Sunday, March 2, 2008
Ben
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
To Michael from Chloe
Wow, you have a lot of information on your blog! You have added many more resources and formed many more conclusions. The look of your blog is very appealing as well--really good design.
I think this is a very tricky issue. Like you said, Europe is the 'big show.' Why would professional soccers players from Europe want to play in a dwindling league? They would need incentive, unless they were really nice and just wanted to save the MLS. The thing is, soccer is really good in Europe, and not very good in America. People would rather spend money on excellent quality football. But, I agree with you when you say that Beckham has brought more attention to the MLS. I think strategy is what is needed to revive American soccer culture. Professional American soccer leagues need to find a way to help people make the transition that is required for American soccer to become more popular. But, I don't think that will be so easy. This takes money, and, as you wrote, the MLS is slowly running out of it.
I think this is a very compelling topic that is vital to American, and European, soccer culture. You did an excellent job gathering information and reflecting on it. You came to a very clear, processed, and true answer to your thesis question. This is a very broad topic. But, even though you may not have covered every single aspect of it, you found enough thorough, relevant, and helpful information to come to a very strong conclusion. Great work!
Chloe
Sara's Response
I would have liked to see more about the typical European fan, but overall you had a ton of information. You had a nice blend of pictures and articles. This is a little late, but a good resource would have been to interview someone who has been to an MLS game. I agree with you that if David Beckham was playing in Massachusetts, I would definitely go and see him.
A comment that I have on your conclusion: The MLS cannot afford to bring over more "star" players because they have lost so much money. And, the players probably prefer to play in their home stadiums where there are more fans.
Nice work overall!!
~Sara
Monday, February 18, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Response From Kiley
~Kiley~
comment
On your blog
Conclusion
Also it was weird to find out that American icons support European soccer teams but do not support a MLS team. This means they will fly for hours just to seem the team that they like play soccer. Yes, this would be fun, but the European soccer industry is very strong unlike the MLS who may have to stop in a few years because of all the money that has been lost. If some of those icons were to come to some of the soccer games I believe it would make a lot more people want to come and watch some games.
To conclude this I would like to say what the MLS could be a lot bigger if they brought more European soccer stars over like David Beckham. When Beckham made his debut almost 45,000 fans attended the game. This is more people then were at the MLS championship game where there were 22,427 people. This means if there were more stars there would be even more people coming to the games. This is what I believe will help the MLS the most.
Monday, February 11, 2008
David Beckham
A moment later, 19-year-old teammate Quavas Kirk was summoned to the bench.
PhotosBeckham Makes MLS Debut in United VictoryDavid Beckham makes his long-awaited MLS debut in the 72nd minute, providing a couple of his trademark passes in the Galaxy's 1-0 loss to United before 46,686 spectators.
By the Numbers
21: Minutes played by Beckham in his MLS debut
46,686: Fans in attendance at RFK Stadium
MLS Salaries 2007
David Beckham has the richest salary by far in MLS with a base of $5.5 million and is one of only four millionaire players in the league.» Full League Listing
His night was over. Beckham's long-awaited MLS debut had arrived.
The English superstar, whose first appearance in a league match had been delayed by an ankle injury, entered in the 72nd minute and provided a couple of his trademark passes in a losing cause, a 1-0 defeat to D.C. United before 46,686 spectators, including England Manager Steve McClaren.
Luciano Emilio was the difference for United (9-6-3), scoring from 25 yards in the 27th minute, but the evening belonged to the fashionable midfielder, whose signing with 11-year-old MLS last winter sent shockwaves through the international soccer establishment. Beckham had made a token appearance in an exhibition three weeks ago, but his tender ankle sidelined him for three tournament matches and an MLS game in Toronto last weekend.
His arrival in Washington renewed speculation about when he would actually play. The first positive sign last night was his inclusion on the active roster. The second indication came when he loosened up on the sideline during the first half. And despite torrential rain -- "it was just the biggest raindrops I've ever seen," he said -- and a slick field, he entered the match to the roaring approval of the crowd.
"It's great to be out there because it's not nice to disappoint people, it's not nice to disappoint people that paid a lot of money to come and see the game," he said. "I was thankful to actually get on the pitch. It was a good night, but also a bad night because we ended up losing the game."
A right-side midfielder most of his career, Beckham played a central role last night. After a few touches, he delivered his first long ball, a nicely placed offering that United goalkeeper Troy Perkins caught without a challenge.
Beckham's first free kick came in the 85th and was headed high and wide by Carlos Pavon. Later, he sent a splendid long ball that Perkins met an instant before Landon Donovan at the top of the box. The Galaxy begged for a penalty kick, but referee Jair Marrufo let play continue.
Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop said he did not hesitate calling on Beckham. "We're trying to get him some time on the field and it was the opportune time to do it, really," he said. "We wanted to change things, we needed to get a goal."
Despite the injury, Beckham did not hold back, challenging United players for the ball and serving passes into dangerous spots.
