Will the Bump in TV Ratings for the World Cup Translate to Interst in MLS?

US fans look on as Landon Donovan scores a goal against Ghana (AP)

ABC/ESPN is reporting that viewership for the US vs. Ghana game on Saturday was up 10% compared to the US vs. England game two weeks ago.

While this may be all well and good for the quadrennial soccer bandwagon and flag waving fans, what does it mean in terms of the long-term viability of the sport? It's one thing to draw in the casual fans who will cheer for anything if it has the American flag on it and another thing entirely to turn them into fans of the sport. A large number of Americans will watch the Olympics once every four years, but it's not like they're chomping at the bit for skating or gymnastics during the other three, you know what I mean?

But the outlook is looking good. Some reports have this season's overall MLS attendance to date up 10% compared to this time last year. More people are going to see their local team in person. And even though this year's numbers to date include the numbers for Philadelphia's two home games at PPL park with an average attendance of more than 29,000, they remain promising. More people are joining in the culture of American soccer. The sport isn't growing everywhere (that same report has attendance for New England and San Jose down by double digits), but it's growing. And I count that as a win.

Soccer 101: The Rabid Fans

So we've dealt with the rules (even that really confusing offside one). We've dealt with the faking. We've dealt with the player's positions and team formations. We've even dealt with the referees and their roles in a game. There's only one large enigma left to explain to the soccer newcomer: The millions of people around the world who actually enjoy watching, following, living and breathing this game.

SOCCER FANS

Ok, you may think you've met something like a soccer fan. But you haven't. You've seen teamsters strip down to their underwear for Green Bay football. You've seen half naked white trash follow their favorite NASCAR drivers around the country in a trailer. You've seen a guy drop his toddler to catch a fly ball. But you still haven't seen anything like a soccer fan.

Soccer is not just a passion for these people. It's not even an obsession. It's a way of life. Period.

Not only have some soccer clubs been around for 150 years, they are often supported by generations of the same family, from the same neighborhood.

Consider this: America supports three major professional sports with about 30 teams each. In England alone, the entire soccer pyramid contains 7,000 teams, every one of which could theoretically rise and fall to either the very top or the very bottom of the league system. And each year over 700 professional, semi-professional and amateur teams compete each year for a single trophy, the F.A. Cup.

Soccer fans love their teams so much, they sing about it and the songs aren't even 25% vulgar ... most of the time. Although, it can be kind of disturbing watching thousands of German fans chant anything in unison.

So when the World Cup comes around every four years, the fans in these countries skip work en masse. Many countries (including Germany during 2006 and South Africa in 2010) grant official public holidays during the tournament. All activity in countries such as Brazil, for example, completely stops while their national team is playing.

American's love their sports, there's no doubt about it. But when it comes to soccer - a sport played by nearly everyone else everywhere else in the world - we're talking about the closest thing to a universal language humanity has ever known. That is a passion on a scale even Yankees fans, Dallas Cowboy fans, Los Angeles Lakers fans cannot match.

It's a beautiful game to play. It's a beautiful game to watch. And it's a damned beautiful game to be a part of.

Tomorrow on Soccer 101: What is the World Cup and Why Should I Care?

Australia vs. the US Men's National Team: On Saturday, My Head Will Explode

With only a week left before the Republic of South and Africa and Mexico officially kick off the 2010 World Cup, teams and fans are scrambling with last minute preparations. On Saturday, two of my favorite national teams face off in their final preparation match: Australia and the United States (alphabetical order, for your information). My loyalties will be tested, and in the end, I think I'll be cheering for no one to get injured.

I was born in America, but my father shared his passion for all things Australian with me growing up. When my father died, I was left with an interest in and an undying curiosity for the Land Down Under. So when I graduated from college and it came time to make my way in the world, what did I do? Well, when the going gets tough, the tough go to grad school. And I went to grad school in Australia.

Truth be told, Australia and the United States have more in common than you may first think. Both are countries based on a fierce sense of egalitarianism and self determination. In terms of soccer, both are countries in which the Beautiful Game is a popular afterthought, placed behind two or three mainstream sports. And both are emerging soccer powers who rely on an "ugly," scrappy game patched together with a few international class players.

So when the Yanks meet the Socceroos on Saturday (8:30 a.m. EDT, ESPN 2), I'll be cheering for both teams to get past their pregame jitters and work through the kinks in their strategies. I want both of these teams to do well and I damn well hope they'll get out of their respective groups by the end of June.

