Grand occasion a first in Irish history

Kings and queens of England have visited on many occasions in the past, but today marks a first in the history of Dublin, indeed all of Ireland. Tonight Dublin plays host to a major European soccer final for the first time. Ever.

Truth is I've been underwhelmed by the contest. I'm only a skin-deep soccer fan. It was only the other day that I bothered to go looking to find out which teams were actually going to take part in tonight's Europa League Final and was disappointed to learn that both teams were from Portugal.

I don't really care, but vaguely wanted to see two different cultures in the stands and on the streets of Dublin before the game. However, FC Porto and SC Braga are not only both from Portugal, but their respective cities - Porto & Braga - are only about 30 miles apart.

I had projected my lack of interest onto everyone else here, but I'm beginning to suspect I'm wrong about that. I thought there would be thousands of empty seats, but as of this morning there are reportedly only a few tickets remaining.

Also, reportedly, there will be 25,000 visitors to these shores for tonight's game. I can't argue with that figure, but they're either all arriving today or they've been busy visiting other parts of Ireland because there were very, very few Portuguese fans in Dublin yesterday.

I've mentioned before one of the quirks of tonight's game: that it's being played in something known - for one day only - as the "Dublin Arena." The game is really being played in the Aviva Stadium, but because Aviva Insurance is not a sponsor of Europa League, the stadium's owners have been forced to replace the name Aviva Stadium with green banners {photo}.

The beauty of all this is that any Portuguese fans hoping to ask for directions to the "Dublin Arena" are likely to be met by blank stares from the locals. Fortunately, there are color-coded signs around the center of Dublin directing fans in the right direction. You do, however, have to stare closely to deduce the signs' meaning.

This is a testing week for Dublin. Although the pressure on the police and those involved in the organization to get the Queen's visit right is almost overwhelming it is still vitally important that Dublin and Ireland show that we're capable of handling this big occasion tonight.

At a minimum that means no crowd trouble inside or outside the stadium and no glitches with the broadcast upon which millions of European soccer fans will be depending. I'm confident that the neutral Irish soccer fans and the two sets of Portuguese will get along fine and there is no reason to suspect that Dublin's telecommunications infrastructure cannot handle the rest. Should be a good night.

Goal difference is no way to decide the league champions

The Airtricity League is Ireland's domestic soccer league and it just doesn't get a lot of love. Although soccer may well be the most popular sport in Ireland, most soccer fans devote their attentions to the goings on in the English Premier League, not the local league.

There probably isn't a whole lot the people who run the Airtricity League can do about this state of affairs, but they aren't above trying different things to generate interest. A few years ago they changed the season from one that ran basically from through the winter to one that runs through the summer. The idea was that Irish soccer would attract more fans to games on warm summer evenings than on cold, wet winter nights.

Here's another idea that the league should adopt immediately: have a one game playoff for the league title if two teams are tied at the end of the season. Last week's exciting conclusion to the season was only marred by the fact that Shamrock Rovers claimed the title by virtue of a better goal difference than the runners-up, Bohemians. That is just plain wrong. And dumb.

Soccer in Europe is structured differently than any American sports league. Here the team that as the best regular season record wins the league. End of story. That's how it should be really. There are no playoffs, no one-off championship to decide who the best is, but rather it's decided over the long season. The team with the most points (or wins) is the league champion.

They don't have loads of division champions, wild card teams, etc. playing a tournament to decide what's already been decided.

However, where soccer could learn something from America is when two teams are tied at the end of the season. Sure, I understand the goal difference, but it doesn't really say much about which of the two tied teams is best.

Last Friday night Shamrock Rovers could only manage a 2-2 tie with lowly Bray while Bohemians were winning their game. Both games were live on tv simultaneously. It was exciting. I'm sure a lot of non-fans tuned in. It was a great ad for the Airtricity League.

It would have been an even better ad for the league if rather than conceding the title to Rovers, the two teams had met for a one game playoff to decide the championship. Maybe it's too American an idea for the league, but they should consider it because goal difference is really a poor way to decide who's best after a long season.

