ball (or drag a defender away from the play), or taking up a supporting position behind the ball to give the person with the ball an option. If you see them standing, it’s usually because they are already in the correct position, not because they are lazy. All kicks (passes, clearances, etc) have an intended target or a purpose at this level. That is not to say that all kicks are successful, but I can guarantee you that even the worst of teams in the World Cup is not out there just to kick the ball. Well, England might be, but that’s a whole other story… :)
soccerphobia is virtually xenophobia, “I don’t like it, because we have better(real american) sports, no matter how other 5 billion on this planet are carzy about an unamerican sports. soccer is a label for a lot things.
In deed, the premise is American always have the best of everything in this whole world especailly after WWII. Like Roman-barbarian, Great Britain-India, are they gonna be superior forever?
Nothing is unchangeable, an argument watersheding the population of this country.
Well, here’s your link to ratings information. http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/cable-tv/e3i80aa430b917f5eca8ad7e3e7734f1081
Nielsen said there’s been a big increase this year in America and that makes sense since kids and parents alike understand it. Yes, the injuries are over-acted and there are some slow games (as with any sport) but there definitely is strategy. Soccer without strategy is a bunch of 7 year olds following the ball around the field like honey-bees. Soccer with strategy is graceful, amazing, jaw-dropping kicks with footwork that Fred Astaire would admire. If soccer looks easy on TV at the World Cup then the athletes are doing their job and making it look beautiful. Players run about 7 miles per game and referees run about 11 miles per game. There are no time outs. It’s a serious sport. Bad things happen. Just google “Oupa Ngulube vs Black Aces” and you’ll see the gut-wrenching video of a player’s career-ending injury. Low-scoring? Yes. Boring? No.
Mervel,
Glad to see you’re enjoying it. I, too, am a late convert. One point: Most of the time Tim Howard’s position is called “keeper.”
As to Beck, wonder if he knows that the most popular World Cup of all time, in terms of ticket sales, was the 1994 version–held in the USA.
I finally agree wholeheartedly with Bret!
ahahah your right anon! See I know nothing I can’t even get that right!
But it is still fun.
JDM I’m sorry you are unable to appreciate the sport. I’m not telling what to do but perhaps it would be to your benefit to try and understand the sport before saying it’s just kick the ball. I’d love to see you kick a ball from 20 yards out with pure precision. And Bret don’t get me started on NASCAR. It is SO much more than cars going in a circle. Again, learn the sport and you’ll see there is a lot more to it. Signed, an avid soccer and NASCAR fan. (sounds weird but true)
Here are some TV ratings. World Cup..about 3 million, up from 2006 and will get a bump if the US makes it further.
US Open Golf 10 million
Lakers/Celtics game 7..just under 19 million
seems about right judging extent of US interest.
That sounds about right to me also. It will be very interesting to see what the viewership is if we move into the final 16 or even advance beyond that.
Let me play w/ the numbers: 17 mln. plus saw the US/England game, which is more than all bot Game 7 of the NBA Finals (which were played between the 2 most storied franchises in NBA history).
MLS, a baby-league, 14 years old, a league w/ arguably mediocre quality, already has a higher average attendance than both NBA and NHL.
The demographic changes, the whole generation growing up w/ the game, the availability of games on TV(there are 3 soccer-only channels)…
Soccer/football, the beautiful game is already America’s game. Think of how many million Americans will skip work tomorrow to watch the US/Algeria game.
The soccer-haters are a dying breed. They are on the wrong side of history and demographics. And by dying breed, I mean, literally. The baby boomers are on the tick-tock, and with them American exceptionism will be over! Welcome to the post-American world! Welcome to the beautiful game…in case you are wondering, yes, w/in 20 yrs. soccer/football will be more popular in the US as a SPECTATOR sport than baseball…it’s inevitable!!!
Go TEAM USA tomorrow!
Best thing about soccer: no commercials. And it’s over in two hours.
Personally just give me some NFL or college football. I don’t know what it is about soccer but I just can’t watch it. I’m only able to watch maybe 15-20 minutes then I get bored. And is it just me or does like almost every player tries to fake to draw a yellow card? Some of those hits are just bumps and yet the guys are rolling on the ground like they lost their leg. Can football season start already!?