But heaven forbid one of them wins their group and the other places second. That would set up a Round of 16 match between them ... and that's something I don't know if I could handle.

Australia vs. United States, Pre-World Cup Friendly, Live from Ruimsig Stadium in Roodepoort, South Africa, 8:30 a.m. EDT on ESPN 2 and ESPN 2 HD

What is "Success" for Soccer in the US?

photo: Columbus, Ohio International Visitors Council

With the fair-weather U.S. soccer frenzy that is the World Cup coming up in just over two weeks, a lot of dialogue will be focused on just how big soccer is in America. From soccer fanatics spreading the word about the global significance of the tournament to the debutante parties being declared for the American soccer fan, I find myself asking: "What's the endgame? What is "success" for the soccer movement in the United States?"

Is it soccer as the most popular sport in America?

Is it a 30 team MLS?

Is it an American media corps and public at large literate in the sport?

Is it a World Cup semi-final appearance by the US Men's National Team?

Or is it some obscure "respect" for the game?

Whatever it is, I think we need to be realistic with our expectations. Enough of this obsession with why Americans "don't like soccer." Enough with the "but it's so popular everywhere else!" And for God's sake, enough with trying to convince other fans that soccer is simply better than baseball, football, basketball or hockey.

The soccer landscape in the U.S. is going to be drastically different 15 years from now. But I'm unsure if we would count it as a "success" as meeting our halfheartedly defined objectives for what soccer "should be" in this country.

For my two cents, I count success as the day when I no longer have to explain why I love the sport to every person I meet at a bar.

What do you think?

Will Detroit Ever See MLS Soccer?

Every time talk of MLS expansion comes up, Detroit always seems to make an abstract short list. And every time, without fail, nothing comes of it.

So when MLS Commissioner Don Garber revealed in an interview last week that Detroit had been added to the league's shortlist along with Miami, Atlanta, St. Louis and another Canadian town (Ottawa?) for a 20+ team league, hopes all around the Motor City began to rise. Yet, with a stronger soccer base in every single one of the other shortlisted cities, it appears as if Detroit is being set up yet again to get the short end of the stick.

But why shouldn't Detroit have an MLS franchise? Its proximity to both Chicago and Columbus as well as Canada sets up an interesting array of possible rivalries. Not to mention, Michigan and Ohio already hate each others' guts and that hatred has already been successfully funneled into sports.

Detroit is also a lucrative sports market. Ranked 11th in national TV market tables, Detroit has tremendous potential for television licensing and advertising revenue. By comparison, Seattle is ranked 13th, Denver 16th, Portland 22nd, Columbus 34th. On top of this, the Motor City already fosters a fanatic love of hockey, baseball and basketball. Hell, even the pathetic NFL franchise the Detroit Lions drag season ticket fans back each year for punishment.

But that's just it. Detroit is too far gone on any other number of sports to be preoccupied with professional soccer. It seems that no matter how many times people compile a list of reasons why Detroit should have an MLS franchise, the crux of the argument boils down to: "Detroit's a big city and as a big city we should have a pro soccer team." Believe me when I say that this is not enough to bring the MLS to Detroit.

The (recent) history of professional soccer in Detroit
In 2003, the NY/NJ Metrostars (ah, the good old days) played a U.S. Open Cup match against the Michigan Bucks. The local media heralded it as the debut of Major League Soccer in the Metro Detroit area. Livonia natives Jim and Dan Duggan are quoted in the Detroit News as saying they had hopes of adding Detroit's name to the list of MLS expansion finalists by September 1, 2004. Jim and Dan also establish "MLS Detroit" and begin taking deposits on season tickets from potential fans. Nothing comes of it.

Fast forward to 2005. Detroit is snubbed in favor of Salt Lake and a second Los Angeles team. In response to this, MLS Detroit offers forth a study conducted by American City Business Journals which identifies ... wait for it ... Detroit as "one of the most appealing markets in America for a Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion team." Nothing comes of it.

In 2006 the Michigan Bucks, the USL Premier Development League team based in Pontiac, Michigan, win the top amateur honor of the year. Journalists, fans and soccer pundits speculate what it means for the "future of soccer in Detroit." Nothing comes of it.

It is now 2010. Detroit has been passed up for an expansion franchise in favor of Toronto, Seattle, Philadelphia, Vancouver and Montreal. And with a second New York team looking to pad the league's membership to 20 teams, the next six years are looking no different than the past six for Detroit's hope of MLS glory.

