Where I Babble About Soccer

It's that time again!  That time that sends most of the world into an absolute frenzy for two weeks.  I am, of course, talking about the World Cup and I am super excited about it.  I am watching the South Africa/Mexico match right now and have already gasped, cheered, and have been on the edge of my seat.  That has just been in the first five minutes.

So I'm getting a little tired of various U.S. media outlets telling me that we just don't care about soccer.  Every World Cup, the same conversation happens in the U.S.: soccer is boring, nothing happens, nobody in the U.S. cares, blah, blah, blah.  Last night on "The Colbert Report," there was a soccer debate and this Marc Fisher guy really rubbed me the wrong way.  He was anti-soccer, calling the game too simple for us Americans.  When kids grow up, Fisher argues, they crave "complexity" to their sports.  Uh, like Nascar?  Nothing more complex than cars driving in a circle, right?  Okay, that was my snobbery there, but come on.  This guy obviously has no understanding of the game, which is a problem.

Hmm, I keep trying to embed the Colbert video, but it disappears when I publish.  If you're interested, it is at the http://www.colbertnation.com/home website, the second video, and about 5:30 in. 

It makes me wonder if these people who keep telling us that we hate soccer know who they are talking to, or will be talking to in a few years.  Yes, the sport is no way as popular here than in other parts of the world and it has taken us much longer to jump on the bandwagon.  But we have jumped.  When I played soccer in high school, there were only two or three other girls in my grade who had been playing since childhood.  Each year the freshman class brought in more and more girls who had been playing for years.  It is no longer an odd sport for children to play, and those children become adults who will be watching the World Cup.

We don't care about the World Cup?  According to my Facebook (yes, I'm citing Facebook), a majority of my friends do care.  Granted, many of my Facebook friends are soccer players, but it is an interest that they have kept until adulthood.  You better believe that we will be watching these games together in homes, in bars and restaurants, and discussing them afterwords.  Advertisers, are you listening?  We care!

Not exciting?  Who wasn't riveted to their screen in 1999 when Brandi Chastain scored the fifth penalty kick to clench the win for the United States over China.  The absolute pure joy and excitement...come on, that's soccer. 


Okay, so I just watched that video and actually the most exciting part was Scurry's save.  That is insane.  It is nearly impossible for goalkeepers to save penalty kicks!  I also forgot about much I loved Mia Hamm when I was younger. 

I just read through this post and laughed at how inarticulate I am.  Lesson: don't write blog posts on Friday mornings when my attention is elsewhere.  Anyways, my point is younger generations are going to care about soccer, futbol, whatever, and this is going to have to be realized soon. 

*I was going to make a point about the athleticism of soccer players by showing some pics of shirtless male soccer players next to their not so fit (maybe baseball?) counterparts, but that was going to send this post in an entirely different direction.  So just trust me: they're hot.