"I give him a lot of credit for playing because I know he's not 100 percent," United midfielder Ben Olsen said. "He knew a lot of people were here to watch him and he gritted it out and played."
Before Beckham's entrance, United was the recipient of the crowd's appreciation. D.C. dictated pace and possession from the opening whistle. The only missing element was a goal.
United finally capitalized when Emilio struck for his third goal in two matches and his league-leading 13th overall. Marc Burch, a revelation at left back this summer, slipped a pass through to Emilio, who made one touch and ripped a rising shot with vigor and velocity.
Goalkeeper Joe Cannon got both hands on the ball and probably should have pushed it aside, but because it was struck with such force, he was only able to slow it down.
"The coaching staff told us to shoot it from anywhere on the field and if we had an opportunity to shoot on goal, we should do so," Emilio said through an interpreter.
United continued to dictate play, but without a second goal the result remained very much in doubt. Donovan narrowly missed wide early in the second half. United pressed for a clinching goal, only to see Jaime Moreno's 23-yard bid skip barely wide of the left post and Emilio's curling attempt bend around the right post.
The Galaxy (3-6-5) was left shorthanded in the 67th minute when Kyle Martino was ejected for a dangerous tackle from behind.
Then it was Beckham's time.
The reception he received was like nothing at a United game since perhaps Freddy Adu's debut three years ago, but that was with about 20,000 fewer fans.
"It was deafening," Perkins said. "That was a little overwhelming. I'm still shocked -- all that for one person, but it's good to get all these people out" to a game.
Although Beckham did not threaten to tie the match himself, his teammates did. Pavon's glancing header off Chris Klein's cross narrowly missed and Edson Buddle had two opportunities in the box.
United, though, kept its composure to register its second straight shutout victory, ensuring that Beckham would be on the losing end in his MLS debut.
Nonetheless, "It's a big forward step for me tonight, getting 20 minutes," he said. "I was happy with that."
This is amazing....one player bringing almost 45,000 people to a game. This shows you what David Beckham is doing to the MLS. IF the the MLS would bring a few more big name players they could have this attendence at almost every game. It would be huge for the MLS, they would almost be putting up as good of numbers as the NFL does every week. On average the NFL gets around 80,000 fans. If the MLS could get half those numbers every game it would be awsome for them.
Also everyone was so excited for David Beckham to come and play soccer in America. When his jersey came out people were buying them left and right, it was crazy how much money he brought into the MLS. If each club in the MLS had one super star they would actually make money and have a substancial fan base. If the New England Revolution had a big soccer star I would go down and watch them. I have always talked about going to a game but have never had the motivation, and I know if there was a big star there I would go watch a game.
You're an NFL Europe fan.
Or you're a Major League Soccer fan.
Roughly a decade into the global expansion of the Two Footballs, there are striking similarities in the ways Americans have tried to import the world's most popular sport and export their own. NFL Europe (est. 1995) and MLS (est. 1996) have averaged the same attendance (about 15,000 per game) while learning the hard way that the globalized world is still fragmented by cultural differences. The leagues have developed Super Bowl quarterbacks and World Cup goal scorers, yet they suffer from what might be called the Howard Dean Syndrome: intense support among hard-core fans but not enough mainstream converts--not yet, at least--to be successful.
What fate awaits them? Well, the prognosis is a lot drearier for the league trying to persuade Helmuts to wear helmets. Last September, NFL owners came within one vote of killing the six-team Europe league, which has lost more than $20 million a year. But while the 10-team MLS has itself bled some $15 million in the past year (and $350 million since '96), its backers have shown a greater tolerance for red ink. They've also attracted new investors, built soccer-specific stadiums and even made plans for expansion.
Back when Don Garber ran NFL International, the league's global development arm, in its start-up days when anything seemed possible, he commissioned a study of European pigskin attitudes. "What we found was that people overseas knew about the NFL, understood the Super Bowl and thought of it as quintessentially American," Garber says. "It was cheerleaders and fireworks and big guys in helmets and pads, with loud, screaming fans." So Garber gave them what they wanted. He had gridiron zealots drive giant helmets around Berlin's Potsdamer Platz and wing footballs into the crowd. He had double-decker buses circle the field at the Amsterdam Arena laden with beer-addled Dutchmen and shirt-doffing hotties. (This was Amsterdam, after all.) But when he handed out footballs in European high schools, he watched in horror as kids played soccer with them.
Garber is still commissioning fan studies, but since 1999 he has been doing so as a literal commissioner--of MLS. And while he faces the immense task of converting the U.S.'s 18 million youth soccer players into fans of the professional game, at least he doesn't have to show them what to do with the ball. "Soccer is part of the general social fabric in our country," says Garber. "Minivan moms are a voting bloc. We have the one thing the NFL doesn't have in Europe: a grassroots movement, which is necessary for any sport to succeed."
