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Why isn't Soccer (Futbal) as popular in the United States

I mean as if it wasn't obvious enough. The most popular game in the world is popular here in the U.S., it seems almost every community has a league, it is easy enough to project that from the youthful participation levels both among boys and girls that there is enough of a base in the sport. I mean weren't we the country that coined the phrase "Soccer mom"?

So why is it when the world cup comes around the U.S. has such a poor showing, both in performance and in interest? Sure TV ratings were up for the 2006 world cup, but unlike England where 3/4 of the country was glued to the matches, most Americans would be hard pressed to even tell you if there was even a match going on. You can find more housewives picking NCAA teams and filling out a "bracket" a few months ago, than you can probably find guys who even know who is playing in the World Cup matches. With obvious exceptions like in Miami where 90% of everyone has roots someplace else - many of which from Latin and South America. Yet even in soccer crazed Miami the U.S. Major League Soccer was a major league loser. OK political considerations aside in the last example. Let's scrutinize why Americans as a whole have not warmed up to the "beautiful game".

Take this last world cup. The United States boasted a strong team, ranked at No. 5 in the world before the tournament. They ran into a Czech buzzsaw in the first game, and unfortunate for them, the older more experienced in world and tournament play Czechs were at full stregnth and would have been a rough go for anyone in the tournament. The mighty hopes of the U.S. team were crushed by a lackluster U.S. showing, an overwhelming Czech side and the result 3-0 may not have meant the death of the U.S. team, but clearly for the interest of the American fan, it may have well been. Consequently the Czech were never the same after this match, and as I have stated, the U.S. would have been better playing the older Czech team later rather than earlier in the tournament, as they failed to win again in the tournament. The U.S. team made up for its early stumble with a heroic effort against the eventual Champions Italy. Proving that the U.S. team was as good as advertised and deserving of the ranking. However despite that great effort, why the sport has not caught on has never been more glaring. First of all the result a TIE was a bit of a disappointment. However not nearly as much a disappointment as the means by which the tie was attained.

It's the officiating I am talking about specifically. It is just so pervasive in the sport. Really how many games were decided by officials, the penalty kicks, the red cards. You know Americans love sport so long as it seems like its a Fair game! Then with the amount of money wagered on these events, because in most countries, unlike our fair United States, they do allow the sport in sport and people can actually wager on these contests. With the amount of money riding on these contests, its easy to see how mispropriety or even construed mispropriety can somewhat taint the spectacle. What is that, mispropriety in Soccer, how dare I make such insinuations? Well look no further than the second U.S. game. The two redcards against the U.S. sending off of two U.S. players, by the referee, for plays that were barely even marginally fouls. The thought of an Anti-American sentiment, and of course "retribution" or evening of the field after an earlier ejection of an Italian for an overt elbow to the head which drew blood from the U.S. player, immediately seemed, well let's say, suspicious. This was after all an Italian team where several players were currently under investigation for fixing matches in the Italian league. Imagine that, corrupt Italians??? Well its not just the Italians, I mean how many critical games were decided by these same referees. Wasn't mighty Brazil eliminated by a penalty kick by the French. Who exactly awarded the penalty kick. Ah, but yes there was a foul there. Well that brings me to another 'element' of Soccer which I know is much to my distaste, and that is the theatrical element. I mean the art of the flop. That one particular penalty kick sure looked to me like it was awarded for a "flop".

In a game so tightly contested that a penalty (which as we established can be heavily influenced by one person, the referee) often decides the match. It is in every teams best interest to attempt to influence a call for a penalty. Thus the theatrics or as I have so labelled "the flop". Sure this is a tough gruelling sport, and the men who play it are great athletes. However in some cases where one man just brushes another he "flops" in a terrible heap, writhing in pain, only to bounce up and streak down the pitch the next minute. It is this precise theatre the "flopping" which is so prevalent in the sport that I know irks most American sportsfans. We tend to like our sports heros to not get knocked down by a stiff breeze from an onrushing defender. In fact we tend to rather like collisions and some nice "hits". Perhaps all this flopping makes the Soccer player look, well less manly to the Americans. After all our Women dominate the sport in the world theater, perhaps it is percieved as a Womans sport. Thus somewhat less "manly", at least that was my impression as a kid growing up.

Of course there is also the matter of the percieved impropriety. I mentioned the corrupt Italians and the alleged match fixing, and I wont have to go back to the countless incidents, like a Singaporian Syndicate fixing British premiere league matches. Nor the Italians in this latest world cup. I will question the motives of some of the referees though. Witness this little nugget ripped from the headlines, oh just today:

"Last week, a referee was arrested in the southwestern city of Wroclaw and accused of fixing first and second division matches in exchange for bribes as high as 20,000 zlotys (5,000 euros, 7,000 dollars), or around four times the monthly minimum wage in Poland. "

(from Yahoo news, 7/13/2006)

Again in a match so tightly contested where one call can make a huge difference, and in a world cup where so much was decided by the opinion of one man. One can't help but raise an eyebrow of skepticism. Perhaps the real reasons why Soccer hasn't caught on in the U.S. is beyond the scope of my little discussion. Or maybe the Americans are just not fond of the "flop". Still the facts remain, and so does the sport and its popularity in America seems secure. It is a great game for boys and girls to play. To gain relevance in America though, it has quite a ways to go. It will take much more than a few wins by the National team to fix that I am afraid.

Head-butt that!

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