Rooney fails on The Decision

What is wrong with English soccer players, their clubs and the people who run them? And what about British television channels? Don't they know anything? Any American could have explained to Wayne Rooney and his club Manchester United how to do this right.

For the past week or so we have had daily press reports about how unhappy Rooney is at United, how he would be open to playing elsewhere (Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, wherever). We've also had his manager explaining in somber tones how disappointed he is in Wayne and then exploding at the media for ... I don't know what, but just because he's Sir Alex Ferguson, soccer manager god.

Mixed in to all this were the tabloid stories about Rooney's marriage, whether his wife would forgive him or not and, amazingly, one story in today's Daily Mail about how Rooney's Mother-in-law was calling the shots on where he was to play his soccer.

You really had the feeling that the media frenzy hadn't yet peaked, that Rooney could be allowing the speculation to mount, generating suspense in us as if he were a Stephen Spielberg. But, lunchtime today Rooney announced that he had signed a new five-year contract and was staying at United. Just like that the suspense is over and we're left with a flat feeling of having been robbed. We needed something bigger.

This is where an American sports fan could have advised Rooney. Any of us would have said to him, "That's just not how it's done these days, Wayne. You don't just issue statements to the press with this sort of thing. No, no, no. You arrange for a one hour, prime time television program where you will announce The Decision. That's how young sports stars handle these matters nowadays."

It could have been great. A live audience in a small sized theater with two chairs on the stage. One for Rooney and one for an agreeable television sports personality, who would set the tone for the occasion. Heck, they could've thrown in a third chair for Rooney's Mother-in-law, which would have made Rooney's program much better than LeBron's. But no.

Now we're only left with "what might have been" because Rooney didn't follow the appropriate path. He has denied his fans and really all sports fans their due. He has not made The Decision.

Nothing unAmerican about USA's World Cup team

Every four years the same articles appear in the Irish and British press about how Americans don't understand, don't 'get' soccer, err, "the beautiful game." They love to portray Americans, tediously, as looking for touchdowns or home-runs in soccer games.

The journalists who repeat these statements from Americans do so earnestly, not seeming to realize that it's an American way of saying soccer is a big yawn. Although people here can sometimes wax lyrical about the great defense in a 0-0 game that sort of scoring pace doesn't interest a lot of Americans.

However, this year those stories seem to be less common, possibly because it isn't just Americans who've been bored by this World Cup or possibly, just possibly, because they've realized that there are many Americans who do 'get' soccer.

Maybe that's why on Saturday the Irish Times ran with a different variation on the 'Americans & soccer' theme: conservative Americans don't like soccer because it's somehow "unAmerican" or even "Hispanic." As evidence Davin O'Dwyer cited Glenn Beck and G. Gordon Liddy, who uttered negative remarks about soccer, although only Liddy attached his argument to anything even vaguely "Hispanic."

I can't totally fault O'Dwyer, however, because I've come across similar views in the American press. In fact, last week NPR's web site published a piece that said much the same thing as O'Dwyer, basically claiming that race and ethnicity were contributing factors to Americans' failure to love the "beautiful game."

The race/ethnicity argument is laughable and it's a shame that someone outside America would repeat such nonsense. You only have to watch America's sports to realize how wrong that is: black stars dominate basketball and football and baseball features many, many players from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico, etc. Conservatives watch those sports, root for those players as much as liberals do. There's not much of a political angle in Americans sports.

Sure some Americans like soccer and some don't. I know plenty of Americans who don't like soccer. They find it boring or can't understand why anyone would watch or play a sport where the opposable thumb is an unnecessary appendage. I also know many Americans who love soccer. Political considerations have nothing to do with it: liberals and conservatives fit into both camps.

Among those who love it are many who've taken to watching the English Premier League and Champions League thanks to satellite television. Mostly these are men who are sports fanatics and who had a gap in their lives for live sports at 10am on Saturdays and Sundays or mid-afternoon on weekdays. European soccer was able to fill that gap.