It's no coincidence to Garber that NFL Europe has established its biggest foothold in Germany, which has the Continent's most advanced youth development system. While the Europe league has struggled to muster 10,000 spectators for games in Amsterdam, Barcelona or Glasgow, the Frankfurt Galaxy and the Rhein Fire have regularly filled their stadiums with more than 30,000 fans, almost all of them German Gen Xers whose enthusiasm puts Oakland Raiders diehards to shame. With the pickups of Berlin (which replaced London in 1999) and Cologne (which supplanted Barcelona this year), Deutschland is now home to four of NFL Europe's six teams. (The other two are the Amsterdam Admirals and Glasgow's Scottish Claymores.) In fact, says NFL International vice president Gordon Smeaton, the Europe league may eventually become an all-German affair.
"If we had to go back, we would focus on Germany first, and then let it expand," Smeaton says. "Look at the development of the NFL. Where did it start in the 1920s and '30s? It was very localized, and then it grew from there. Why would Europe be any different? You have many different ethnicities, cultures and attitudes toward sports. Attitudes toward America."
Going all-German, at least for the short term, is "the only structure that has the potential for being successful," says former NFL International president Doug Quinn, now executive vice president of marketing for MLS. Besides its already demonstrated appetite for the sport, Germany will have plenty of venues after hosting the 2006 World Cup, and if there were eight teams there, the league could reach critical mass. "Between 2007 and 2009 is when you'll see that league really fly," Quinn says. "If you cut it before that, you've wasted a huge opportunity."
In the wake of last fall's NFL owners' vote, the Europe league received a two-year stay of execution, a lukewarm endorsement despite the continued support of commissioner Paul Tagliabue. "The challenge is purely cost," says Quinn. "The owners have all these new expenses--security, new stadiums, new training facilities--so they're looking to cut anything that's not absolutely necessary."
Now that Quinn has joined Garber at MLS, the old NFL International buddies are pursuing a two-pronged approach to fan development in the soccer league. The first--cultivating young players--can be seen in two new publicly funded stadium projects, in Frisco, Texas, and Bridgeview, Ill., which will include sprawling youth soccer complexes alongside intimate homes for the Dallas Burn and the Chicago Fire, respectively. The second task is even more daunting: capturing the elusive Mexican-American fan.
MLS's failure to engage Mexican-Americans in the late 1990s was predictable. The league would borrow a handful of stars from Mexican professional teams, only to have the intended audience shrug at what it saw as short-term rentals. Why pay to see one Mexican in an MLS game, the fan reasoned, when I can watch 22 playing in the Mexican league on my TV at home? Garber's conclusion: There had to be a better option. "We've accepted that legitimacy is the right path," he says. And what's the most legitimate way to have a connection with a particular group or team?
"Through ownership."
Jorge Vergara may be Mexico's answer to Mark Cuban, but it's safe to say that the Dallas Mavericks' billionaire owner hasn't been collaborating with Sean Penn lately. "I met Sean on the movie we just finished," says Vergara, relaxing barefoot in a corner suite of Manhattan's Mandarin Oriental hotel. Vergara is just off a flight from France, where he attended the Cannes film festival for the premiere of The Assassination of Richard Nixon, his production company's (and Penn's) latest project. "He's intense and very committed," Vergara says. "He's got this passion for acting."
Passion is Vergara's calling card. It's what he used to turn Omnilife, his Guadalajara-based health supplements company, from a $10,000 investment in 1991 into a direct-marketing empire (think Amway) with 2.2 million employees and $1.16 billion in sales last year. Passion is why he ventured into the movie business in 2000, forming Anhelo Productions with his pal, director Alfonso Cuaron, and debuting with Cuaron's Y Tu Mama Tambien, which earned an Oscar nomination for best foreign film and $30 million at the box office. Passion is why Vergara spent $100 million two years ago on a hostile takeover of Chivas of Guadalajara--arguably Mexico's most popular soccer team--and why he's convinced that Chivas USA, his spinoff MLS expansion franchise, can do the unthinkable: make a killing off professional soccer in the U.S.
"What we're bringing is the passion," says Vergara, 49, whose team will begin play next spring in Los Angeles. "We have registered more than 10 million Chivas followers in this country. A lot of Mexican-Americans have been supporting Chivas all their lives."
Chivas president Ivar Sisniega, a former Mexican minister of sports, pitched the idea for Chivas USA two years ago to MLS's Garber. "It was so obvious," Garber says, "that you smacked yourself in the head and said, Why didn't we do this in 1996?" As the Stanford-educated Sisniega, 45, puts it, "Mexican-Americans haven't seen MLS as their own league because they haven't had their own team. Now they will."
The plan is rich in irony: MLS will be creating its own regional type of globalization by harnessing the power of globalism's supposed bugbear, fervent nationalism. In the most multinational of sports, Chivas's appeal is simple: It has never signed a non-Mexican player in its 97-year history. "We want to spread the passion of being all [Mexican] nationals," Vergara says, "and, of course, of always giving everything you have. That's how Mexicans play--and how Chivas USA is going to play."
