thefinishline 06/14/10
2010 World Cup: Are You Watching?
By Aaron M. Little
Does the average U.S. Citizen really care about soccer and the 2010
World Cup going on in South Africa? I know people follow the headlines
and are somewhat pleased to see that we tied England in our first match
the other day, but did you even watch it? Without consulting espn.com, would
you even know the next opponent? After 30 plus years of a classic
upbringing in the lovely commonwealth of Virginia, it has always struck
me how soccer can mean so much to the international community, while in
the States we just don't have the attention span for it. We make our
kids play it. I played a couple years growing up, but it remains the
stepchild of America's celebrated professional sports. Is the game too
long for us? Is the scoring too low? I know I'm not the first American
to pose such a question, but it seemed timely to ask once again. Is
there anyone who's passionate about the World Cup that would care to
explain the fever?
Does the average U.S. Citizen really care about soccer and the 2010
World Cup going on in South Africa? I know people follow the headlines
and are somewhat pleased to see that we tied England in our first match
the other day, but did you even watch it? Without consulting espn.com, would
you even know the next opponent? After 30 plus years of a classic
upbringing in the lovely commonwealth of Virginia, it has always struck
me how soccer can mean so much to the international community, while in
the States we just don't have the attention span for it. We make our
kids play it. I played a couple years growing up, but it remains the
stepchild of America's celebrated professional sports. Is the game too
long for us? Is the scoring too low? I know I'm not the first American
to pose such a question, but it seemed timely to ask once again. Is
there anyone who's passionate about the World Cup that would care to
explain the fever?