These guys have a pretty good understanding of soccer. They're watching the World Cup pretty intensely and using the internet to source sports radio discussions or are using Facebook, Twitter, bulletin boards and chat rooms to get more information, analyses and opinions. The World Cup, like the Olympics, also attracts a lot of other American fans, people who'll watch this big festival of soccer, but who wouldn't consider themselves ardent fans of the game. Their interest will remain pretty high so long as the American team stays in the tournament.

All of which brings me to the most important issue of the day: the US team's must-win game against Algeria (10am on ESPN). If you watch you'll see the faces of the American players are the faces of America, their names are not solely Hispanic, but represent all of America and the players give every appearance of being extremely proud to wear USA on their jerseys when they play. UnAmerican? I don't think so.

What's more, Americans take can take great pride in the team because despite being far from the most talented side at the World Cup the USA team plays with real heart, never gives up and leaves it all on the field. What more could we ask for? Go USA!

RTE provides masterclass in sports broadcasting

Ireland's national television channel RTE's coverage of the World Cup provides a model that American sports broadcasters should emulate. Actually, I'm not even talking about watching the actual games, although RTE does a fair job on that. I'm talking about the pre-game, half-time and post-game analysis and discussion of each World Cup match.

The World Cup draws a massive audience, including many people who don't watch a lot of soccer. Yet unlike what seems too common on American tv, RTE doesn't dumb down the coverage to meet the limited understanding of the game that some of the less devoted soccer fans might want or need.

There's no razzmatazz in RTE's production. A panel of two or three analysts and a director of the conversation sitting around a big table discussing tactics, performances and using nothing more technologically adventurous than instant replay.

The analysts are all unsentimental, intelligent, and opinionated, unafraid to go against the views of the mob or each other. Even their personalities seem like a slap across the face to an American sports fan used to fake smiles and/or "characters" among our analysts.

RTE's panelists range from clinical (Johnny Giles or Ronnie Whelan) to grumpy (Eamonn Dunphy) to dour (Liam Brady or Graeme Souness). For this World Cup RTE has worked in ex-German player Dietmar Hamann who has fit in well.

If you're a serious sports fan who'd like to understand soccer more, RTE's panel offers a university education. However, if you're a long-time knowledgeable fan of the game, you'll find plenty of food for thought. It's exactly what any sports fan wants from the broadcaster during a major sporting event.

Despite Ireland's absence, Irish keenly interested in World Cup

I know you're up to your eyes in Stanley Cups (congrats, Chicago), NBA Finals and the LeBron saga, baseball and Strasburg-mania, golf, NASCAR and other sports. Soccer news might well have passed you by, but if you were in Europe there would be no doubt that you'd be aware that the World Cup starts tomorrow.

You might be a bit surprised to learn how much emphasis the World Cup is getting here seeing as Ireland will not be playing in South Africa. The Irish team lost out when they received the Andres Galarraga treatment - the referee didn't see what he should have seen last November.

The depth of feeling on that matter all these months later has surprised me, but many Irish people are still really angry that France will be playing in South Africa and Ireland won't. In fact, some Irish people are so angry that they've announced that if it comes down to it they would rather see England win than France, and that's saying something.

Despite Ireland's absence the World Cup is a huge matter of interest here. We have five television channels and one of those five will be showing 56 World Cup games over the next month as well as hours of extra coverage with pre and post game analyses and highlight programs late at night.

It will nearly be wall-to-wall World Cup, with GAA and rugby thrown in for good measure. A full month with little time for anything other than sports. In other words, it'll be heaven

I don't know if 56 games is every single World Cup game, but if there are some games not shown on Irish television you can be sure that (a) there'll be a lot of complaints about what's been missed and (b) there'll be a lot of people looking for those games on the British channels. As I was saying, interest in the World Cup is intense.

So who will the Irish people be rooting for? Well, not America unfortunately, although I daresay that nearly everyone will be rooting for America on Saturday when they play England (2:30pm EDT on ABC).

