USA Soccer Fans, Are We Sure We're Ready For the Sport to Catch On?

After the U.S. Men's national team's triumphant 2-0 defeat over Spain, you could almost feel the mainstream media elbowing their way onto the bandwagon.

Now, I'm not talking about analysts like Alexi Lalas and John Harkes changing their tune after the game; I'm talking about the lead in on Sports Center, the feature on the local news, the eight minute segment on The Colbert Report for Pete's sake!

Writers said this would be a watershed moment for soccer in America. By defeating the number one ranked team in the world, the American public finally had a reason to talk about soccer around the water cooler.

Perhaps soccer would finally wiggle its way into the mainstream of American sports culture and solidify its position as the world's game.

When I thought about all of this, I had to wonder: is that really what we soccer fans want?

I understand there are certainly benefits to increased exposure in the media. The more young talented athletes that see Jozy Altidore giving interviews on ESPN, the more that are willing to invest their talents in the sport of soccer.

As I've said before, to have continued success, we need to start making "Soccer Star" an attractive career choice for our talented pool of young athletes.

Another nice benefit to soccer's new found attention is accessibility for the fans. I must say, with ESPN covering the World Cup and now portions of the Premier League, it will be nice to catch a match at a friend's house or a restaurant.

This as opposed to the usual routine of setting my Tivo the night before because I'm the only one who bothered to subscribe to the Fox Soccer Channel.

It would be amazing for soccer to find its way into American culture, but personally, I think I just might miss the old days.

Soccer, as it is now, has a cult following in the United States. Sure there are plenty of naysayers, but we soccer fans stick together. There is an instant bond created when you find someone who shares your interest and knowledge in the sport.

We pretend like we are waiting for the rest of America to "wake up" and embrace the beautiful game, but at the same time we enjoy that following soccer makes us feel unique, fresh, dare I say cultured?

I feel like I would rather wear a Sam's Army T-shirt out in public and have nobody recognize its meaning than go out and see three or four others wearing the exact same shirt.

I guess you could say I'm that teenager in a Nirvana T-shirt pledging "I liked the band better before they got so popular."

Call me crazy, I guess I've come to believe this close knit group of bloggers and pub crawlers we call a fan base is pretty special.

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