There's no mystery to Vergara's interest. An estimated 37 million Hispanics live in the U.S., representing 13% of the country's population, and those numbers are projected to rise to 55 million and 17% by 2025. Though not all of them are fanaticos del futbol--some 15% of U.S. Hispanics are descended from baseball-loving Dominicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans--those with ties to Mexico, South America and Central America proudly hang mini soccer balls from their rearview mirrors like so many fuzzy dice. Of the 9.5 million people in Los Angeles County, roughly 45% are Latinos, of which the overwhelming majority are of Mexican extraction.
It's a demographic that loves watching its teams. Mexican teams. The Spanish-language network Univision, which will show more than 200 Mexican league matches in the U.S. in 2004, has drawn a healthy 6.4 rating for those games among Hispanic households. Chivas officials believe their club is better situated to make money in the U.S. market than even Manchester United and Real Madrid, which will be playing exhibitions in the States later this month. "Our followers are already here," Vergara says. In a recent survey conducted by Univision, 30% of Mexican soccer fans in the U.S. chose Chivas as their favorite team, the same portion that picked archrival Club America of Mexico City. (No other team had more than 8%.) "If you bring Chivas in a legitimate form to the U.S.," says Univision sports president David Downs, "it will resonate with any Mexican-American." But it will also bring up several potential conflicts:
How will Chivas USA keep its all-Mexican identity in a league that allows no more than three foreigners over age 25 per team? Look for Chivas to fill its foreign slots with Mexicans while stocking up on Mexican green-card holders and players under 25, who don't count against the limit. What's more, Chivas has begun a grassroots recruiting drive called Nueva Sangre (New Blood), holding tryouts in L.A., Chicago and Houston--and soon in other U.S. Latino strongholds--to find prospects among the thousands of players in ethnic leagues. And as a last option, Vergara says, "We may have some gringos, too."
Will Chivas USA simply be a farm team for Chivas of Guadalajara? No, vows Vergara. "Why should I have a team that will cost me so much money just to float players into Mexico?" he asks. And though there will be an initial infusion of players from the Mexican Chivas, Sisniega says, "we're committed to keeping these players in the U.S. and building their star status in the U.S. market."
Will placing Chivas USA in Los Angeles cripple the L.A. Galaxy? With an average attendance of 22,036 at week's end, the Galaxy was MLS's top-drawing team, which explains the league's initial refusal to let Chivas call L.A. home. Yet the league (and the Galaxy's owner, the Anschutz Entertainment Group) eventually came around for two reasons: 1) Chivas gave AEG $15 million for the right to use the Galaxy's 27,000-seat Home Depot Center, and 2) Vergara convinced AEG that both teams would be helped by the creation of MLS's first intracity rivalry.
Meanwhile, Vergara's L.A. production company, Monsoon Entertainment, has announced plans to produce a reality TV show following around the winners of the Nueva Sangre tryouts, for broadcast in the U.S. and Mexico. Vergara has also begun talks with municipal officials in the Chicago suburb of Cicero, Ill., to build an Omnilife factory and the inaugural Chivas Club, a sports academy that would specialize in Olympic events, with an emphasis on soccer. "It will be the first social sports club for Hispanics in the country," he says. "We'll repeat that in most of the cities with Hispanics: Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, even Atlanta and the Carolinas."
No matter what happens with NFL Europe and Chivas USA, the Two Footballs will continue to pursue aggressive international strategies. Take away the Europe league and its heavy losses and, thanks to merchandise sales and TV rights fees, NFL International is a profitable enterprise today. While the NFL admits that it isn't a global concern per se, the league is satisfied for now, focusing its energy on a few key foreign markets: Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom and China. The idea is to drive interest from the top (the NFL on television) and at the grass roots level (by organizing flag football programs for kids). "We would love to see more international players in the NFL," says Smeaton, "and if we're doing our job, you will."
MLS, for its part, has attempted to fill its coffers and strengthen its credibility through Soccer United Marketing (SUM), an offshoot that seeks to tap the sport's global power structure by purchasing valuable soccer properties regardless of language. SUM has established business ties to, among others, the world governing body, Federation Internationale de Football Association (by buying the U.S. English-language TV rights to three World Cups), and the Mexican federation (by acquiring the rights to promote Mexican national team games in the U.S.). The goal, Garber says, is for MLS teams eventually to be involved in interleague play with Mexico, as well as in the Copa Libertadores, the lucrative South American club tournament that is the Western Hemisphere's answer to the European Champions League.
This was very interesting to hear about how the two sports moved to the two different contients within a year of eachother. I thought it was very interesting that the MLS has lost over 350 million dollars since the legue has started in 1996. I didn't find this article very helpful, but I did like to hear that the MLS is trying to play the mexican legue teams and also teams from South America. If this does happen then the fan base will get much bigger because there will be more games and more fans.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Mrs. Jewitt
Monday, February 4, 2008
Avid sports fan Jeff Wong, meanwhile, didn't notice any contests on the Independence Day schedule worthy of his attention, so he took his family to a county fair in nearby
So, let's recap. Come World Cup game time, one American sees an epic athletic ballet that taps into generations of ethnic pride, and the other sees a chance to pet a goat.
