thefinishline 06/24/10
FIFA World Cup: U.S. Beats Algeria, Returns to 2nd Round
By Shawn Brown
For the first time in 80 years the U.S. team advanced to the semi-finals of the World Cup. ‘Wow,’ I thought, as I was watching the U.S. team celebrate on the field. But then I began to wonder, ‘Who else in America gets it? How many people in America actually care?’ When I say care, I mean care like they would if their favorite NFL team just made it to the Super Bowl. Let’s face it. For many Americans, U.S. soccer doesn’t contend with football, basketball or baseball. Even golf offers more intrigue than soccer does. I don’t understand why that is.
One could argue that it’s the low scoring. But baseball has low scoring as well as hockey. If I had to take a jab at it, I would suggest that it’s the lack of connection to history. American children rarely play soccer on the playground. In order to find American kids playing soccer, you’d have to wake up early on a Saturday morning and go to a public park for organized league play. But when you look at kids from other nations, they grow up playing futbol, as it’s known everywhere else in the world. They are taught at an early age to love the game. And sure, for some countries, it many have a lot to do with the fact that it’s easy to play because the only thing needed is a ball and some open space.
So here is my attempt to give a little history and hopefully spark some intrigue. First let’s look back about 80 years. The last time the United States made it to the second round of the World Cup was at the very first World Cup in Uruguay on July 13, 1930. Because of the time it took European teams to travel from Europe to South America, there were only 13 teams including four from Europe (United States, Argentina, Bolivia, France, Romania, Yugoslavia, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Belgium and Chile). The U.S. team had the second match-up, and they crushed Belgium 3-0, recording the first ever shut-out. But the story ended when the United States took on Argentina and lost 6-1, largely due to injuries to key players. So that is how the United States started its World Cup history. The U. S. team had so much presence on the field mainly because of their size, they were given the name “the shot putters” by the French.
Now let’s look at the game itself. Here is a snap shot taken from an article of Sports Illustrated (June 7) written by Joe Posnanski describing the game.
“A goal at the highest level of the game is a miracle. Consider the odds. You have to move a ball across a large field, eluding 10 obstinate foes, without using your hands. You cannot legally pass the ball to a teammate who has raced past the last defender. Once you have approached the goal, you must put the ball into a net eight feet wide and eight yards high, guarded by the one man on the field allowed to use his hands. It is when you think about it an impossible task. But it is not impossible. It happens. And this, the lovers of the sport will tell you, is why soccer soars.”
Now that’s the best description of the game I’ve ever read, and after reading it, I have a new respect for the game of soccer. I hope after reading this a love and respect for the game and the U.S. team will be birthed in you. Congratulations U.S. team!
For the first time in 80 years the U.S. team advanced to the semi-finals of the World Cup. ‘Wow,’ I thought, as I was watching the U.S. team celebrate on the field. But then I began to wonder, ‘Who else in America gets it? How many people in America actually care?’ When I say care, I mean care like they would if their favorite NFL team just made it to the Super Bowl. Let’s face it. For many Americans, U.S. soccer doesn’t contend with football, basketball or baseball. Even golf offers more intrigue than soccer does. I don’t understand why that is.
One could argue that it’s the low scoring. But baseball has low scoring as well as hockey. If I had to take a jab at it, I would suggest that it’s the lack of connection to history. American children rarely play soccer on the playground. In order to find American kids playing soccer, you’d have to wake up early on a Saturday morning and go to a public park for organized league play. But when you look at kids from other nations, they grow up playing futbol, as it’s known everywhere else in the world. They are taught at an early age to love the game. And sure, for some countries, it many have a lot to do with the fact that it’s easy to play because the only thing needed is a ball and some open space.
So here is my attempt to give a little history and hopefully spark some intrigue. First let’s look back about 80 years. The last time the United States made it to the second round of the World Cup was at the very first World Cup in Uruguay on July 13, 1930. Because of the time it took European teams to travel from Europe to South America, there were only 13 teams including four from Europe (United States, Argentina, Bolivia, France, Romania, Yugoslavia, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Belgium and Chile). The U.S. team had the second match-up, and they crushed Belgium 3-0, recording the first ever shut-out. But the story ended when the United States took on Argentina and lost 6-1, largely due to injuries to key players. So that is how the United States started its World Cup history. The U. S. team had so much presence on the field mainly because of their size, they were given the name “the shot putters” by the French.
Now let’s look at the game itself. Here is a snap shot taken from an article of Sports Illustrated (June 7) written by Joe Posnanski describing the game.
“A goal at the highest level of the game is a miracle. Consider the odds. You have to move a ball across a large field, eluding 10 obstinate foes, without using your hands. You cannot legally pass the ball to a teammate who has raced past the last defender. Once you have approached the goal, you must put the ball into a net eight feet wide and eight yards high, guarded by the one man on the field allowed to use his hands. It is when you think about it an impossible task. But it is not impossible. It happens. And this, the lovers of the sport will tell you, is why soccer soars.”
Now that’s the best description of the game I’ve ever read, and after reading it, I have a new respect for the game of soccer. I hope after reading this a love and respect for the game and the U.S. team will be birthed in you. Congratulations U.S. team!