Have American Football Fans Damaged Their Image?

Have American fans damaged their image? Certainly not, when you consider some of the more fantastic stories involving football fandom, stretching from the bizarre to the violent. 

Consider the story of Karl Powers, a Manchester United fan who decided to make his way past security guard’s at Germany’s Olympic stadium to pose with the team during a match with Bayern Munich, in full uniform. Or the crazy Danish fan who attacked the referee during the Denmark vs Sweden match at Euro 2008, probably just acting out what all Danish fans were thinking that day, Denmark lost 3-nil. 

But I am always impartial to the story of two countries going to war over a football match; yes that’s right, war. After intense fan upheaval during a World Cup qualifier between El Salvador and Honduras leading up to the 1970 World Cup, the Salvadoran army launched an attack on Honduras which lasted for four days until a cease fire was negotiated. Ok, maybe the war wasn’t exactly about a football match between two bitter South American rival countries and had more to do with existing border tensions and civil unrest between the two countries.

But you get my point. 

Especially since American fans have been so prominent in the news lately regarding the strong opinions over David Beckham’s international adventures. From strong opinionated teammates to baffled sports announcers, everyone in America has something to say about world football’s golden boy. 

New video has been circulating around the internet showing the “altercation” between David Beckham and one overzealous LA Galaxy fan. Not to mention the hundreds of pictures of disgruntled fans unhapy with the star’s choice to leave his current team and join a bigger, more respected club in the hopes his play will earn him an England National Team spot for the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.

Alright I know you’re sick of this topic, needless to say, I only want to talk about the reaction, specifically about the reaction from the US fans and media. ESPN is already calling David Beckham a "fizzle" and with the new book coming out about the "David Beckham Experiment" our reaction is overwhelmingly negative.

But what is the real issue, are we circling the wagons in the hopes of protecting our young and infantile league from foreign invaders? Are we upset that we just aren’t big enough to keep the likes of a star such as David Beckham? Or, are we doing the very thing we love to do in America, tear down the superstar?

What about the football perspective?

Players change teams all the time in Europe, managers change jobs all the time. This kind of movement is not unheard of in world football; this kind of change is almost expected at smaller clubs. Consider the plight of many smaller European countries that cannot hold on to their stars, hell some bigger countries can’t even hold on to their stars—just look at Spain. I mean, half of Liverpool plays for the Spanish national team. 

It’s to be expected and some clubs have made it a business, growing young talent to sell to the bigger clubs, reaping the rewards of a huge payday.

Have we damaged our image as well informed fans of a world sport in backing these claims? Was calling David Beckham "unprofessional" damaging to Landon Donovan? Did it show how ignorant he was by going after a player who has been revered by every club he has played at for his professional work ethic, and adored by fans for his effort on the pitch. 

I fear that all this upheaval might have left the impression on the rest of the world that American fans are ignorant about the game, and to a certain extent, our players are as well. I’m afraid that the rest of the world will think that we really don’t know what we’re talking about and we’re always happy to prove it. 

In other words, things haven’t changed.

I’m really happy at the recent success of the US Men’s National Team and am eager to see teams from the MLS like Seattle Sounders FC and Houston Dynamo succeed in gaining popularity. But should we get caught up in these more than common stories of players changing their minds, clubs agreeing to transfer fees, and crazy sports writers ranting and raving. 

No, at least not until after you have read this. More importantly, let’s not lose sight that out of all of this controversy and upheaval, world football in America has definitely made its presence known and has flourished in the Summer of 2009. What a great time for football.