The American sports machine, from the daily sportstalk radio stations down to local columnists banging away at dusty keyboards in backwater towns, is much less resistant to soccer than they used to be. Because of the World Cup, soccer is getting much more run than usual; this is not the first time it has happened, but there is a new edge to it all. Social media and the ubiquitous nature of the Internet have lifted the sport's profile to new heights.


We take the good with the bad. For every positive column in our newspapers, there's a negative one declaring that soccer is something America just won't get behind. Our cherished institutions are too entrenched, our sports culture too rich and crowded. "Sorry world", these blowhard columnists say "we don't like your sport."


Ah, such are the heights of presumption. The world doesn't care if America embraces the game, silly writer. They'll go happily along until the end of time whether we appreciate their game or not. You're only wasting your energy with your sarcastic apologies, though I beg you to keeping hacking away. It's mildly amusing, and your words illuminate your rampant bias. It's not about the game, it's about you.


On sportstalk radio, the discussion is one of soccer's ability to hold the ground it gained during this year's World Cup. Of course it won't; the biggest event draws the biggest crowds, and it would be idiotic to believe that all of those people will hang around when the circus pulls up stakes. Some will migrate to our domestic sideshows, and a few may even find themselves jumping up and down in a supporters section in due time; but it's not an indication that "no one cares" if most of the crowd disperses.


Most galling are the battle lines drawn when the subject comes up. They talk about it because they feel they have to, because, well, people are talking about it. So they give it five minutes, batting around the problems with the game (you know the ones), while bemoaning that the sport is being "shoved down our throats."


Words cannot adequately describe how angry that statement makes me, how nonsensical it is, and how little respect I have for anyone who utters it.


Change the damn channel. Maybe poker is on.


I've heard radio personalities become immediately defensive, declaring that just because they don't follow the sport closely doesn't mean they don't understand it. Their efforts to cut off the soccer fans in their audience before those fans ever had a chance to speak is telling; they view them as the enemy, those wacky soccer lovers, and they wanted nothing to do with being called out on their complete lack of understanding. The few calls they did take were typical and telling; disgust dripping from their voices, the callers belittled the game, those who watch it, and the idea that anyone in American gives a rat's ass about it. The hosts then proceeded to dismiss the sport as a curiosity that will disappear for another four years, then moved on to why John Wall has no tattoos. You know, something people care about.


This is the form the rise of the game has taken; people picking sides, a rabid anti-soccer crowd doing everything in their power to convince the country that no one cares, and the pro-soccer soldiers laying waste to the haters with righteous fury. It's not just a sport's place in the landscape that's at stake, it's the soul of the country. Soccer's mere existence is enough to offend a good portion of America's sports media and vocal chunks of the sport-focused population. It's downright odd.


I hate that I'm writing about this. I hate that the subject is top of mind. I hate that the inclusion of soccer in the general sports conversation, the one that takes place on our radios and in our offices, brings with it this reactionary bullshit.


The game is here, get over it. If you're going to cover it, cover it like anything else and talk about the matches, the story lines, and the players. It's time to stop debating the merits of the game every time it comes up and just accept its place as part of the greater sports culture.


I don't care if you like it or not. I don't care if you think it's special or a ninety minute bore. Stop acting like it's any different than most of the other sports you write or talk about, imbued with some sort of anti-American ethos. It's not, and it shouldn't threaten you, "shoved down your throat" or otherwise.


I'm off. Sorry for the shitty post.