On the TV ratings and interest -
...this isn’t a once-every-four-year argument over whether soccer can, at long last, succeed in the U.S. There is no argument. Not anymore. Not after this.
Not when you consider the U.S. ranked 23rd globally in World Cup viewing in 1998. Four years later the U.S. was 13th, and in 2006 it climbed to eighth. You can bet the pattern will continue this year as Donovan gave all those kids watching on TV a reason to dream.
The interest is there. Only the most oblivious among us could have missed the outrage and outcry directed at referee Koman Coulibaly, who incorrectly disallowed a likely game- winning goal for the U.S. against Slovenia. Soccer became the lead item at the water cooler. The officials disallowed another U.S. goal against Algeria. Questionable call. Doesn’t matter now.
So much of soccer’s future in the U.S. depends on the national team, which has a number of reasons for optimism.
On the American public associating with the athletes on the US team-
Not when you consider the U.S. ranked 23rd globally in World Cup viewing in 1998. Four years later the U.S. was 13th, and in 2006 it climbed to eighth. You can bet the pattern will continue this year as Donovan gave all those kids watching on TV a reason to dream.
The interest is there. Only the most oblivious among us could have missed the outrage and outcry directed at referee Koman Coulibaly, who incorrectly disallowed a likely game- winning goal for the U.S. against Slovenia. Soccer became the lead item at the water cooler. The officials disallowed another U.S. goal against Algeria. Questionable call. Doesn’t matter now.
So much of soccer’s future in the U.S. depends on the national team, which has a number of reasons for optimism.
On the American public associating with the athletes on the US team-
It’s beginning to happen. Look, say, at Oguchi Onyewu, or “Gooch” as the defender is known to teammates.
Surely Dabo Swinney, the football coach at Clemson University, where Onyewu played soccer, could find a helmet for this fellow.
“When you see a guy like that, at 6-4 and 220 pounds, you think he could be a great outside linebacker,” Swinney said.
That was precisely the thought held by Pat Cilento, the football coach at Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring, Maryland, Onyewu’s alma mater.
“He is a specimen,” said Cilento, noting that he’s got about two dozen players in shoulder pads right now that would make excellent soccer players.
The key is to persuade the best athletes to pursue soccer.
The kids watching the World Cup will get more than a few glimpses of Onyewu, 28, Altidore, 20, and Dempsey, 27.
Gone are the days when the best American players disappeared until the next time around. The U.S. players are securing positions in the best leagues in the world, including Italy’s Serie A, England’s Premier League and Germany’s Bundesliga.
Onyewu last year signed as a free agent with AC Milan. Altidore, meantime, last season could be seen with Hull City of the EPL while Dempsey works for Fulham.
“American youngsters see they can achieve that kind of glory,” says Jay Emmett, an executive at Warner Communications Inc. when it owned the defunct New York Cosmos. “It’s a long process.”
Surely Dabo Swinney, the football coach at Clemson University, where Onyewu played soccer, could find a helmet for this fellow.
“When you see a guy like that, at 6-4 and 220 pounds, you think he could be a great outside linebacker,” Swinney said.
That was precisely the thought held by Pat Cilento, the football coach at Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring, Maryland, Onyewu’s alma mater.
“He is a specimen,” said Cilento, noting that he’s got about two dozen players in shoulder pads right now that would make excellent soccer players.
The key is to persuade the best athletes to pursue soccer.
The kids watching the World Cup will get more than a few glimpses of Onyewu, 28, Altidore, 20, and Dempsey, 27.
Gone are the days when the best American players disappeared until the next time around. The U.S. players are securing positions in the best leagues in the world, including Italy’s Serie A, England’s Premier League and Germany’s Bundesliga.
Onyewu last year signed as a free agent with AC Milan. Altidore, meantime, last season could be seen with Hull City of the EPL while Dempsey works for Fulham.
“American youngsters see they can achieve that kind of glory,” says Jay Emmett, an executive at Warner Communications Inc. when it owned the defunct New York Cosmos. “It’s a long process.”
On the future and plan for soccer in the United States-
No one anytime soon is going to confuse the U.S.’s top domestic league, Major League Soccer, with the EPL. The long- term goal, shared by FIFA, soccer’s governing body, is for MLS to attract the world’s top talent by paying top dollar.
Those who love to hate soccer are fond of pointing out that they have been hearing about a boom for decades. They’re right. It has been years -- 25 or so.
Those who inhabit an instant-gratification society are under the impression that, somehow, a sporting overhaul should occur right away.
Doesn’t work that way. U.S. Soccer’s plan, hatched in 1984, spans 50 years, which means it’s only halfway done. Goals like Donovan’s help.
Those who love to hate soccer are fond of pointing out that they have been hearing about a boom for decades. They’re right. It has been years -- 25 or so.
Those who inhabit an instant-gratification society are under the impression that, somehow, a sporting overhaul should occur right away.
Doesn’t work that way. U.S. Soccer’s plan, hatched in 1984, spans 50 years, which means it’s only halfway done. Goals like Donovan’s help.
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