Juga Bonito Aqui?!! ….

I think it’s important for new American soccer fans to realize that Rome won’t be built in a day.  No matter how much new American fans study the game and advocate changes to the game they’ll still be fighting an uphill battle against stronger soccer nations.  I think it’s time to look at one aspect of our game that needs work: a majority of young people playing the game aren’t as devoted to it as other sports.    There are a thousand studies about soccer involvement for young people but chances are those same young people aren’t just playing one sport, they’re playing maybe two or three others.

For example, take my experiences with sports as a child growing up in San Diego.  I played soccer and baseball in organized youth leagues.  However, basketball and football were games I practiced outside of organization and with kids around my block almost on a weekly basis.  Later in life I played just basketball for fun and still regret not becoming competitive at a high school level.  I still play basketball with friends once a week despite the attrition of middle age. 

To make this easier let me this together with percentages:

Sports I’ve physically played age 6-12: Soccer 15%, Baseball 60%, Basketball 20%, Football 5% Hockey, Tennis, other 0%. 

Sports I’ve physically played age 12-current: Baseball 30%, Basketball 65%, Football 5%.

Okay, that’s a pretty dramatic jump and it looks like soccer fell off a cliff as far as my participation went (and I didn’t hate soccer as a kid).  Even though I went on to play baseball in highschool I drifted away from that game too right before I went to college.  As far as the one single game that stuck with me as far as exercise and enjoyment, it’s obvious basketball was the game of choice.

Why am I even putting these numbers up?  I’m trying to show how organized sports have almost nothing to do with developing a passion and feel for the game.  The two sports where I was involved in an organization (soccer and baseball) also were two sports I didn’t continue playing into my teens.  I now watch soccer because my girlfriend’s family got me to enjoy the game a bit more, otherwise it’d be basketball and the NFL (and no hockey). 

So if parents drag their kids to tennis practice every week, will that be a guarantee their child will grow up into a raving tennis enthusiast twenty years down the line?  Which sport will strike a chord with a young player?  The one he has to play for mom and dad, or the one that all of his friends are already playing outside?  In my generation that pick-up game of choice was basketball and in my father’s generation it was baseball.  Signs are pointing to soccer becoming the next pick-up game but there are a lot more basketball courts in parks than soccer fields right now. 

To conclude, how do we get these young people to stick it out with soccer?  For one, having the game on television more won’t hurt.  Looking back maybe I would’ve practiced more if I had players to emulate in an actual pro league.  San Diego had a championship arena league soccer team and I didn’t care enough to get to know one player.  These days soccer is shown a bit more on T.V., but no way as much as the NBA, baseball or the NFL.  Also, kids have to enjoy the game in ways that have nothing to do with their parents.  Do they have a favorite soccer team?  Do they stop playing basketball in the parks and choose to practice soccer instead?  This isn’t about dropping your child off for a two hour practice of running around cones and standing in line for goal shots.  This is about eight or nine hours of practice time each week that them and their friends are putting in by themselves.  Since I don’t have kids yet I don’t know very much about the  youth soccer landscape, but I can’t help but wonder if some eminent soccer renaissance will develop here in America in the next fifteen years.  But come Sunday I’ll be working on my jumpshot. 

UPDATE: I tried finding a good Youtube clip of Brazilian street soccer to emphasize what young Americans are up against and I became disillusioned with the whole thing and didn’t want to embarrass our soccer coaches.  Let’s just say some countries are light years ahead of us.

The MLS Championship Means Nothing?

Before I even begin my post about the MLS Final I must first get this out of the way: I predicted for L.A. to win weeks in advance of the final game at this website, and suggested it might have been fixed:

http://thefixisin.net/mlsfinals

I even predicted it would be a very close game, call me a conspiracy theorist, but I was right and accurate.

My basic thought process at that time was this.  There was so much money on the line (and in Beckham’s last year), that league executives might go ahead and fix the game to make it as entertaining as possible for Americans still wary of ‘this foreign soccer thing’.  And what happened in the final?  If you have read this site more than ten times then you don’t need a recap do you? 

The reason I bring up my prediction is because I want everyone who reads Suckyball to understand that I, in no way shape or form, am 100% certain MLS games are corrupt and manipulated.  However,  there is a high chance that the league will have to deal with scandals one day in the future and I believe it’s inevitable in a growing and profitable league.  So maybe AEG pulled some strings behind the curtain and put on a great show.  So what?  Or … maybe Donovan is American soccer’s version of Larry Bird dragging a growing league into the spotlight for future generations to cultivate.  Each viewer and MLS fan should come to their own conclusions about how they enjoy watching sports.

But I digress …. and now return to American soccer sucking.    