It's not that Irish people will be rooting against America as such, it's just that, well, they don't exactly rate the American team very highly. They don't see the USMNT as likely to provide any memorable moments, other than the hoped for upset of England.

From what I can make out Brazil is the favorite here, based on the number of Brazil shirts in the stores. You can find shirts for many other countries too - I even found a small selection of adult USA jerseys (no kids' sizes, unfortunately; my son wanted one), which I didn't see in America when I was there in April - but Brazil, Argentina (Lionel Messi) and Spain (the odds-makers' favorites, America's 80-1) are the most commonly available.

I think most Irish people will be happy with a Brazilian win, but mostly they want exciting, entertaining soccer and don't much care who wins - so long as it's NOT England or France.

Fulham's win is why being a sports fan is worthwhile

"What a team; what heart; what character; what spirit; what an attitude they've got." That was ITV's Jim Beglin last night after Fulham FC beat Hamburg to secure a place in the Europa League Final.

It was one of those moments when being a sports fan seems so worthwhile, when a fairy tale does come true. And, it's just my good fortune that back in January 2009 I decided I'd become a Fulham fan after a match I'd bought tickets for was postponed on account of the weather. The club couldn't have been more helpful to me when I explained that I couldn't just turn up for the make-up game because I lived in Dublin.

I got tickets to another game in April '09 and we - my daughter, my son and I - had a great time in Fulham's ancient ground, Craven Cottage. Fulham won that day and finished last season in seventh place, which is, I believe, the best ever finish in the club's 131 year history.

That seventh place earned Fulham a place in the Europa League, which is a competition for those clubs that are just outside qualifying for the Champions League. Not the best of the best, but pretty far up there.

And last night, in front of 22,000 delirious fans, Fulham's remarkable run continued as they beat German club Hamburg for a place in the Final. This is their best ever accomplishment. The club's Clint Dempsey {photo} will, I think, be the first American to play in a European cup final when he takes to the field and joins the action (as a starter or sub) on May 12.

I'm not a fan of long-standing. I haven't endured the way Fulham's life-long fans have endured. Last night was those fans' greatest ever night in their little stadium's greatest ever night. I really enjoyed it, even though I felt and feel something of a fraud compared with those legitimate fans.

Years from now someone will ask a Fulham fan what was his greatest ever experience. Depending on the audience he may well say his wedding day or the day his son/daughter was born, but in his head he'll be recalling the feeling of that moment when the final whistle sounded and Fulham had beaten the longest odds and won the right to play in their first European cup final.

"Disbelieving joy" ITV's Peter Drury said, and that's exactly what it was for Fulham fans felt last night.

No fear of bookies among sports leagues

Any sports fan raised in America is well used to the fear that gambling seems to spark in those who run the major sports leagues. The league presidents seem to shake in terror if there is even a hint of gambling. Violations of the league rules are generally dealt with ruthlessly.

Gambling, not performance enhancing drugs, is considered the most serious threat to a sport's integrity. You only have to look at how Major League Baseball has dealt with Pete Rose and Mark McGwire and their respective scandals to be sure of that. McGwire has been forgiven. Rose hasn't.

In Ireland (& Britain too) gambling is much less feared. Bookies are legal businesses and sports teams and leagues are happy to take bookmakers' sponsorship money. I've grown used to this over the years, but recently I remembered how strange I used to find this when I read that a member of the Dublin-based soccer team Bohemians is waiting to find out if he will be punished for betting on games in his league.

According to the Belfast Telegraph the amounts bet by Gareth McGlynn were "minuscule", but I was instantly reminded of how Major League Baseball suspended retired players Mickey Mantle & Willie Mays for becoming promotional spokesmen for Atlantic City casinos back in the early 1980s. I don't think MLB would tolerate any betting on MLB games, no matter how "minuscule" the amounts.

If you know your baseball history you'll know about the 1919 'Black Sox' scandal and you might figure that experience explains MLB's paranoia about gambling. And there have been some infamous gambling scandals involving football, hockey, the NBA and college basketball. Maybe it's just an American thing.

Yet, such scandals are not unknown over here.

