Take it easy

[Caintona]

I have been on this board since it was started and other boards like it since before MLS first kicked off in 96. I quit reading this board so much as I've gotten older and have less time to read this board. I have tried to keep up with the amount of coverage the US is getting mainstream and I have been incredibly pleased with it. Case in point is the Article about Arena in NY Times magazine this weekend. It is maybe the most indepth article about the US team i have ever seen in print. So I am very satisfied with the level of coverage it is getting sure there could be more we always want more.

There seems to be an overly negative point of view about the coverage this thing is getting. Put some perspective on this whole thing. The ball is rolling. Interest is piqued. Casual sports fans are interested. I remember watching the 86 90 94 world cups. and I don't remember there being any kind of exposure for the US team. If there was exposure for soccer in general it wasn't about the US team. Just by the fact that the US has a team that can compete with anyone in the world is going to make the public more interested. Think about it. Who follows likes track and field? But every four years it dominates the sports world because of the olympics. And I love it too.

Take a deep breath and enjoy things like this studio 90 on ussoccer. Even just the US Soccer community page right here gives me more than enough information that I could ever want about everything about the world cup. Sure I would like to be able to watch it all on ESPN, but who cares. If the people want it they will get it. No amount of us bitching about it is going to change that unless its a majority thing.

To relate this to my beloved Oklahoma Sooners football team, we always say to fans of teams that talk trash when we lose to them. Act like you've been there before and only then will we respect you. Success is the only thing that is going to take this thing mainstream. Most people won't and don't care if it isn't the best and american. As soon as we become a contender then you will see more mainstream coverage. The media coverage is almost a true gauge of the popularity of anything. They are in the business of showing things that are popular. And they won't stay in business long if they don't do just that because no one will want to watch something they aren't interested.

Maybe I have just gotten older, but I have found myself just plain shocked at the increased level of quality, breadth and depth of analysis leading up to this cup. This blows 02 away and the others weren't even close. Some of it is home grown by the soccer community, but hey it exists now so it doesn't matter. The world is changing!

So take a breath and enjoy everyone "Its getting better all the time"

[soonertony]

Boomer Sooner!

[::::::]

Go Big Red

[bigredfutbol]

Go Big Red

Welcome to the Dark Side. :D

[scaryice]

It is getting better, but soccer coverage is nowhere near the level we deserve, and it won't be until MLS coverage is on sportscenter every week. There's plenty to be happy about, but by no means should we be satisfied with the way things are currently.

[dfunkt]

caintona (YES YOU CAN! :D),

i generally agree with your assessment, soccer coverage is growing very rapidly and the the world is changing. however, i just wish it would grow/change faster. the only sport that i am interested in these past few years is soccer and i wish the rest of the usa could get into the beautiful game as much as it deserves. especially on the eve of the world mutha ********in cup!!!!!!!

you dropped alot of wisdom in your post, especially about the power of the masses. i agree that until the usa becomes really successful in soccer we will not garner appropriate attention from the mainstream media. i really don't watch anything on tv other than fsc and noggin (love that little bear and degrassi shit), so ultimately i don't really care what is on the rest of the channels, but i still feel sorry for the people who sit there and watch baseball and american football*.

not to dis (at least not TOO MUCH), but your post is kinda indicative of what i perceive as the problem. specifically, and pointedly, you had some stuff about the oklahoma sooners in your post. what do you think people would do if you put some "you'll never walk alone!" liverpool references in a post on an oklahoma sooners message board? i think that shit would be annhiliated. i see people posting on here all the time with american football and baseball avatars/signatures/references. i look forward to the day when soccer is THE sport in america. maybe i am deluded in this hope, but to me it is the goal (pun not intended).

please forgive me if i come across as rambling or unfocused or whatever in this post, it is late and i have been smoking herb, drinking wine, and feeding my head on studio 90!!!

peace,
doug

* - coming from somebody who played football and baseball in HS

[passtheblizz]

Try buying a decent glossy soccer magazine in the US... Does one even exist? Sports Illustrated does not cover MLS. We get one MLS game a week on standard cable.