Cue Rodney Dangerfield.
There's no disputing the deep disconnect that endures between those in this sports-crazed country who respect and adore what the masterful Brazilians call "the beautiful game" and those who don't.
Beisel, 35, a banker and son of German immigrants, grew up in this melting pot of a city playing soccer and watching games with his family. "It's not just a game for us, it's a part of our cultural identity," he says. "Each team reflects that nation's culture. The Brazilian players dance. The Germans are physical and precise. It's way beyond just being a sport."
Wong, 48, an architectural designer whose parents emigrated from
And the list of criticisms spills on from there, with the chief accusations being the game doesn't have enough scoring and, at worst, is simply boring.
While some argue soccer has no future in this country, other indicators say the sport could be on the road to mainstream respectability. OK, make that a long, slow shuffle up an alley that eventually could lead to a fan base that would give hockey pause.
Evidence of soccer's forward march includes:
• There's a national professional league (Major League Soccer has 12 franchises) with sexy stars (Landon Donovan remains a heartthrob) and television coverage (it's primarily cable, but still). Most players get paid in the mid-five-figures, though stars such as D.C. United's teenage phenom, Freddy Adu, earn more than $500,000 a year.
"We're optimistic, because today the sport is attractive to a range of audiences, from youth soccer players and their parents to the hard-core European soccer fan who wants to see live games," MLS Commissioner Don Garber says. "It's not the NFL, but we're 10 years old, (and football has been played here for) over 100 years."
• The World Cup, which unfolds every four years, is drawing TV ratings that are an improvement over those for previous tournaments.
"Viewership is up 90% over the 2002 Cup," says ESPN senior vice president and research guru Artie Bulgrin, referring to the South Korea/Japan World Cup, which didn't play well here because the time difference meant most games were taped. ABC/ESPN recently bought the
• Demographic forces are decidedly in favor of soccer's eventual success in the land of the forward pass and the knuckleball.
Soccer's growth "will mirror the increase in this nation's immigrant population," says Roland Lazenby, a sports historian at Virginia Tech. "American football may always dominate, but even this World Cup you're seeing bars and cafes filled with people of different ethnic backgrounds watching together. It's a small thing but significant."
Almost had a toehold in the '70s
If you're hearing snickers, those would be courtesy of soccer's detractors. Nothing gets them going more than talk of soccer's imminent success. For them, waiting for soccer's explosion here is no different than Waiting for Godot.
After all, 30 years ago the stage was set for soccer to woo Americans from their beloved pastimes. In the North American Soccer League's glory days, more than 20 teams played in cities across this land and
But like disco, the soundtrack to its times, the NASL soon fizzled, followed by a giant silence.
"Soccer in
This World Cup isn't helping the pro-soccer cause. Two elimination games have been decided on penalty kicks after zero goals in 120 minutes of play; the tournament has posted a 2.36 goals-per-game average, the lowest since 1990.
Deford isn't finished. "There's really a lack of proficiency in the game. God didn't intend for us to use our feet and our heads. Though what soccer players do with their feet and their heads is extraordinary, it is in the same way that spinning plates is extraordinary."
And don't get him started on soccer's offside rule, which prevents attacking players from standing any closer to the opposing goal than the other team's last defender.
"That's simply un-American," Deford says. "We're all about forward, forward, forward, in sports and in our society. From the 19th century onward, we have not taken to soccer. It's almost as if it's not in our DNA to like it."
The soccer-won't-make-it crowd likes to lean on past and current social forces to buttress its argument:
• Soccer has roots in
"
• So long as soccer here remains the casual sport of middle-class suburbanites and their elementary school offspring, it won't penetrate our popular culture.
"Soccer in America seems to be all about making kids and parents feel good, a place where it's OK to be so-so, as long as you're having fun," architect and part-time football coach Wong says.
"Sports are a mirror of life, which can help kids realize where they fit in. Will you be the guy who can throw that game-winning touchdown pass or not? Soccer doesn't seem to promote that."
• Our finest athletes don't gravitate toward the sport, eliminating the possibility of us ever seeing a Michael Jordan of soccer emerge from our shores. "Kids in this country may grow up playing soccer, but most seem to stop playing it fairly early in life because they lose interest," Deford says. "In the end, that proves that it's a game that's not to the taste of our top athletes."
MLS' Garber disputes this, pointing to
As for soccer being inherently boring as compared to American staples such as baseball and football, Donovan, a
The political theory
Some argue that the case against soccer smacks of politics.
"There's a strain of conservatism that I think is often tied to this anti-soccer lobby," says Franklin Foer, author of How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. "It's not about (whether soccer is in our) DNA. It is about our history. Saying soccer will never be big here assumes American culture is static."