A few years ago Irish rugby star Ronan O'Gara admitted that early in his career he might have gambled "a bit too much" after all sorts of stories about O'Gara's gambling were making the rounds. There was no hint that O'Gara bet on games he played in or any rugby games, but still he was betting and the rumor was it had led O'Gara into financial difficulties.

I'm pretty sure Major League Baseball would have had something to say about that, but nothing much happened here. You might say that O'Gara's situation compares with Michael Jordan's, but O'Gara didn't endure anything like the scrutiny Jordan had to endure. And he was never making Jordan' money either.

The rumors might have caused O'Gara some discomfort, but not too much. He's still regularly seen going in and out of the bookies near my daughter's school.

More worrying are the regular rumors of 'match-fixing.' They seem to crop up regularly and some even involve big names in international soccer. Soccer is regularly associated with match-fixing and gambling syndicates - often in less popular leagues - yet still nothing is done to break the links between gambling and soccer.

Sporting bodies are just much more relaxed about gambling here. I mean, some teams where their bookmaking sponsors' names on their shirts! I doubt even a big conspiracy like the Black Sox would end the cosy relationship between legal bookmaking firms and sports teams and leagues over here.

Actually, I'm more inclined to think that American sports leagues would love to tap into some of that money, but unfortunately for them there are no chains of legal bookmakers' offices around the country.

Robbie Keane won't carry Celtic to the title

I have to get something off my chest. I don't like Irish national team captain Robbie Keane. Don't rate him, don't like him. This puts me outside the pale with Irish soccer fans, who adore Keane.

This also probably puts me outside the pale with Irish Central's Cathal Dervan too and who am I to argue with Cathal Dervan? His knowledge of soccer is encyclopedic and mine is, well, not.

So why do I feel this way about Keane?

I guess it's because he reminds me of way too many Mets - one of those guys who was full of youthful promise that was matched with an arrogance not supported by any on-field performance. You know the type: has his elaborate "ain't I great" celebrations all worked out and his autobiography written in his head before he's put in a full year at the professional game. Then he follows all of that with a patchy career that can be summed up as ... ehh.

I'm not saying Keane is no good, but he's clearly not great. He didn't fare too well at Inter Milan early in his career and after achieving some success and becoming a crowd favorite at Tottenham Hotspur, he spurned Spurs and left for one of Europe's glamor clubs, Liverpool, where he was a flop. Back to Tottenham then and a bit of success, but as Tottenham has risen to the top ranks of the EPL this year, Keane has found his playing time reduced. So, he's a decent player for a mediocre team. Nothing more.

As for his time with the Irish squad, Keane has scored a lot of goals, but he hasn't been able to carry the team to the promised land, unlike another Keane who managed that feat back in 2002. Robbie Keane is not the kind of player who lifts a team, who inspires players to play beyond themselves and that's unfortunately what Ireland needed from him the past 4 years.

Yesterday Keane moved to Glasgow Celtic. Dervan says that Keane "will provide the missing wow factor" for Celtic. Well, maybe he will. From my non-expert vantage, the Scottish league seems much inferior to the English league, which should suit Keane just fine. Maybe he'll shine there. I really don't know, but I sincerely doubt he'll be anything like as successful as Celtic's Swedish star Henrik Larsson was.

It's not just Irish fans and Dervan whose opinion I'm fighting, but his former (& possibly future) manager at Tottenham. Harry Redknapp says he wants Keane back when this season's done. {One of the oddities of soccer is that players can be loaned out to other clubs. Keane is only "on loan" at Celtic.} Redknapp also says Keane is a hard worker and has "great enthusiasm for the game," which is a definite plus and a credit to him.

And then there are the seemingly thousands of Glasgow Celtic fans who, based on the scenes from Glasgow last night, are thrilled to have Keane in the their team. It's hard to pick out Keane (lower right) in the picture amidst all the Celtic fans straining to touch his garments. Obviously they see something in Keane that I just don't.

They expect Keane to lift Celtic up and over their arch-rivals Glasgow Rangers to the league title. I won't hold my breath.