The reality is that there are a lot of younger (35-ish and under) fans who are super-attuned to soccer mostly because they played it. Soccer parents make up the other main group, but most of them can't play. Then there are the ethnic groups. Probably 95% of the standard NFL/NBA/MLB/PGA/NASCAR fans couldn't name a player on the team, except for maybe Donovan. That is where the advertising money comes in, or rather, the lack thereof. Average Joe Schmo Knows nothing about soccer other than that the scores are usually low, making the game to him unexciting. The World Cup does create some kind of increase in exposure, for example, the number of Nike soccer commercials on TV right now, but soon after the exposure will fade again to nothing, just like the speedskating or bobsled coverage in non-Olympic years. The hardcore diehard fans like most BS posters will gradually grow in number, but I don't see the popularity approaching NFL or NBA status in my lifetime. Hopefully we will get the 2010 Cup from SA, because that would be a great instant boost again. Either that or win this year...

[blacksun]

It is getting better, but soccer coverage is nowhere near the level we deserve, and it won't be until MLS coverage is on sportscenter every week. There's plenty to be happy about, but by no means should we be satisfied with the way things are currently.
Um, why do soccer fans deserve more coverage from ESPN? They are a business and can cover whatever they think will maximize their ad revenue (mainly, but not entirely, from audience size). You can argue that the suits at ESPN are making a mistake by not covering more soccer, but not that soccer fans somehow deserve more coverage.

[Caintona]

caintona (YES YOU CAN! :D),

i generally agree with your assessment, soccer coverage is growing very rapidly and the the world is changing. however, i just wish it would grow/change faster. the only sport that i am interested in these past few years is soccer and i wish the rest of the usa could get into the beautiful game as much as it deserves. especially on the eve of the world mutha ********in cup!!!!!!!

you dropped alot of wisdom in your post, especially about the power of the masses. i agree that until the usa becomes really successful in soccer we will not garner appropriate attention from the mainstream media. i really don't watch anything on tv other than fsc and noggin (love that little bear and degrassi shit), so ultimately i don't really care what is on the rest of the channels, but i still feel sorry for the people who sit there and watch baseball and american football*.

not to dis (at least not TOO MUCH), but your post is kinda indicative of what i perceive as the problem. specifically, and pointedly, you had some stuff about the oklahoma sooners in your post. what do you think people would do if you put some "you'll never walk alone!" liverpool references in a post on an oklahoma sooners message board? i think that shit would be annhiliated. i see people posting on here all the time with american football and baseball avatars/signatures/references. i look forward to the day when soccer is THE sport in america. maybe i am deluded in this hope, but to me it is the goal (pun not intended).

please forgive me if i come across as rambling or unfocused or whatever in this post, it is late and i have been smoking herb, drinking wine, and feeding my head on studio 90!!!

peace,
doug

* - coming from somebody who played football and baseball in HS


I've seriously thought about including You'll never walk alone in the OU venacular because the theory behind it is the exact same mind set. An OU fan will never EVER walk alone! EVER! College football is the closest to the passion I see and feel for Soccer. But that would never fly if I said where it came from. I'm starting to learn more as an american soccer fan the unique position i find myself in. Don't Underestimate Xenophobia! Its almost as if I'm a persecuted minority and have been my whole life and have been scared to show it myself to people I know yet through the anonymity of the internet I can vocalize what I feel. The internet provides an outlet I don't think I can show to people I know. Yet that just doesn't work because anonymity does not convey emotion to others. Martin Luther King wasn't anonymous. Not to equate our strife to segregation and racism but there is a similar stigma against the majority. I have wanted more than anything for sportcenter to cover the US team preparing for the world cup just like I want them to. But that isn't going to happen until a majority of the people want that to happen. No matter how vocal I am. That is their business and I think that is something that has been missing in our movement. Not to make it political.

Things change through people telling others they know their beliefs. I had an interesting conversation tonight after I wrote my original post about how I understand the concept of Joga Bonito yet this ideollogy comes from a society that is completly corrupt and joga bonito is there fight against it. The girl I had this conversation was also really hot, but I digress. What took me so long to realize what I love about this game is the way people of different cultures can converse throught Soccer. Read How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer. I finally understand my deep passion for the game after reading this book and some thought about what I have wanted for quite some time. This book really defines the passion from an american globalist perspective.

To sum up. An american that doesn't understand globalization WILL NOT excpet You'll Never Walk Alone as something they relate to when knowing the genesis of its passion. Its what makes us american. We come up with our own ideas and traditions.

I suggest all of you read the article I read in the Times today. You have to pay for the times, but I think it is worth it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/sports/playmagazine/04americans.html?_r=1&oref=login

[Caintona]

Um, why do soccer fans deserve more coverage from ESPN? They are a business and can cover whatever they think will maximize their ad revenue (mainly, but not entirely, from audience size). You can argue that the suits at ESPN are making a mistake by not covering more soccer, but not that soccer fans somehow deserve more coverage.

