Take It from a Former Hater, Soccer Can Thrive in the States

Four years ago at this time, if you told me I would be trying to convince my wife to let me switch our cable to a satellite provider specifically to add Setanta Sports, I would have asked, "What the hell is Setanta Sports?"

Once you explained to me that's a channel that holds vast broadcasts of English Premier League soccer, I probably would have punched you in the face.

I was a soccer hater.

Not just someone who could care less about the sport, but yet, someone who hoped for the sport to disappear from the face of the earth.

I was pretty much Jim Rome.

That would all change.

I really have laziness to thank for my switch to a soccer fanatic.

In the summer of 2006, I was working 4 AM to noon everyday. 

One day I came home and turned the television on. It was already on ESPN. It was the afternoon and the World Cup was on.

Germany vs. Costa Rica. I couldn't find the cable remote and had no intentions of looking for it. I was stuck watching soccer.

Germany won 4-2 but what happened was amazing. I had watched the entire match. I sat there enthralled.

I watched the next match.

Then everyday I came home and I tuned it.

Why have a hated this game for so long? It was a fantastic game to watch.

In a split second everything could change. It kept moving, never stopped (outside of the phantom injuries). How could you not marvel at these athletes going up and down for 90 minutes? How could you not appreciate a thing of beauty like David Beckham's free kick against Ecuador?

There was drama, like Christiano Ronaldo stepping on Wayne Rooney's chest. How would that effect the two Manchester United teammates?

Who was Manchester United? I needed to know.

I watched every single second all the way through the final, devastated to see Zidane get red carded. 

See, I knew who he was because as the games continued I began doing maniacal research on who these guys were and thanks to YouTube, I could actually watch some old highlights.

Eventually, the World Cup came to an end.

Now what?

I was a soccer junkie who was sampling the finest dope around and poof, it was gone.

I needed more, but where? Where could I go?

Clubs?

What were clubs?

Oh, yes, Manchester United.

English Premier League. Fantastic.

Then I discovered Bundesliga.

La Liga.

Italian leagues, French leagues, it was too much!

There was the MLS here in the states, but after watching World Cup action there was no way that our US league could satisfy me.

My quest was dealt a devastating blow when I found out my cable company, as well as all the others in south central PA, at the time, did not carry Fox Soccer Channel.

I called them, all of them, once a week and then finally, they added it. I'm not claiming to be the one to get it added, but it couldn't have hurt.

I found a local shop that sold soccer gear. All they had that I could afford was a red Manchester United jersey with Vodafone on it. I bought it.

I didn't realize I had just made a giant leap onto a massive bandwagon. 

A few months later my family and I moved to Columbus, OH.

I immediately bought season tickets for the Columbus Crew. 

MLS didn't play well on TV for me, but going to Crew games was fantastic. They became my team. 2007 was a rough season, but there was hope.

That season paid off in 2008 when they dominated MLS and won the MLS Cup. I catch their games every week, whether I go or watch them on TV.

I now follow two kinds of football.

I love them both.

I feel that soccer can thrive in the United States. It will never reach the heights of the NFL here, but I think there's room for it to get bigger.

It's not going to happen with folks like David Beckham coming over. That helps, but it's not enough.

It's going to take more people like my former self, to catch on. 

I swear, if a former soccer hating person like myself can become a fan of the beautiful game, then so can anyone else.

Now if I can just get Setanta in my home....