But all such parsing from pundits tends to belabor the obvious (soccer will never be as big as football and it is not commercial-TV-friendly) and ignore the indisputable (there must be reasons folks in the farthest reaches of the planet are enamored of this game).
One powerful appeal of soccer is that victories on the pitch — especially national-team triumphs that resonate well beyond World Cup stadiums — amount to brief but shining moments in the sun for countries that, in geopolitical terms, don't enjoy such stature.
On a player level, success hinges less on specific size requirements — almost a given in basketball and football — and more on determination and desire.
And maybe most significant of all, the pace of a soccer game speaks to cultures whose own dramatic histories span centuries if not millennia. Games are less pointed battles (pitcher vs. batter) and more two-act operas where getting up mid-dribble for a beer would be as unthinkable as going for a glass of wine mid-aria.
"Soccer is a great passion play for much of the world," says Paddy Agnew, a Rome-based correspondent for the Irish Times who is covering the World Cup in
Agnew says the reasons the
Just as our tykes gravitate toward baseball, football and basketball, kids in
So, will soccer one day be part of our national identity? There are armies lined up behind each answer. But if odds had to be made, they would favor a "Yes," with an asterisk noting "time to be determined."
After all, this country is at its core inclusive, crazy about sports and eager to win. So soccer may well find a home here, perhaps with some homegrown tweaks.
"There's no question soccer will grow in this country. Remember, nothing spurs us on more than losing," says Virginia Tech historian Lazenby, alluding to the
"Of course, we could wind up starting our own brand of soccer here to account for some of the game's issues," he says. "How about soccer with no goalies? Now that would be something."
Beckham and Snoop Dogg
~Sara
first response
You've done a lot of thinking about this topic and your deep interest clearly shows. The blog is attractive and interesting. Be sure to completely cite all resources you use either in Online Resources or Books and People using the handout I gave you as a guide for completeness.
Here are three articles from the Academic Search Premier database (MARVEL) that you might find useful: A No-win Situation in Europe , Can European Football Spur Interest in American soccer?, and Football vs. Futbol. In Student Resource Center database these may be helpful:
Inside Soccer, and Kick Start: David Beckham, Ronaldo and other European stars say they'd like to lead a soccer revolution in America. Is this the way to finally make futbol a big draw here?(Scorecard). I'll be very interested to see what explanations you come up with after you finish your research and have a change to mull everything over.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
American Celebrities and European Soccer Fandom
When I meet people from other countries, they are often surprised to find out that I quite like and know a fair amount about soccer. They take the stereotype that Americans don’t like soccer literally and assume that absolutely no Americans like the sport. I revel in breaking this stereotype.
But I’m not the only American interested in soccer and as interest in the sport grows in this country, it is perhaps not surprising that celebrities are being turned on to the world’s game. Their interest ranges from passing and merely attention-seeking to genuine. Some have even played the sport and know it firsthand.
Below I provide snippets of some of the most high-profile American celebrity fans. The list is not intended to cover all celebrities interested in soccer; it is simply a peek at some of those who are and the various reasons their interest has been piqued.
When Sylvester Stallone showed up to watch Everton play Wigan recently, it reeked of opportunism. Was it the release of his new movie Rocky Balboa or a sudden infatuation with the Toffees that prompted the actor to parade himself Wigan’s JJB Stadium with an Everton scarf? You be the judge.
Diddy is a well-known record producer and clothing designer. He is also clearly either has no self-respect or a healthy degree of irony. In 2006, he claimed to be an Arsenal fan and said “I’m a loyal guy. There’s a couple of other football teams tried to recruit me but I’m staying true to Arsenal.” That came several months after he met with Manchester United, “spent around half an hour with the team and chatted with old pals Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand.” He’s also not averse to holding up Everton jerseys. A loyal guy, indeed.
Spike Lee is known in this country for being quite the sports fan. His frequent appearances in the front row of Madison Square Garden to watch the New York Knicks are often punctuated by outbursts against the referees and taunts of opposing players. The bespectacled director has been credited at different points with an interest in Arsenal and Inter Milan (he also says he was given season tickets for AC Milan while in Italy on business). Speaking to Adam Spangler of This is American Soccer, Lee said the following:
I’m a fan … I don’t know it like football, baseball, and basketball, but I can see the beauty of the game. Soccer is a great game, man. Hopefully it will grow here in the States. I follow it as much as I think I can. I got the satellite.
Lee may not be a soccer expert, but he tells Spangler that he coaches his son’s team, called Arsenal. Spike Lee, the soccer dad. Who knew?
Photo courtesy of This is American Soccer
Two celebrity soccer fans who have also been known to play are the Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash (I know he’s Canadian, but I’m including him anyway) and The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart.
Nash grew up playing soccer along with basketball and his brother Martin played in England for Chester City and Macclesfield Town. During a pre-season tour of Europe with the Suns, Nash introduced some of his teammates to soccer and had a kick-around with Francesco Totti. Nash also claims to support Tottenham.
