A Special Series By Rob Luker
The Summer of Soccer was a success; great! But guess what, much of today’s business world is centered around the saying that goes something like “what have you done for me lately?” Don’t get me wrong, looking back on the past can certainly help; in fact Don Garber and Major League Soccer executives have seemingly been doing just that with the old NASL leading up to this CBA-filled offseason. The problem I have is not just with Don Garber and MLS, but also with the United States Soccer Federation. Soccer in the States is at a new level along with a nice potential going forward into next summer’s World Cup; it is up to the USSF and MLS to jump on such a train which will make a major stop in December 2010, when the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts are announced. The USSF, which has come a long way since the early 90’s, must now establish themselves to be capable of nurturing and feeding this nations passion for soccer. With good decision making and an eye for the future, the USSF and MLS can do just that in the New Year (Ex: The second division nonsense).
This will be a four part series in which I, a young aspiring sports executive with just five semesters under his belt in an above average to good business program, give my opinions on what MLS, the USSF, and American soccer fans can do to help the state of soccer continue to rise within the US. I hope to spark discussion of a different level rather than the typical “If I were leader/commish/president of FIFA/MLS/USSF I would do this, that, and this.” Basically, I want to use this as a tool for American soccer fans to put the game they love into perspective; seeing as most of us that are reading this live in a nation where the sport is considered “boring".
Please comment, criticize, and applaud (I suggest the last one). As much as I wish to put this in perspective for the average American soccer fan, it is still in the end my perspective. Just realize that I, like most American soccer fans, just want the US to win a world cup in my lifetime and for the MLS to succeed on and off the pitch.
This is Part I. Part II will appear tomorrow.
Part 1: American Soccer Ambitions
Why the fan first in a series about the game and the league? Because American soccer fans live in a nation where their domestic league is considered a joke by mainstream personalities and fans. The USSF and MLS need to have the best customer service on the block, and as of now they do a good job.
Picture this: the opening game of the 2018 or 2022 World Cup has arrived as 91,704 patrons pack FedEx Field (Nations Capital, Largest Individual/All seater) in Washington, DC to watch the USMNT and its opponent kick off the tournament. The five sections behind the US goal is filled with US supporters groups, and almost the whole stadium is pro-US. Isn’t that, as the here and now US soccer fan in each of us, all that we want?
If only the answer were that simple. As American soccer fans, we are typical Americans in my eyes; meaning that we want a lot of occurrences to happen with the sport we love, but we want it all as soon as possible. I’ll say this now and I’ll say this again later in more depth; the popularity of soccer within the United States will never surpass American football or baseball in my or quite possibly even my children’s lifetime(s) (and I’m 21 in July of 2010). Even if ESPN dropped all their football and baseball coverage today they would still easily be the most popular sports in American within fifty years time. Why? Well, because they are American in origin, naturally.
See, as an American soccer fan we all look “over there” for the best total display of the sport. We long for days where we, as Americans, can support the local club and hopefully promote to the top division where we can be the best in the world. Any true American footy fan has watched Green Street Hooligans and The Damned United multiple times and each time they sit to watch it they try to get as many non-soccer friends to watch it with them (unless they - the non-soccer fan - have threatened physical violence at this point; to which I understand). There is just something about the culture “over there” that is so incredible. The extra dedication to stand and sing in freezing temperatures for 90 minutes or how life seemingly stops when your club or, god forbid, your nation is playing. Well let me give you an (obvious) hint; the same stuff happens over here (without the signing) with American Football and Baseball for the most part. Is it smart to go see a Football game in December at Lambeau Field? God no, you risk frostbite of major extremities not to mention just the general discomfort of the afternoon. But, its football, which is tradition; and that is why seemingly every friend and every part of your family did it.
American football and baseball are an ingrained part of our American culture, as is soccer in Europe, which is why when someone gets upset about the state of the game in the US I want to strangle them tell them to think for a moment. Soccer has had a place in US culture and after this past summer it now has a very bright future as well. For that I say we need to be grateful as fans and realize that the biggest obstacle facing the state of soccer in the US is not the salary cap or small TV ratings; but time in general. With patience and good decision making the state of US soccer will rise to its potential and beyond because of the beautiful game soccer is. The NASL (old, not “new”) tried to buy/have it all as fast as they could get their hands on it, and look where it got them in the end.
Enough ranting, though, as I want to outline the two major goals I believe the average American soccer fan wants its nation to achieve before the 2018 or 2022 world cup.
Now, we can define “respected” in many different ways, and before I start it should be stated that the USMNT is respected on the pitch to a degree. Currently, the USMNT is typically regarded as a physical team that can run with the best of them. If you think about this, it makes sense. Most American sports are physically dominated, while sports such as soccer and ice hockey; while very much physical, also require a unique level of talent to which I think is more difficult to obtain than American sports. To be perfectly blunt, most Americans can throw and catch a ball of some sort with accuracy, but shooting a soccer ball or hockey puck, in my opinion, may be more difficult. Essentially, I want US Soccer to develop a style that us American soccer fans can relate to. Ball possession with the USMNT is sometimes an issue, and I think a great style for the US could be the equivalent to “smashmouth” American football. This is a style that I think the USMNT can eventually mold into, but at the same time isn’t the only style I think that could work. Either way, that is what I mean by being “respected” on the pitch.
This issue will be examined more in-depth during Part II of this series, but for the most part every average American soccer fan wants the MLS to succeed. There are many excuses, whether rational or irrational, as to why American soccer fans do not watch/enjoy MLS, but in the end MLS just doesn’t cut it for some. Think about it from the other side of the pond in the form of NFL Europe. The NFL tried to expand their product and sport from 1991 until 2007, but in the end the fans just weren’t attracted to it. Part of the reason I think it didn’t work was because there is no international stage for American Football (which I will go over more later), but for any European fans of American Football I think the majority of the reason was that it wasn’t the same as the real NFL. In today’s day and age it is too easy to watch whatever you want on television and dream about making a trip to see your favorite sport.
Across the board, every single fan or critic of MLS understands that the quality of play and venues need to be raised in order to be considered a top-flight league. There are many different theoretical ways to go about this, but again I preach the fact that MLS needs time more than anything. MLS was created in 1993 which is around 130 years after the original Laws of the Game were created by the Football Association in 1863, so let’s cut it a little slack for a while.
The funniest (or possibly scariest) part achieving both those goals is that MLS needs the USMNT and the USMNT needs MLS. The USMNT might be the engine that is driving this recent soccer craze in the US, but MLS is arguably the wheels of the car in the equation. In my opinion, part of the reason MLS is on the upswing is because the USMNT is on the upswing as well. Although the USMNT will undoubtedly bring higher numbers in attendance and TV ratings, MLS also reaps the rewards because more people are interested in soccer. Therefore, MLS makes more money, and theoretically can increase the quality of play (aka feed the USMNT) and venues ($ for MLS) the clubs play in. I don’t want to go too in-depth here and ruin the coming parts, but you can see how the two are linked. I will admit this isn’t ground-breaking stuff, but this is the perspective I am trying to relay to the American soccer fan; that in order to make conclusions or suggestions on one part of soccer in America you have to consider both the repercussions on the USMNT and MLS.
Up next is Major League Soccer’s role.