Over the past six months I’ve bashed American soccer left and right for no other reason than that it doesn’t compare to it’s European, Spanish, Italian or Brazilian counterparts.  I didn’t do this because I hope America fails, I did this because anyone watching global soccer for over four months will come to the eventual realization that Americans can’t compete with top global teams.  Wave your flag or set up as many town hall meetings as much as you want but American soccer has years before we get anywhere close to the top. 

Which brings us to a picture of Gordon Ramsay, (top international chef, food critic, and in my opinion hilarious star of Kitchen Nightmares), at the MLS Final watching the game courtesy of David Beckham.  This picture strikes me as if to say ‘International people will always follow soccer, which means they have to follow America’s growth no matter how awful it may be for them’.  Did he have fun?  Did he keep checking the time on his phone?  It doesn’t matter because he was there along with a slew of other celebrities that were invited/forced to watch the game.

So let me congratulate the Galaxy on giving the league a push in the right direction and making major news networks focus on soccer for a night.  Even though the team celebrated with beer instead of Cristal they seemed to enjoy their hard fought victory.  Even though I can’t find any news of a victory parade planned for the Galaxy they still should be admired throughout tinsel-town for a decent accomplishment.  Even though the T.V. ratings aren’t that great at least the league is signing new deals with NBC and other television stations keeping the league afloat.   

But let’s look at the bigger picture and forgive me for my brevity.  Here are other championship teams from within the past year:

Manchester United: Rooney, Nani, Xavier Hernandez, Ashley Young.  All three of these players should be playing for their national teams and have international experience against the top clubs.

Barcelona: Messi, Xavi, Iniesta.  The two Spaniards also won the World Cup, therefore doubling up on championships.

AC Milan: I didn’t follow this team and I have no idea about most players.  However, there’s a Brazilian named Robinho who none other than Pele said would become one of the greatest Brazilian players ever at only age 15 (no pressure Robinho).

Let’s compare with the MLS Galaxy: Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan and David Beckham.  These players are put in order from ‘will probably play for their national team’ to ‘might not play for the national team’.

So does the MLS Championship mean anything?  I think if you live in Italy and had to watch a mid-season MLS game with teams you’ve never heard about then obviously no, it means nothing.  But if you live in Los Angeles and dine on expensive sushi alongside people who own vineyards than yes, you’ll have to follow MLS a little bit more.  Time to brush up on the ‘no relegation’ conversations then. 

And for the last note, I have a new job so you can expect more updates from here instead of a sharpie marked cardboard box filled with diagrammed soccer plays at Occupy Wallstreet.

Clint Dempsey – American Hero?

Let me preface this by stating that I am no way knocking the play of Clint Dempsey.  He’s doing what very few Americans have ever done and that’s being a consistent goal scorer for a top level European club.  Again, I am in no way disparaging his play.  However, because he was voted American player of the year by ‘Futbol de Primera’ (notice the Spanish name for a U.S. National team award) I decided to compare him against the rest of the other players that play in English leagues.  I’m not even comparing him to the Spanish or Mexican leagues. 

All stats were compiled from here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/player/_/id/39928/clint-dempsey?cc=5901

Dempsey, who plays for Fulham (a decent English team) has scored three goals in 10 games.  Not too shabby.  But let’s look at another link, that shows the goal leaders for the rest of the league:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/stats/scorers/_/league/eng.1/barclays-premier-league?cc=5901

Chicharito from Mexico so far has four goals in nine games, a little bit better.

Mario Balotelli, the mohawked Italian who set his apartment on fire by playing with fireworks, racketed up five goals in six games.

Wayne Rooney scored nine goals so far and some other guy named Robin Van Persie, the league leader, shot in ten.  I have no idea who Robin Van Persie is because ESPN.com keeps advertising stories about Messi and Ronaldo.

Is scoring three goals for Fulham commendable?  For an American on a major English team, yes, but keep in mind that about twenty other players have scored exactly three goals so far into the season.  He’s not lighting up the league and breaking down walls and only Fulham fans are excited with him because he’s keeping their team competitive.  The reason I bring this up is because Dempsey is also the man that was hyped to death at the last World Cup for scoring against England.  He was a great American news story that might not have a follow-up performance in the next World Cup in Brazil.  And if Dempsey is one of America’s best players and he’s pretty much average in the scheme of English football, who else is going to step up to the plate, er, who else is going to step onto the soccer field and one up him?

I think most American fans can agree that we want more Americans that make international waves, but right now we’re not developing those players yet.  Dempsey, you’re a great player, you deserve the award and every accolade given to you … but grab your cellphone and start giving advice to Juan Agudelo.  It might be a bumpy road for him too.