Florida's Glazer is the most hated American in Ireland

I firmly believe Malcolm Glazer is the most hated American in Ireland. You might imagine that it would be former President Bush or some American corporate big shot who's recently sucked the lifeblood out of an Irish city - Michael Dell anyone? - but I don't think so. No, I'm pretty sure Glazer is the most hated.

And I do mean hated.

You won't find his name reviled in letters to the Irish Times or Irish Independent nor will you see street protests denouncing him nor find public representatives spewing venom about what a reprobate he is so it could easily pass you by. However, if you wander into a pub - particularly a pub in working class area of one of Ireland's cities - and you ask a few red-scarfed locals what they think of Glazer (photo) the air will quickly turn blue.

Why red-scarfed? Well, not any red scarf, but the red scarf of Manchester United, "the world's biggest football club" and the most popular English Premier League team in Ireland. Glazer is the team's controlling owner and, well, fans are not too keen on his modus operandi.

Irish fans of United are not alone in their detestation of Glazer. English, Scottish, Welsh, Norwegian, and so on fans all feel the same way. They hate him. Oh and not just him, his whole family, especially those who are closely involved in running the club. Unfortunately some of the hatred has spilled out of the tank of logic and some of these fans have extended their hatred to all Americans, or more, typically "f***ing yanks."

If you'd like to get a sense of the depth of feeling Glazer and his family have engendered in the fans of Manchester United a few minutes reading at MalcolmGlazer.com (and there are plenty of other such web sites) will give you a taste. It's not for the faint-hearted or the easily offended. An R-rating at a minimum.

Funny thing is you may not have ever heard of Glazer before. He owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which he bought eight years before he got control of Manchester United. Another funny thing is, unlike the Buccaneers, whose on the field performance has varied from mediocre to Super Bowl champions to mediocre to joke during Glazer's time, United has been almost spectacularly successful since Glazer bought the club, which begs the question: why do the fans hate him so much.

Well, the fans credit the club's legendary manager, Scotsman Alex Ferguson, who is a sort of gruff version of Joe Torre. During Ferguson's 23+ years managing United - the Yankees of English soccer - the club has won 11 league titles, a couple of European Champions League titles, FA cups and other trophies. That is, they were wildly successful before the Glazers got involved and have remained successful.

The on the field performance - so far, this year's looking shaky - is not at the root of the fans' problems with the Glazers. What bothers the fans is the club's finances. You read that right.

The Glazers' acquisition of Manchester United was financed with debt - lots of it, now estimated at $1.145bn. Immediately the fans were on edge fearing - rightly - that the new owners would have to raise ticket prices to pay down what they owe. That's only a small part of the problem, however.

The press has been full of stories lately about the precarious financial position at United. Credit crunch and all that. Fans see the Glazers' financial troubles in the club's failure to go get a big name player to replace Portuguese glamour boy Christiano Ronaldo, who left United at the end of last year to play for Real Madrid. They believe the club is being driven down by the Glazers' debts.

Today's Irish Independent says the club's recent bond prospectus provides for all sorts of income to revert to the Glazers at the expense of the club, something the fans have foreseen since the Glazers first took control. The message boards and blogs are already afire with this latest revelation.

Last weekend fans called on Ferguson (Sir Alex as he's known on British t.v., as he's been knighted by the Queen) to resign in protest, something that he seems unlikely to do. Regardless, the Love United Hate Glazer Facebook campaign will not be going away any time soon. Glazer will continue to be a source of anti-Americanism, just when it looked like things were getting better for us 'Yanks'.

Faked out in Hollywood

Posted by TheYank at 7/20/2009 12:45 PM EDT

I have to admit I'm somewhat bemused by the reaction to David Beckham out in Los Angeles. The fans there seem none too pleased with the way the English star has gone about his business playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy. The New York Times says that last night Beckham "was booed more than cheered during introductions"and booed when the Galaxy's match with AC Milan got underway. One fan even held up a sign that said, "Go Home Fraud." Fraud? And this is in Los Angeles, the "fake" capital of the world? The same city that is cheering Manny Ramirez to the hilt these past few weeks?

