I am a convert. That’s right, I like professional soccer. I never thought I would, but it actually happened. Why was it so hard to turn my opinion around? How did I not see that soccer was for me? I have thought about it, and then I structured my argument around three main points as to why it’s hard to appreciate soccer and why it shouldn’t be.Point 1: Soccer is boring. Maybe it is when you look at it through the filter of American sports. Let’s examine our dominant viewing preferences, like baseball and football. I was raised on baseball, and it will always be the greatest sporting event to me, and football has never failed to excite me.
Soccer doesn’t fit the paradigm. This is because of the ebb and flow of the game. Soccer does not have innings or abrupt possession changes. In fact, aside from a half time, soccer doesn’t even have time for commercial breaks. It is a constant, uninterrupted battle. Maybe this is why you do not see many soccer games shown on ESPN, since advertisers are out of luck as far as commercial time goes. The viewer must devote more attention instead of less.
However, I don’t think that is the prime deterrent to viewers. It is the mounting of tension, the grueling steps needed to score that differentiates baseball and football from soccer. The amount of things that must go right in baseball and football in order to score equates to a dramatic masterpiece in a sports sense, and you will always be glued to the screen for the storyline’s climax when there are runners in scoring position or during third downs in the red zone. This makes those sports great.
However, I propose to you that soccer has the same chemistry. The difference is that the pace is quicker. Downs equate to possessions and hits are the result of passes, while home runs or touchdowns depend on the precision of shots. So my argument is that the parallels between soccer and more popular sports are undeniable when you can recognize them.
Point 2: No team affiliation. This is probably my strongest point and the hardest to overcome for most fans. Why would you care about a sport if you have no one to root for? In Cincinnati there are few soccer teams we can rally behind, whereas in baseball and football we have several, and I am a fan of them all. I love the Reds, Bengals, and Bearcats.
Also I don’t just care about the city where I claim residency, but also the state. I love the Buckeyes.
Maybe you didn’t know this, but Ohio has a pro soccer team. They are the Columbus Crew, and they are a part of Major League Soccer. I love the Crew. And why wouldn’t I? The Reds’ season was a battle for mediocrity. The Bengals’ season is basically a wash. The Bearcats are keeping hope alive and the Buckeyes will probably be in a bowl game that I have never heard of. However, the Crew is in the finals! They are winning!
I was recently in attendance at the second leg of our conference finals when we faced off against the Kansas City Wizards. We crushed them 2-nil. Now only two more games remain, the Eastern Conference final and the MLS Cup.
Ohio has a team that could possibly win it all! I am excited! Maybe you should be too. Give it a try. The next game is against the Chicago Fire, Thursday November 13, at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN 2. Then the championship will be Sunday November 23, at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
Point 3: Fan culture. You could argue that the reason football and baseball have such an appeal is how the fans celebrate and come together, and you would be right. Tailgating and parties are the cornerstone of team pride. It is a gathering that allows each of us to share the joy of victory and the agony of defeat.
I challenge you to attend any Crew game and not be swept up in the tangible excitement radiating from the stands. There is a corner of the stadium dedicated to the fans where everyone collectively recites team cheers. There are organized supporter groups such as the Crew Union and the Hudson Street Hooligans that ritually embrace every game in a fashion unlike any sporting event I have ever seen. There are drums, marches, and outfits that make us part of the team. And at the end of each home victory, as an act of appreciation, the Crew will collectively walk to the corner and bow to its fans. It is something.
I am not saying that soccer is better or worse than any other sport. Just maybe it hasn’t gotten a fair chance to impress us. It is the most popular sport in the world, and maybe American has something to learn from that. Most importantly our team needs us. Go Crew!