A day like yesterday is a day where you remember that sometimes you change the facts to fit the narrative.
For the past week or so, sports pages in newspapers and online and sports talk radio has been running with the incredible story of the United States women's soccer team, how they had overcome the odds and were poised to become household names like their 1999 counterparts who were the last American team to win the World Cup. Maybe I live under a rock, but I don't think I could name a single player on that team without getting all Googly about it. Their story these days would be found in one of the VH1 documentaries, “Behind the Soccer” or something.
Nonetheless the media was all gripped in soccer fever of a sorts. Even the other night, as I was sitting down watching the nightly news, a chore anymore if ever there was one, one of the news pieces was about how there was an upswing in interest in soccer because of how the women's team was playing. The story was replete with kids playing soccer in a park and somebody yammering into the camera about how the team isn't viewed as a women's soccer players but just soccer players. Lots of nationalistic jingoism tied into a piece about a sport that most Americans couldn't give two shits about. Nary a single piece of evidence was produced in any of the vast amounts of yammering about how soccer was gaining in popularity was ever produced. Instead the story was basically just stock footage stuff, like knowing every 4th of July there will be some jackass who blows his hand off with fireworks, or every Thanksgiving we have the requisite deep fried turkey disaster, every 4 years we get subjected to the nonsense that America is on the verge of becoming a nation that embraces soccer as a sport with extensive interest amongst the populace.
Anyone who reads my page for more than a day or two knows that I am a big hockey fan. I am one of those geeks that, if there is a hockey game on somewhere, regardless of who is playing, I will gladly sit down and watch it. The thing is though, I know I am a geek for doing so. Sure I would like for hockey to be more popular here in the states than it is, but in the back of my mind I am oh so acutely aware that basically I am a niche of a niche when it comes to an audience. The internet allows me to converse with like minded nichers, but we are nichers just the same. The average guy sitting in his home in Ames, Iowa probably couldn't even tell you the two teams that played for the Stanley Cup this year.
The reason I say that is that soccer is in the same boat. By and large the average American just doesn't care, regardless of how much the media would have you believe otherwise. Sure, sometimes a story will transcend the sport and grab national attention, not unlike the 1980 United States hockey team and the “Miracle on Ice”, but after a little bit of buzz everything returns to its status quo. Or the sudden rise of Tiger Woods early in his career in the PGA. But the end result wasn't a huge upswing in interest of the sport, hockey didn't become significantly more popular after 1980, blacks didn't take to the links in droves after Tiger became the first significant golfer of color since Calvin Peete.
But nonetheless, the narrative being written was how great this was for soccer in America. Then the unthinkable happened, the United States lost in the World Cup final to an underdog Japan team. Now I could sit here and argue about how the game ended (Japan won on penalty kicks, something I railed about better than a year ago, again the blog is ahead of the curve) but I will not, because it just doesn't matter. It will have zero impact on the interest Americans have in soccer in general, so why waste my breath on something that is so inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. However, those that had invested so much time and effort into telling us once again why soccer is the next best thing since sliced bread now had to come up with why it was okay the United States lost, lest the real curtain gets pulled back to show that there wasn't an audience there after all. So it was, “well if anyone should beat the United States, at least it was Japan after what their country went through with the tsunami”. Excuse me? So now it is okay to lose if you are the prohibitive favorite as long as the nation of your opponent has went through significant suffering prior to the event. That my friends, is stupidity even I can't wrap my head around. If that were the case, we should all be rooting for Haiti every year. Or any of a handful of other Third World countries where a “dirt nap” doesn't mean you will sleep with the fishes, but instead that your bed in the very ground you are standing on. ““Hey Johnny, it sure is a shame the US lost to Rwanda””Yeah Billy, but hey the Rwandans just learned that the team can afford shoes and a ball next year and maybe in two years they will be able to afford an actual goal on the other half of the field.””
But in another day or two the buzz will quiet down and soccer will take it's rightful place in the family of American sports, it will go back to being that relative that shows up at the family reunion and everyone speaks to only to be polite, while they look at their watch, wondering how much longer before he leaves.