So, what exactly is bothering the Galaxy's fans? Well, apparently the Los Angeles fans are annoyed because Beckham now wants to play in Milan rather than LA. Well, duh! What did they think was going to happen? Why did they think Beckham signed to play in Los Angeles at all?

Beckham was never a great player. In fact - and I'm no soccer expert - I think you could safely say that Beckham was never more than 5th or 6th best player on team when he was with Manchester United. He was a decent player on the biggest and best club in Europe, but one that was led by an Irishman and had very few English stars, something the English media didn't care for. Beckham was probably not even the best English player at United (I think Paul Scholes was far better), but he was glamorous and had that rare talent for performing better than anyone those tasks that take place in the most obvious media moments: free kicks.

He wasn't the guy you built a team around, let alone a league. The way the American press talked about him when he first signed with the Galaxy you'd have sworn that he was Pele II (a Hollywood sequel).

Beckham went to Los Angeles because he was always more show business than sportsman. He went to make money while he could. I can't believe that any sports fan could have seen it otherwise. Now he obviously figures that he's milked that for all it's worth he'd like to come back to Europe and maybe rebuild his name and sell some more AC Milan shirts to those who are more fans of stardom than soccer. That the people of Los Angeles are calling Beckham a fraud is more an indication that they never realized what the move to America was all about in the first place.
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Comments:

washwoman wrote:
It's soccer and this is the United States. We don't really care that much.
7/20/2009 1:30 PM EDT

TheYank wrote:
And I understand that. But, it's just about the lead story on the Los Angeles Times' web site, so it's got some play in California.

Having said that, I would be of the same opinion if I was still in America. I mean, I still pay far more attention to baseball than soccer (or any other sport) and I live in Ireland.
7/20/2009 2:36 PM EDT

Ajreaper wrote:
Soccer is certainly growing in the US of that there is no doubt but it is not an "American" game and it is not one we typically do well in internationally so by and large the majority of Americans don't care one way or the other. Yank hit this right on the nail right on the head- if you are a world class soccer player you do not go to play in teh US for anything other then 1) cash and 2) I get to be the big fish in a small pond. Look at it like this- if you are an exceptional football player you'd not head to Canada to play unless- they throw a ton of money at you and there is something within you that craves being the "man" vs. being one of the men.

I will say this I am a high school football coach, I don't much understand the game of soccer nor would I say I am a fan but I found myyself watching the US women play the last few days (game was on at the club but I could have chosen another treadmill and watched something else while I worked out) and was proud of how the US mens team did earlier this summer- I am not a fan but I am warming a bit to it so thats progress in some small way I suppose.
7/20/2009 2:49 PM EDT

TheYank wrote:
Ajreaper,

One aspect of Beckham's move that I omitted, but probably shouldn't have, was that I'm sure that the move to Los Angeles suited his wife very well. She seemed to get a lot more of the star treatment out there than she'd been receiving in Britain or anywhere in Europe. I think she's the marketing genius of the two of them - always keeping their names in the media. I'm sure she is the one who chases down Beckham's big sponsorship deals.

I like your analogy to an American star going to Canada. That's perfect.

The longer I live here the more I sort of appreciate the fact that soccer is no biggie in America. I hope it remains that way. I'm not sure I can explain why, but I just hope soccer remains the preserve of a small minority of American sports fans.
7/21/2009 2:27 PM EDT

Ajreaper wrote:
Great point Yank- it's a shame when it's more about the "deals" then about the game. That seems to be afflicting more athletes across a broad spectrum of sports- that desire to "get mine". It's one reason I love college athletics far and away more then professional sports (except for my beloved Packers but that goes back better then 30 years so it's engrained pretty solid).
7/22/2009 2:00 AM EDT

