I am a hockey fan, by nature. My grandfather was a hockey fan, my father was a hockey fan, and it passed onto me.
But the time came when my uncle, a die-hard DC United fan, offered to take my dad and me to a MLS game, and I had to think about it.
I was never a fan of soccer, but I also know that one can never truly judge a sport until you see it in person. I have been to hockey games, football games, baseball games, and basketball games. So I can honestly say that I love hockey, like football, enjoy baseball only in person, and dislike basketball.
But I have only seen soccer on TV, so I figured that I have nothing to lose by seeing the game, only something to gain. Plus, it’s a free ticket to a sports game, so I might as well.
DC United versus the LA Galaxy. David Beckham versus Washington DC. Apparently, this was a huge game.
I know the rules of soccer, and I know basic strategies. I played for a couple of years when I was younger, and I played pickup games when I was living in Israel, but I was never any good.
The pre-game warm up was very fun, as it is in hockey. Half of the stadium was cheering for DC, while the other half of the stadium was teenage hormonal girls cheering for Beckham. Not so much for his soccer skills, but perhaps to take his shirt off. Who knows?
Well, the game started, and the crowd was going crazy; people running through the stadium hitting drums, playing instruments, pumping up the crowd. It was very fun, and very similar to an Eagles’ game, only Eagles’ fans are much crazier, both in a good and bad way.
Only a few minutes into the game, Jaime Moreno scored on a penalty kick, and the crowd went even crazier.
The game continued, and DC United dominated with crisp, fast passes, and good, accurate shots that found a way to beat LA goalie Steve Cronin four times.
DC’s defense was pretty good, giving up fewer than ten shots, and only letting up one goal, as Zach Wells improved his goals against average for the year.
The final score was DC United 4, LA Galaxy 1, and David Beckham 0. Beckham drew a fair amount of cheering and booing, but did not do anything impressive. However, he was still fun to watch.
So the verdict of how I now feel about soccer?
Well, I still really don’t like it, but I now have much more respect for all of the players and fans.
Especially since I was dying sitting in the 90 degree heat, I could not imagine players playing in that heat. I mean, I’ve played hockey in that heat, so I do slightly understand. But it was still ridiculous.
Now you might ask me why I did not love the game. As my dad and I discussed, it was very similar to hockey in where it was a free-moving game that flowed very nicely. I also loved the fact that it goes straight through with no stoppages except for halftime.
What I didn’t like? It was very slow, which is the reason that I do not like basketball.
I understand that people are running on a field dribbling a ball, so they are not always going to be moving at full speed. That is the main reason I did not like the game still, which one can easily understand because I am a hockey fan, and that is clearly the fastest moving of the four major American sports and soccer.
Many people talk about the lack of scoring in soccer, and although I saw a high-scoring game, I do not mind that.
It is often talked about in hockey, yet in that sport, I see that a 1-0 or 2-1 game is often more exciting than a 5-4 or 6-5 game. So a 1-0 soccer game to me would seem very exciting, full of stifling defense and great saves.
But altogether, I did have a great time at the game. I loved the atmosphere, and any time I see die-hard sports fans, I respect them, even if they are Pittsburgh Penguins fans.
As long as they act sanely.
So I didn’t like soccer that much. But now at least I can say it honestly because I attended this game and at least, for just a couple of hours, I was part of the soccer world.
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3 months ago
wow, alan, this sounds like it was a lot of fun. and a really well written article, too. great job!
3 months ago
alan- dont judge the rest of us by john's remark..
i applaud you on going and giving it a try.... altho i do find it ironic that you say that the play of soccer is boring when you've clearly stated you enjoy baseball (in person).... baseball is quite possibly the most boring sport out there... but then again it is your opinion, thus you can feel whatever way you want...
something that soccer includes that most sports do not is the environment.... ive been to football games, baseball and basketball... ive been to college sports and pros... its not about yelling and screaming... with soccer you get the chants, the songs the taunts.... echoed by a large portion of the fan base.... its just not the same else where...
the problem with converting non-soccer players is that the soccer player already has a respect for whats going on... how hard it is to hit a 40 yard pass to a guy in a dead sprint.... how hard it is to redirect a ball with something like your head or foot, compared to using your hands.... how tough it is to keep up the pace for 90 full min, with nothing more then a 15-20 min half time.... the small aspects of short passes and 1-touches.... backheels.... etc... while non-soccer fans see it as slow and quite possibly boring, we find it as quick think and beautiful
from 3 months ago
exactly, and i respect the fact that you said this comment calmly. as a human being, im allowed to have an opinion, even if many people agree with it. and ur right, soccer is a very hard sport, and i said that i have a lot of respect for those players. and you have a very good point in what you say. and baseball is a very slow sport, it's just that when ur at the game, there are many distractions that seem to speed the game up. but thanks for the comment
3 months ago
Alan,
You picked a very exciting game to go to as your first soccer experience, too. Well done! According to ABC, the attendance was a couple dozen shy of 36,000, and you could tell that the fans were creating a great atmosphere.
It's a sport that can take awhile to grow on people, so I'm glad that you're even giving it a fair chance. If you want an even more ridiculous atmosphere, see if you can make your way to an international match.
from 3 months ago
yeah, i hear those games are insaaaaaaane!!! they were showing the euro final in the luxury box lounge
3 months ago
Very nicely written, Alan! :)
And for what it's worth, I know how David Beckham feels. People always scream whenever I take my shirt off, too! (Then they run...while they are vomiting.)
from 3 months ago
haha nice, jim
3 months ago
I'm a fan of the Galaxy and I didn't like their performance in that game. The heat was clearly a factor, especially in the 2nd half. The heat seem to have effected the Galaxy players more it did DC. In the 2nd half, they were playing like a bunch of grandmothers, even Beckham. So, unfortunately, you didn't see alot of good soccer there. Geoff
3 months ago
Great article. I didn't grow up with soccer and it took a few games and following a team before I really started to get into soccer. It's now my favorite sport. As with any sport- you need to be emotionally invested to truely enjoy a sport. Make a team your team. Watch them through a season - go to support them and want them to win.
3 months ago
i agree with that
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