Soccer in the U.S.A.?

Even the most casual of sports fan has to be aware of the world wide spectacle that has captured fans all over the globe….I am talking about the World Cup. 

It would be under-stating the matter if we called it the Super Bowl of Soccer….it’s bigger that that!  I should say it’s bigger than that everywhere outside the United States Which begs the question…why has soccer never taken on that larger than life status that football, baseball and basketball seem to enjoy here in the U.S.A.?

Although you can drive by a playing field on any weekend now a days and see organized soccer games going on, the sport has never taken off professionally in this country. Although many professional leagues have tried, they have failed to capture the imagination of the general public.  There have been many theories as to why. The best answer I can give would be that Americans seem to like high scoring, big numbers, lots to go bonkers about. But soccer is much more likely to end up 1-nothing than 8-7. 

I always said the smartest guy in the world was the person who decided to attach 6-points to a touchdown because it makes it sound like a lot happened.  For instance a 21-14 game in the NFL sounds like there was quite a bit of offense when really if a touchdown was worth only one point, it would have been 3-2.  Since soccer will never keep a scoreboard operator over worked, the only other solution I can give would be for our Team USA to give a better performance in the World Cup. And as you know by now, they were quickly ousted and certainly didn’t pump new life in the sport here in the states. 

If there is one thing Americans like besides plenty of scoring…it’s a winner!  So, sorry soccer enthusiasts until we build a globally competitive team, soccer will remain on the fringe when it comes to American sporting interest.

We must build a winner…that’s the GOAL, GOAL, GOAL!!!

That’s the sporting life,
Mark Ibañez