Those who watch Fox Soccer Channel regularly have seen Jon Stewart’s promo: “I’m Jon Stewart and you’re watching Fox Soccer Channel. [switch to high-pitched voice] Goooooooooooaaaaalllllll .” In addition to being one of the funniest men in America, Stewart is also a former soccer player, having played college ball at his alma mater, William and Mary, where he was a winger in the early 1980s back when “one goal was worth five of today’s goals” (and when his name was Jon Lebowitz).
When in Rome do as the Romans do is a saying that many celebrities have taken to heart. They go native on their trips to Europe by attending a soccer game, though calling them a fan is probably a bit generous.
Michael Moore attended a 2002 North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham. According to poppolitics.com, “[Moore] complained about the low scores, stressing that American teams score more because they are, well, American.”
Some celebrities maintain an “interest” in soccer that can only make you shake you head and wonder. Perhaps interest it too strong a word and it may simply be that they found a shirt they liked and put it on, not realizing it was a soccer jersey.
Mike Tyson fits this mold as he looks fabulous (as always) in an Argentina shirt.
Before threatening to “kick David Beckham’s ass” rapper The Game was merely a fan of Blackburn Rovers. Or at least he wore their jersey (complete with gold chains), which perhaps has more to do with the fact that Rovers’ uniform maker Lonsdale sponsored his European tour. Or maybe he just likes Robbie Savage.
Other rappers to take an interest in soccer include Jay-Z, who says that Thierry Henry is “cool and soccer’s social scene is blinging.”
And Snoop Dogg clearly sides with the Catholic half of Glasgow. That or he thought he was getting the new Boston Celtics warm-up.
But for sheer craziness, look no further than Michael Jackson (yes, I know it’s a surprise that he is involved with craziness). The king of pop was briefly on the board of Exeter City Football Club. No, the king of pop wasn’t “scouting the youth team” but instead was put into that position by friend, the spoon-bending psychic Uri Geller (his websites claims it “could change your life for the better”). When Jackson visited Exeter City FC in 2002 he said, “For the children and Exeter City Supporters, I love you, I’m here for you, I will always be here for you.” Or at least until the club nearly went bankrupt and Jackson hightailed it back to Neverland. Fantastic pictures remain of Jackson being “bowled over by exuberant fans“:
This is what confuses me the most. Some of Americans most famous icons are in Europe watching/supporting soccer, but why can't they stay in america and do this. It would make soccer much more popular if people saw rap icons or actors at a soccer game, people would be like wow I guess soccer isn't such a lame sport if snoop dog is there. If the people that go to Europe to watch soccer would just start to support a club in America it would make soccer become a more popular sport
Soccer is a large part of European culture, but I think it's a very broad generalization to say, "all Europeans are hard-core soccer fans" because there are Europeans who don't like soccer or don't follow it. To look at it another way, the inverse is also true-many Europeans believe all Americans are really hardcore football fans, while in reality many of us are not, although there are many fanatics. And also, remember that most europeans call soccer football and we don't. Why is that?
I think that the american culture is so relatively new compared to the culture of most european nations that perhaps europeans have more of a history of uniting together over a shared activity.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Cameron
The Essay you posted is very informative, and adds nicely to your blog. Adding your respone to the essay is a good idea too. Also, your "Intense" picture looks great and really shows the passion they have for the sport. As a suggestion, maybe you could talk about David Beckham and wether he brought more attention to soccer in America like many of the sports critcs thought he would. Also, you could talk about why you chose this topic to add more personal information to your i-search. Nice blog so far, looks good.
To Michael From Chloe
I think your topic is very interesting. Soccer is the 'universal sport,' and millions of people play it. Yet, it is barely ever on TV, which I find really frustrating because it is so fun to watch. I also enjoyed reading your analysis/comments on the essay that you posted. I agree with everything that you said: there are baseball games where nothing happens, yet it is still on all the time. I think that the sport evolved in Europe and Latin and South America, then migrated to the U.S. It was never an American sport, so people never accepted like other sports. I am still bearing in mind your comments on the origin of sports that are currently played in America. The statistics and data that you include in your blog really back up your thesis, and you should continue to post more as you do more research. I have one suggestion to you so far. Talk about the difference in American and European culture. This was one of your questions in your introduction. Also, try to relate all your information back to your thesis question. With all your data, why is soccer more popular in Europe?
Great job so far!
Chloe
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
In the image to the left is at the MLS championship game. The size of this stadium is pathetic; in football the stadiums are huge and are almost always full. The attendance to this game was 22,427 people where as the Super Bowl has 68,206 people and the World Series had 42, 479 people. This means that baseball has almost double the attendance at the championship game and football has over tripled the people that go to the games, and this is just the people that are there let alone the people that are watching it.
Soccer: The game America doesn't watch
This month, all the world is going crazy over soccer because of the 24-nation World Cup soccer tournament in Mexico City.
All the world, that is, except the U.S.
An estimated 10 billion international television viewers are watching the games that, on June 29, decide the champion for the next four years.
