Why America should fall in love with football (soccer)

I rarely post whole articles on this blog. And for that matter, I've never posted a whole article about football. Mostly, though, because many of you could care less about it. But this is a great one that I came across from an Orlando Sentinel soccer blog called "The other football." With big names coming into the MLS, I really do feel that America is slowly coming around to being a part of the world's game. And the momentum is building from the US's Gold Cup win, and the US U-20 team getting to the quarterfinals of the U-20 World cup. Enjoy

Why America should fall in love with football (soccer)

Posted by Brant Parsons on Jul 12, 2007 7:30:00 AM

Have you been to an NBA game recently? Judging by the empty seats I've seen at the few Orlando Magic games I've attended, I'm guessing your answer is no.

But if you had, you would have been treated to constant artificial noise in the form of sound effects and music. Every single touch of the ball, every single possession has something played loud enough to drown out all possible normal thought.

The only time the crowd noise rises above a murmur is when free (and worthless) t-shirts are being tossed into the greedy hands of the crowd or when a meter is put on the scoreboard to measure "crowd noise." A blind person could go to an NBA game and know when those two things were going on because that's the only time the crowd wakes up.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because Major League Soccer sent out an edict to all of their clubs this season to eliminate artificial noise and music and to limit their use of PA announcements.

So at a Major League Soccer match you won't have some overweight blowhard telling the crowd to "Get up and Cheer for their team!"

This is what American pro sports have had to resort to just to keep the interest of their fickle fan base.

Here's another. You're watching yet another boring game in the National Football League forced upon you by the TV networks. A team scores, then there is a two minute plus commercial break. They kick off. Another commercial break. Then a play or two and a time out. Another commercial break.

In ten minutes time, there probably has been about ten seconds of action. And this is the country's most popular sport?!?

In a regulation soccer match, there is one break, halftime. There are no timeouts, no chances for coaches to extend the final ten seconds to a half hour. It is constant movement, constant gameplay.

There are no loud beer commercials, no inappropriate ads for sexual inadequacy and you always know how long a match is going to last - less than two hours.

Tomorrow in Los Angeles, the U.S. mainstream world is going to be introduced to the biggest soccer star to come to America since Pele in the 1970s when David Beckham is announced as a new member of the Galaxy in Major League Soccer.

The press conference alone will get more coverage than the MLS Cup last season. Curious eyes will look upon the beautiful game for the first time ever, and I think it's about time that America fell in love with this game and what better time than now.

This isn't about Major League Soccer, it's not about the World Cup or any other competition the U.S. men's national team is in. This is about the world's most popular game finally taking hold in America.

And why shouldn't it?

There are no TV timeouts in soccer, there isn't 35 seconds between plays, or 12 seconds between pitches. The noise made at matches is real and from the fans that support the club, not some preprogrammed sound effect blasted through over-amplified speakers. But most importantly, the action of the field is superb.

Soccer has a free flowing nature, always moving, always changing. It can be an elegant ballet or a gritty, physical jazz number. Its athletes are some of the fittest in the world, possessing skills that have taken lifetimes to master and it shows during the course of a match. It is a game that can go minutes at a pedestrian pace only to light up like a firecracker with a simple touch of the ball.

There will be those that complain about the lack of scoring in soccer and my guess is they have never watched a match, for while there might be only a few goals, there are plenty of game-changing moments. There are the times that the heart stops as a ball goes wide or when one's spirit drops as a game-winner ricochets off the post.

Because of these near misses, when a goal is scored, it is truly a masterful moment.

Can you really describe the moment when your club scores a match-winning goal. Or when you finally equalize against your hated rival after countless attempts fell just short. I can't, at least not with any words. It's a feeling that you can only share with someone that has felt it before, that has watched 89 minutes in misery only to have one kick give them a week of euphoria.

In my years of following sports, I've yet to find a moment that can lift or break me quicker or more powerfully than a goal scored.

But unlike basketball, or football - the scoring is just one aspect of the game that brings me back week after week, night after night. It's the intricate pass through the midfield, the determined header from a stout defender and the brilliant cross that lands perfectly on a teammate's boot from 40 yards out.

It's this entire ninety minute experience that enraptures my soul and fuels my obsession. From opening kickoff to the final whistle it's the most complete sporting experience out there and it's time America took off their blinders and let it in.

Because once they do, they'll find out why the world loves football. And they'll notice one other distinct thing, the noise made by the fans is of their own as footy fans don't need a noise meter, or free t-shirts or annoying fat PA announcers to make them stand up and cheer because it's already in their blood and it's the game that turns them on.

And if David Beckham opens this door for them, and let's them into this wonderful world, then Becks signing with Los Angeles is the greatest sporting moment this country could have and every single person that he touches with this gift, will agree with me.

Good luck Becks. America is ready.