I agree completly with your sentiment. we need to grow this on a grass roots level. Doing what we can do personally. I watched the FC Dallas game today as my part. I paid money to MLS to provide me with such game.

I am an FC Dallas fan that lives in NYC and hates the Red Bulls as an organization. I take that back I hate the MetroStars, but I kind of like what the Red Bulls are trying to achieve. But with this optimism I have to temper it with some NASL doomsday voice in the back of my head. I think they are trying to go in the right direction but I am scared they are going to F up everything I have been hoping for over the last 11 year. Since I saw the Burn and the Clash play to a nil nil draw.

I feel very good about the direction things are going. Don Garber is a genius. I can't say that anything he has done since he has taken over MLS have been anything less than brilliant.

Lets think about what he has done. ..... He has embraced the world game for what it is. He has not dumbed it down for the masses. He has made a strategic alliance with the MFL and the MFF(Mexican Football Federation) through SUM. I saw this the other day when Mexico played France. Under the MFF logo it said SUM. I had never seen this before or even heard that this was what was happening. But SUM is a brilliant arm to tap into the hispanic market to say you know what soccer in america is pretty damn good.

Sorry guys, I have been in a very philisophical mind set lately and the world is starting to make sense in certain ways. I hope you can agree with my logic

[CLEATS]

I have been on this board since it was started and other boards like it since before MLS first kicked off in 96. I quit reading this board so much as I've gotten older and have less time to read this board. I have tried to keep up with the amount of coverage the US is getting mainstream and I have been incredibly pleased with it. Case in point is the Article about Arena in NY Times magazine this weekend. It is maybe the most indepth article about the US team i have ever seen in print. So I am very satisfied with the level of coverage it is getting sure there could be more we always want more.

There seems to be an overly negative point of view about the coverage this thing is getting. Put some perspective on this whole thing. The ball is rolling. Interest is piqued. Casual sports fans are interested. I remember watching the 86 90 94 world cups. and I don't remember there being any kind of exposure for the US team. If there was exposure for soccer in general it wasn't about the US team. Just by the fact that the US has a team that can compete with anyone in the world is going to make the public more interested. Think about it. Who follows likes track and field? But every four years it dominates the sports world because of the Olympics. And I love it too.

Take a deep breath and enjoy things like this studio 90 on us soccer. Even just the US Soccer community page right here gives me more than enough information that I could ever want about everything about the world cup. Sure I would like to be able to watch it all on ESPN, but who cares. If the people want it they will get it. No amount of us bitching about it is going to change that unless its a majority thing.

To relate this to my beloved Oklahoma Sooners football team, we always say to fans of teams that talk trash when we lose to them. Act like you've been there before and only then will we respect you. Success is the only thing that is going to take this thing mainstream. Most people won't and don't care if it isn't the best and American. As soon as we become a contender then you will see more mainstream coverage. The media coverage is almost a true gauge of the popularity of anything. They are in the business of showing things that are popular. And they won't stay in business long if they don't do just that because no one will want to watch something they aren't interested.

Maybe I have just gotten older, but I have found myself just plain shocked at the increased level of quality, breadth and depth of analysis leading up to this cup. This blows 02 away and the others weren't even close. Some of it is home grown by the soccer community, but hey it exists now so it doesn't matter. The world is changing!

So take a breath and enjoy everyone "Its getting better all the time"




Excellent post.You're not getting older you're getting wiser.

[footbrawl]

I think some of you aren't getting what Caintona is really saying. Like him, I've been following US soccer since way before '90, when soccer coverage was a media wasteland - no ESPN, no MLS, no US players gracing sports magazines, no BigSoccer - in short, almost nothing, nothing at all.

Now we have so much more. If you compare the awareness and attention soccer gets in the US now versus then, you can easily say the sport has come of age and in retrospect, has become a viable sport in our country.

Remember, we can always go back to the soccer wasteland that the USA was, so enjoy the media coverage, the WC on tv(!), and all the rest that goes with it.

So Don't Tread on Me, soccer fans! :)

[NBell1]

Very well put post Caintona.

