U.S. Men's Soccer: A Sub-Par Sport?

(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

If baseball is America’s pastime, then soccer is the world’s. So why isn’t the U.S., a world superpower, a powerhouse in soccer, too?

Soccer is a sub-par sport in the U.S., down there somewhere with hockey. We pay attention when our hometown team is about to win the Stanley Cup. Then we go back to more important things, like Chad Ocho Cinco’s name change and Shaquille O’Neal’s bright future in broadcasting.

So what’s the problem, why don’t Americans like soccer? We seem to lack the learned enthusiasm for the game that Europeans grow accustomed to during childhood. In Europe, as in much of the rest of the world, soccer is the ultimate gift. If you can’t play, you watch. If you can’t watch, well, maybe it’s time you move to the U.S.

And, conversely, those who play soccer in the U.S. are often times better off moving to a soccer-dominated nation. Adam Gazda, who plays soccer for Lehigh University, traveled with his team to play soccer in Italy this past spring.

“Soccer is not just a sport to the rest of the world like football or basketball is to us,” Gazda said, “The towns and businesses will shut down on game days, and you grow up supporting your local team. It’s by far the main sport in all of those countries.”

In addition, soccer is part of the culture for many nations, and it can impact social and political issues as well as affect lives outside of the game itself.

In 1994 Andres Escobar, a member of Colombia’s national team, was shot and killed ten days after the team’s World Cup loss to the U.S.  Criminal reports show that there is evidence to believe the murder was a result of Escobar’s responsibility for an own goal during the match.

“Sure, it’s more dangerous in other nations,” Gazda said, “but that’s because people are passionate. There is passion for soccer everywhere but here.”

To everyone but us, soccer is serious. With that said, you can bet that everyone but us is watching. It’s clear to see the interest that soccer generates around the world by television ratings. European league soccer brings in millions of viewers per match.

That’s not so in the U.S. In 2006 ESPN bought the rights to air Major League Soccer (MLS) games, the main league in the U.S. They introduced MLS Thursdays during primetime. Ratings bombed, and this past January MLS Thursdays was nixed from the lineup.

Dr. David Carr, Professor of Sport Sciences at Ohio University, believes that Americans have a hard time grasping soccer because networks like ESPN don’t focus on the sport.

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