I first read this in the middle of the night when I unable to sleep, in the middle of multiple sleep cycles. Let me tell you, as you've read from my blog, you know I'm going through a little something where I'm angry, upset, depressed, whatever. On Sunday or whenever the game was...I discovered that friends I've had for years...YEARS were suddenly rabid soccer fans. Facebook, Twitter were all, well, atwitter with updates, angst and so on at the game.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason (see:need to up my meds) I became literally nearly enraged by the sudden fans. Even my mother was screaming at her iPad was she watched the game and then it cut out, then tried to find it on tv. I was aghast.
Hey, if you like a sport, like a sport. I like hockey. it's the only sport I enjoy watching. My parents neighbor has season tickets to the soccer team here in DC, whatever they're called. Sure, I'll go see them because I like doing stuff with people. I HATE baseball, but I go see games in person with some friends because its the event, not the sport. but hockey...yea, love that. Although i really don't watch that on tv, only in person too.
Anyway My point is, it pisses me off to see people become sudden fans on something they don't give a crap with any day of the way ordinarily. A friend of mine I was whining to said it was probably more a patriotic thing, more a go USA.
Whatever. I was still annoyed. I can feel my blood pressure up. lol. thanks for lettting me vent here. Its my secret, since I can't do it on my own blog. muhahahahaha
BTW you made many excellent points...yea, so its ok for us to get beaten if the other teams country just had a horrific tragedy? WTF?
ReplyDeleteI would argue it is more about nationalism than it is about a sudden increase in interest in the sport. And I have nothing against nationalism per se, just recognize it as such. When the Olympics are on I am all about chanting "USA, USA" but at the end of the day I am not thinking my interest level in most of those sports has increased all that much. My friends and I don't grab a case and head out for an evening of white hot competitive curling action after all. So yeah, there were people whose interest level was elevated because it was the home team doing well, just say that. Don't make it out to be bigger than it actually is. We aren't going to wake up tomorrow to find our nation's best athletes have decided to drop their current sport in favor of soccer, the MSL is still going to play to lots and lots of empty seats and for the love of god don't equate winning a game with even remotely comparing to incalculable human suffering.
ReplyDeletewell if countries should win a major international sporting event based on awful tragic natural disasters then I'm putting my money on NZ for the Rugby World Cup.
ReplyDeleteone thing that reading this "sporty type" blog brought to mind was why call a sporting event the world series when it is in fact only teams from ONE country competing? hmmm
I am not sure there is broad appeal for baseball, or the skill level of it played outside of the US. I know in Latin America it is played at a pretty high level (many major leaguers come from that area and play there during the winter months in the states) and there have been a few Japanese baseball players that have had success here in the states, but I am not sure that the baseball talent in say France, is all that good. It is much like football here in the states, technically the Super Bowl winner is the world champion, but outside of the Canadian version I am not sure there is much appeal for it outside of the US.
ReplyDeleteNo there probably isn't the level of skill or interest, by why not call it the American Series and the winners are American Champions. Just seems incredibly stupid to me.
ReplyDeleteIf the competition is open for other countries to apply to play but they have chosen not to, then I guess the world champions title could be justified. I really have no idea what the boundaries of the league are.
I know football has tried to expand to a degree, they have played games in Canada, Mexico and Great Britain to garner interest, but little has been forthcoming. Even the minor league World Football League with teams in Europe met with little more than yawns.
ReplyDeletebaseball does have some appeal outside the states, but without being an avid follower of it I would be a poor judge of how it comapres to the American version.
I'm sure what I asking here wasn't clear. Let me give an example. Football (soccer) in the UK annually has teams compete for the F.A cup. The teams have to be members of the English Premier League to be able to compete for this title.
ReplyDeleteYes I get that attempts have been made to broaden the appeal of grid iron and baseball by having some international matches. Aren't these only a form of invitation match (friendlies). I'm assuming that to compete in the world series the teams that qualify to play have to belong to the American league & that therefore it is not open to other countries.
I think if there was enough interest overseas the leagues would definitely open to expansion. Originally with the NFL they were only playing a presaeson game or two out of the country, but now at least one regular season game is played in London. At the end of the day it is all about the mighty dollar for these leagues, if they thought they could tap a foreign market and have it be financially viable I am sure they would be open to the idea, I just don't think there is the interest level there. It is to them what soccer is to us.
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