The Solution
With the future of a 20+ team MLS in doubt, Detroit should take a pragmatic, incremental approach to wedging its way into professional soccer. Detroit should strive for a successful second tier USL or NASL franchise. The phenomenal season ticket success of Seattle and Philadelphia started as support for a second tier team and Vancouver, Montreal, and (likely) St. Louis are set to follow in their expansion footsteps.

You've got to crawl before you can walk, as they say. Detroit should be looking to the USL before the MLS. And then, just maybe, MLS will not overlook the Motor City when it starts its next round of expansion.

A Friend of Mine Doesn't Like the 2010 USMNT Jersey

The time is soon drawing nigh when all of us soccer fans descend upon the online stores and pick out our official gear for the World Cup. A scarf, a flag and - more than likely - the kit of our home country. With our trifecta of gear most of us will be ready to down a few beers and start yelling at the TV come the second weekend of June.

And therein with the third part of that ensemble lies a problem: A friend of mine doesn't like the new US Men's National Team jersey.



It's not that it's an ugly jersey, it's just not his cup of tea. To be completely honest, he doesn't wear "sashes" well. Unless he's the mayor of a thoroughly charming 19th century town, he doesn't really see why there should be a sash on ANYTHING.

So what does this friend of mine do? Is he a bad fan if he buys a US scarf and say ... the Australian National Team Jersey? You know, to show some multilateralism in his international soccer fandom?

US Soccer Identity: Confused or Just Rebellious?

Photo Credits: Unknown

When I find myself watching soccer games in an American bar, I almost always have the following conversation with one of my fellow patrons:

Patron: "What are you watching?"

Me: "Soccer."

Patron: "Who's playing."

Me: "[Team A] and [Team B]."

Patron: "Oh .... So how did you become a fan? Did you play as a kid?"

And there it is, the one pet peeve I have as a soccer fan in America: I am constantly having to justify and explain why I enjoy and follow the sport. But do I really have any room to complain? No matter how many times die-hard fans argue to the contrary, many Americans are convinced that soccer is un-American and that being involved in soccer past the age of 12 is something to be explained. This makes for - if nothing else - a frustrating sense of identity in American soccer fans.

So when Jason Davis of Match Fit USA began musing this morning on his Twitter account about Americans ceding their soccer identity to British announcers, it got me thinking: Is the American soccer identity one of a crippling inferiority complex or just a rebellious adaptation of the world's sport to the American experience?

On one hand, you have the exquisitely passionate groups of fans like Sam's Army and American Outlaws, the Hudson Street Hooligans, Emerald City Supporters, Screaming Eagles and so on and so forth. While they support the subersive "Sixth Sport" (after American football, baseball, basketball, hockey and NASCAR), they are inherently American in their zealous fandom. Painted stomachs, foam fingers, tail gating and other staples of American sport have made their way into US Soccer. The fans have taken their passion as Americans and applied it to their sport, their team, their way of life.

On the other hand, we have the Soccer Mom syndrome which is unavoidably bound with the perception of the sport in the US. Over 90% of all American kids under the age of 10 are shepherded back and forth from practice and games by the infamous Soccer Mom. Soccer is a safer sport. It's far easier and cheaper to equip kids for it ($10 shin guards and an old plastic milk jug filled with water). And in the words of Dave Egger, it tolerates a fascinatingly high level of incompetence in the early years. But by the age of 10, 98% of those kids have dropped the sport to move on to the "real sports." As such, we find ourselves in a peculiar situation: A majority of Americans between the ages of 20 and 30 have played soccer in their life, but were never pressed to take the sport "seriously" or with an respectful consideration.

And then - if all of this wasn't creating enough confusion for the average soccer fan in America - there's the international stigma placed on American soccer. Many American fans are convinced we're "doing it wrong." The best soccer is played in any country BUT the United States. And the inability of the "average American" to understand the beauty and value of soccer in a global context is just another source of beleaguered frustration.

In light of all these contradictions, it's easy to see why the identity of the soccer fan is a prfoudnly confused one. We love our game, but with a genuine knowledge of the game comes the inevitable realization that our leagues, players and teams just aren't the best on the continent, let alone the world. This can be a tough fact to swallow when we are brought up in a sports culture and a country which places an fanatic emphasis on being "the best."

An inferiority complex is inevitable, but the passion continues to grow. And at the end of the day, that's all soccer is really about.