Most in the United States that followed their national soccer team continue to think they were a rousing success, despite the fact they were eliminated by Belgium in the first knock-out game. Though only losing 2-1, it was apparent throughout the Belgian team was vastly superior to the Americans. One thing, and one thing only kept the score respectable. The spectacular, if a bit lucky at times, goaltending of Tim Howard.
Howard made 16 saves, which wouldn't be a whole for a goaltender in a typical NHL game, but it's a ton in World Cup soccer, given how wide the net is. The Belgians out-shot the Americans 38-14, nearly a 3-1 margin. The glass half full scenario for the US squad was they were "oh-so-close". A break here or there, and who knows? The half empty scenario was that Belgium could have scored 5, 7, even 10 goals, and totally routed the Americans had the breaks went their way.
Tim Howard (no relation to Ron, Dwight, Moe, Curly, and Shemp -- to my knowledge) deserves major kudos for even keeping the game close. All in all, the Belgians were vastly superior to the Yanks. Some neutral analysts even suggested the Belgians had the luxury of bringing players off the bench that were better than any of the starters the Americans had. While the final score was close, there is little doubt the Belgians carried the play throughout most of the game. For once, in the end, everybody appears to be happy. The Belgians are glad to be moving on, while the Americans are proud of their showing on the world futbol stage.
Now the debate rages on. Has soccer at its highest levels finally "arrived" in the USA? The short answer would be -- probably not. Like the Olympics, the World Cup is a big deal every 4 years. National pride swells as people wrap themselves in their country's colors to root on their heroes in various events. But when it's over, it's over. Nobody cares about bob-sledding, speed skating, the 100 meter dash, various swimming events, etc., etc., until they come around 4 years later with usually a new cast of characters.
And yours truly suspects much the same will befall big time soccer in the USA now that the World Cup is over. Sure, Major League Soccer in America is a little more popular than it was, say, 10 years ago, but it still doesn't even register a blip on the radar compared to the Big Four (baseball, basketball, football, hockey) in the USA. Look around. MLS gets little to no TV coverage or ink in newspapers. The current US national team getting bounced in the World Cup version of the Sweet Sixteen isn't likely to change that. There are, and will continue to be rabid soccer fans, but most American sports fans will likely turn their attention elsewhere now that the Brazil bash is over.
But in the aftermath of the World Cup, the American soccer proselytizers are out in full force. There's is the purest game, they say. The action is non-stop. And, after all, the whole rest of the world is ga-ga over futbol. How can one not become a soccer sappy after this World Cup? You have to like it. You WILL like it, evidently whether you want to or not.
My answer? Hey, do what you gotta do, but don't tell me I have to like soccer, because I personally find it boring. Further, I would tell the phubol phanatics that's it's OK for them not to like baseball, football, etc. The rest of us understand. It's still a free country, sort of, and fans are supposed to be allowed to choose what sports and teams they want to devote their attention, dollars, and loyalties to. Enjoy your soccer and be happy, but get off this elitist crap that fans of other sports are somehow mentally inferior.
Sure, most of us are idiots, else we wouldn't pay the ridiculous prices to go to games to subsidize the outrageous salaries of a lot of guys that couldn't spell "cat" if you spotted them two consonants -- but dammit, they can shoot a basketball, sack a quarterback, or hit home runs. And most times we don't have to wait hours for somebody to actually, you know, score. Watching a typical soccer game is like watching a NASCAR or Indy race with no wrecks or pit stops needed. Though it's exciting to begin with, after a while, the roundy-rounds have a way of causing brain-lock, AKA boredom, and people wander off to do other things. They'll come back to check out the last few laps, or "extra time" in soccer. At that, only one person on the planet knows how much time is left. The on-field referee. It's a secret to everybody else. Why don't they have a clock on the scoreboard like every other game so the players and fans alike know what's going on? Seems almost as silly as pro boxing, when nobody knows how the judges scored each round until it's all over. Much like nothing prevents a boxing judge from going back and changing his/her score on an earlier round, a soccer ref has sole discretion as to how long the game will go on. And nobody else knows anything. It's an invitation for corruption. What could be more in the interest of fair play than putting it all up on the scoreboard for everybody to see?
Much the same is true with soccer. Exciting to begin with, but who wants to sit around for 3-4 hours watching them run back and forth kicking a ball (and oh my -- the whining and flopping) when actual scores are rarer than steak tartare?
Here's wishing the phutbolphiles the best and may the force (and more goals) be with them. But stop telling the rest of us how great your game is. It either catches on in America or it doesn't, but as long as the other Big Four are around for fans to choose from, it ain't exactly looking good. See ya in 4 years when they start kicking it around in Russia for the next World Cup.
In the meantime, please stop with the propaganda. It makes you look insecure.
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