Tuesday, July 15, 2014

THE END - Or is it a new beginning?

    I concluded my World Cup viewing at Fado in downtown Seattle.  While it wasn’t packed to the point where you couldn’t walk (I have seen it that crowded for USA games before, including qualifiers), it was certainly highly populated. The numbers wearing German white/red/black/yellow and Argentine white/blue were almost equal, but the neutrals were overwhelmingly in favor of Germany.  Interestingly, the most common jersey I saw was that of the Seattle Sounders (including the one I was wearing).  It warmed my heart to see so much hometown support even in the midst of the biggest game in world sport.

    The game was edgy, as were the fans, which was understandable with so much on the line.  Germany’s goal near the end of extra time to give them the lead was greeted with the largest cheer for any non-U.S. or Colombia goal that I had heard since the first week of the tournament.  And it was a fantastic goal, too.  Even some of the Argentinian fans applauded the beauty of it, though their faces were stone.  In the end, that one goal was enough, and “We Are the Champions” was blared from the speakers as the final whistle blew.  For the first time since 1990 (and the first time ever as a unified country), Germany were world champions.

    Later that day, my parents and I attended the first professional soccer game in the world after the World Cup - the Sounders-Timbers match at CenturyLink Field.  Living in Walla Walla for the past three years, I’ve hardly had any opportunities to go to Sounders games, and I’d forgotten how much I’d missed them.  The electric crowd was matched (and, in some cases, surpassed) chant-for-chant by the large Timbers Army contingent.  The fire and fireworks were dramatic (and American) touches to the match, although in the area in which I was sitting ash rained down after the fireworks.  The match ended 2-0 to Seattle, and I was happy to join in the celebration for Seattle’s second win over Portland in the space of five days.

    During the course of this wonderful month of soccer, oe thing that struck me is that, despite significant growth in recent years, soccer is still very much a niche sport in this country.  The World Cup may bring out the biggest crowds and a bunch of “bandwagon fans,” but even then there it is apparent that those who pay attention to the entire World Cup are definitely in the minority.  Even among those paying close attention to the competition, there was still a clear difference between those who were along for the World Cup ride and those who watch European soccer and/or MLS regularly. 

    In this way, the World Cup gives a flattering impression of the level of this country’s love for soccer.  But this World Cup also provided the first opportunity in 20 years for Americans to see truly top-level soccer in a somewhat-friendly time zone (with all due respect to MLS, the World Cup is a considerable step up in quality).  Normally, one must get up at 7am on weekends to watch the English League play, and in the previous World Cup the games started anywhere from 4:30am to 11:30am Pacific Time.  This year, the earliest games were 9am in the west, and the latest game (on the tournament’s second day) started at 6pm.  And for those further east, the games were even more accessible, with none starting any earlier than noon on the east coast.

    The favorable time slots gave many the opportunity to watch great soccer for the first time, and contributed to huge audiences for the games.  Everyone I talked to said that bar/viewing party crowds were bigger than they had been in 2010, and many said that the level of support they’d seen for all the games (not just the United States’) would have been unthinkable eight or twelve years ago.

    Major tournaments serve as a perfect introductory stage for newcomers to fall in love with the beautiful game.  It was one of them which got me hooked, all the way back during the 2004 European Championships.  And even though this World Cup is over, plenty more tournaments are coming up in the next two years: the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup (held in Canada, with the final in Vancouver), the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup (the North American championship, held in the United States), Euro 2016 (the European championships, expanded to 24 teams for the first time), Copa America 2016 (the 100-year anniversary of the first South American championship, held in the United States as an all-Americas tournament), and the 2016 Olympic Tournament in Rio de Janeiro.  It is my hope that many will flock out to support these tournaments just as they came to support the World Cup.  And while most will sadly stop paying attention to the beautiful game until the next major tournament, some will be converted, like I was, and start watching more club soccer year-round.  And who knows?  We yet may turn this country as soccer-mad as I am.

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