I am 21 now. When I was younger I was a 3 sport "star", but baseball was by far my best and favorite. I followed the Yankees with incredible zeal, and although I played soccer well and enjoyed it, I didn't even know about the '94 World Cup. Imagine that, I was a huge sport fan, but there was just so little coverage that someone who read the sports page every day would not even know it was being held. After my baseball career ending shoulder surgery I focused on soccer. I watched a few qualifiers for the 2002 world cup, but it wasnt until the 2002 world cup that my complete devotion was thrown behinf soccer. Since then I have been watching every game possible (10-15) per week and reading bigsoccer every day.

Besides the beauty and passion of the sport, I realized at college aother reason why I loved the sport so much. I have traveled a lot around the world and come from a very diverse area outside NYC. THe appeal of soccer for me, and seemingly Caintona is the common language spoken the world over by soccer fans. Countless times I will be in another country and after introducing myself as an American and will get the normal American treatment. However, after initiating a conversation about soccer I entered some sort of community and am therafter looked at in a different light. Have others had this same experience around the world?

[Captain10]

I have traveled a lot around the world and come from a very diverse area outside NYC. THe appeal of soccer for me, and seemingly Caintona is the common language spoken the world over by soccer fans. Countless times I will be in another country and after introducing myself as an American and will get the normal American treatment. However, after initiating a conversation about soccer I entered some sort of community and am therafter looked at in a different light. Have others had this same experience around the world?
Yes. I grew up in Brasil and, in my experience, the Brasilians are great about (generally) not assuming a level of knowledge/skill -- maybe because they are the best and everyone else is lumped in together after that. :) But they also know that things change, and on any given day, anything can happen. You take each day as it comes. In Europe it seems that history means so much that they are less accepting of change -- regardless of the evidence.

We moved to Switzerland in 2000 and lived there for 4 years. During that time I was on the company team (a major global company) and all the European players (from Switzerland, Spain, Holland, Germany, Norway, England) were surprised that this 40 year old *American* was interested in playing football. Before our first game, they kind of smiled a little and wanted to see just how bad I was.

Well, by the time we moved back to the States in 2004, I was the captain of the company team, high scorer, and I actually had some *fans* rushing up to me at the end of one game after I scored a hat-trick. :) The perception was no longer that Americans can't play, but that we had some talent over here. Although in my case it was somewhat of an isolated incident, as more Americans have gone over to Europe to play, it is less of a curiosity, and more of an acceptance that we can play, and that we're here to stay.

Soccer breaks down all barriers. How many foreigners have you spoken with that did not smile when you mentioned "football"? There's a joy that is felt just by talking about the game. When we all get enthusiastic about soccer, we're all brothers. That, IMO, is one of the things that makes it such a "beautiful game"!!!

[Caintona]

Yes. I grew up in Brasil and, in my experience, the Brasilians are great about (generally) not assuming a level of knowledge/skill -- maybe because they are the best and everyone else is lumped in together after that. :) But they also know that things change, and on any given day, anything can happen. You take each day as it comes. In Europe it seems that history means so much that they are less accepting of change -- regardless of the evidence.

We moved to Switzerland in 2000 and lived there for 4 years. During that time I was on the company team (a major global company) and all the European players (from Switzerland, Spain, Holland, Germany, Norway, England) were surprised that this 40 year old *American* was interested in playing football. Before our first game, they kind of smiled a little and wanted to see just how bad I was.

Well, by the time we moved back to the States in 2004, I was the captain of the company team, high scorer, and I actually had some *fans* rushing up to me at the end of one game after I scored a hat-trick. :) The perception was no longer that Americans can't play, but that we had some talent over here. Although in my case it was somewhat of an isolated incident, as more Americans have gone over to Europe to play, it is less of a curiosity, and more of an acceptance that we can play, and that we're here to stay.

Soccer breaks down all barriers. How many foreigners have you spoken with that did not smile when you mentioned "football"? There's a joy that is felt just by talking about the game. When we all get enthusiastic about soccer, we're all brothers. That, IMO, is one of the things that makes it such a "beautiful game"!!!

And to take this a step further. If you look at the countries that have the most americans are countries where we have beat the national team of that country in an important event. England in what was basically the Confed Cup the year before the WC in 94, Germany after playing them well in that same tournament only to lose 4-3 then the string of 2 dominating wins and the near victory in Korea, and Portugal who has of late shown interest in several players. If we beat Italy or play them well you will see an increase in the number of players being looked at by Italian clubs most likely. It hasn't sunk into all of the national psyches.