But in the U.S., TV ratings have been dismal--despite a 400 percent increase in youths playing the game since the mid-'70s. The game, with few exceptions, simply hasn't caught on with U.S. sports fans. Some indicators:
Only a handful of newspapers provide regular coverage, usually buried inside the sports pages.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association's soccer championship game attracted only 5,000 fans to Seattle's Kingdome last year; college basketball finals drew 40,000 there in 1984.
Last March, the 17-year-old professional North American Soccer League officially folded.
Back in the '60s and '70s, the league's leaders, like soccer advocates today, had pinned their hopes on two elements: The growth in youth participation (now, over 5 million people ages 6 through 21 play in organized leagues) and soccer's popularity elsewhere in the world. In 1975, a multimillion-dollar spending spree brought Pele and other stars to the U.S., but public attention eventually faded, and club losses averaged over $1 million each annually starting in the late '70s.
Soccer enthusiasts blamed American indifference toward pro soccer on several factors: The game's low scores, lack of roots here, no American superstars and the country's dismal record in international play. Indeed, no U.S. team has made it into the World Cup finals since 1950. In the current competition, the U.S. was eliminated by Costa Rica in regional matches in 1985.
Now, the low TV viewership for the World Cup--ESPN's cable broadcasts of the finals are not as popular as pro bowling--has underscored soccer's longstanding problems in America. More than 20 years after the first national youth soccer league was founded, there still is no large U.S. audience. The 8 million soccer players of all ages simply haven't converted into professional soccer fans--that is, paying customers.
Soccer's boosters argue that large-scale participation didn't begin until the mid-1970s, when a million youths joined soccer leagues. Many still haven't finished college. Also, most of today's players see the game primarily as a recreational --not as a spectator--sport.
There is, though, at least one group of Americans that both plays the game and watches it, too: Hispanics. In part, that's because they were raised doing both, and they have Latin American teams with which they identify. In fact, the only bright sign in U.S. World Cup TV coverage so far is the Spanish International Network's broadcasts. In Los Angeles, SIN's airing of the opening game had the second-highest rating of all TV shows aired in its afternoon time period.
Soccer advocates hope that similar fan interest soon will be shown by those native-born Americans who have been playing the game since the mid-1970s.
"I see 40,000 to 50,000 fans going to games in major cities within 10 years,' predicts Keith Walker, national administrator of the United States Soccer Federation, the sport's governing body. Other officials see growth but think 10,000 is a more realistic attendance figure.
Among hopeful signs:
The biggest drawing event of the 1984 Olympics was the soccer final between Brazil and France, when 102,000 fans--mostly native-born Americans-- jammed the Rose Bowl to watch.
The number of colleges with men's soccer teams has grown to 549, up from 421 a decade ago--more than the 504 football teams currently fielded by NCAA colleges. A few universities draw up to 9,000 to their soccer games.
Although most of the 12 teams in the professional Major Indoor Soccer League are losing money, the fast-paced, high-scoring game has crowds up to 20,000. In Cleveland, the team outdraws the local pro basketball team at home.
These are good omens for Peter Bridgwater, a former NASL official and head of the seven-team, semiprofessional Western Alliance League. He sees the fledgling league, which averages 2,000 fans a game, as a training ground for future World Cup players and the seedbed of a national pro league. He's hopeful but realistic about the future:
"We're not going to be really major league for a long, long time--if ever.'
Photo: In Mexico, crowds of about 100,000 are jamming Azteca Stadium for World Cup finals
Photo: In America, 5 million kids play in soccer leagues
I think that this is a very accurate essay. There is no real reason why we do not watch professional soccer. In the eighth paragraph the author is talking about the reasons our nation isn't involved with proffesional soccer. The first reason he said was the low scores, but there are some football games that have low scores; and what about baseball there are many games that teams don't score any runs, it seems that this is an awful excuse. The second reason is the lack of roots in the country. It doesn't matter where the sport started, baseball wasn't started in the United States and it is one of the most popular sports that is watch. Also look at lacrosse, this sport was created by indians and they hardly show a game on TV. Last he talks about the weak play of the United States in the world cup, just because they do bad doesn't mean you stop watching them. The Red Sox went from 1918 to 2004 until they had won a world series and there were fans that never stopped believing in them.
In the next paragraph the author tells us that professional bowling is watched more than soccer. I believe this is pathetic, who watches professional bowling that is incredibly boring. This is so lame I never thought that professional soccer was that boring to watch.
Althought this article was published in 1986 there have been very few changes. Now soccer might be watched more than bowling but I don't believe so, bowling is on ESPN every sunday afternoon and soccer is on maybe once a week, and there are 13 teams in the MLS(Major League Soccer) and then there are also all the games in Europe.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
INTENSE
This shows you how intese Eurpoean soccer is. In America there are not many people who even go to soccer games. Unlike in Europe people where people live their lives around the sport, while people in America dont even care. I just don't see what the big difference between the two.