Padraig wrote:
Yank. I might be drawing on the bigger picture but…. Well, first Americans really don’t have knowledge of things outside their own state, or their county for that matter (American teacher friend of mine told me it’s scary how many don’t know where states are on a map). I don’t blame them for being unintelligible; it might have something to do with news coverage. This last weekend, CNN covered “remembering Walter Cronkite”; they had a spot there when he said just that. Cronkite said American media doesn’t cover the world much, for whatever reason it’s irrelevant, but the fact is relevant. The world is so connected now it’s not only about the Americas, Europe or other, it’s about us all. Soccer or football as some call it, would be a great gate way for the people in the states to start being connected to the world and not just their own state. Young kids are attracted to what fascinates (sports stars) so start with the young. So, I really must disagree with you, especially when you say you hope it doesn’t become big. It should. Soccer is the number sport in the world, and Americans (the ones in the states) should take it head on. It would be a gate way for the uneducated to start being educated about the world!! The domino effect, ripple effect or whatever effect would benefit the United States. Come on man, you’re the leaders of the world. Maybe your youth as well the old should be more connected! Ask your friends what they know about Ireland besides leprechauns, Guinness and other idioms? They most likely can’t tell you about the Irelands recession, culture or the Lisbon Treaty. Ask an Irishmen or European what goes on in the states, I bet they can tell you!

Please don’t take my disagreement badly. I still enjoy reading your blogs.
7/22/2009 6:47 AM EDT


TheYank wrote:
Padraig,

First of all, I'm a lot thicker-skinned than that. It takes a lot to offend me.

I'll agree with you to a point. Too many Americans don't know much or anything about the world beyond the American continent.

Where I think we might differ is the extent to which Irish people or even Europeans broadly (who I think know less) are all that much more knowledgeable about the world than are Americans. Yes, most Americans know very little about Ireland, but Ireland is not a good comparison with America. If Ireland was a state, it would rank 40th in area and around 20th in population (counting NI too). So, sure, most Americans have little concept of Ireland, although I would say that most of my friends could talk about the Celtic Tiger and its recent demise. But, my friends are not a representative sample because (a) they hear from me and (b) they live on the east coast, where knowledge of Ireland is greater. Still, the Celtic Tiger and the troubles in the Catholic Church here would be two big news stories that would have had an impact in America. And, the north, of course.

Still, the real comparison is between the US and the EU and, I daresay, Irish people's understanding of life in other EU countries (outside of Britain) is pretty scant. I would say that an Irish person's understanding of life in just about any E. European state - fellow EU members - is well below an American's understanding of Mexico or even other Central American or Caribbean countries. What you find here is that most (maybe) Irish people have some idea what's going on in France, Germany & Italy and know basically nothing about the rest of the EU. Maybe I should add Spain there. Maybe.

What you find in America is that many (most) people have an interest in one other country - their ancestral home or if they live in the SW, Mexico - about which they know a lot more than they know about any other country. (Ignoring the US & EU, the most important countries on Earth are India and China. I would say that as a % of population, more Americans know how things are in those countries than do Irish people. However, the avg. American, especially on the E. coast wouldn't know as much probably as the average Irish person.)

As for what Irish people know about America - there is a fascination with all things American here, which explains the media's interest, but there's a also a great deal of misunderstanding too because the media takes its cue from some aspects of America and ignores others. Of course, the Irish media does the same thing to people who don't live in Dublin!

Anyway, back to soccer. Soccer's growth in America has to come at the expense of one of the other sports in America, which I would regret. Baseball football and basketball are aspects of American culture that I'd rather not see sidelined. (Interestingly, the one sport that has the least foreign influence is football and that's easily the most popular sport in America these days.)
7/22/2009 10:39 AM EDT


TheYank wrote:
I should add, that none of that stops me rooting for America to win the World Cup. When that finally happens, the rest of the world will stop wishing Americans would take an interest in soccer!
7/22/2009 10:40 AM EDT


Ajreaper wrote:
Padraig sadly much of what you say is true to some degree and for a variety of reasons. I think outside the US this is often attributed to Americans not caring about or seeing the rest of the world as being relevent to them- put plainly, "Americans are stuck up". I don't think that's the case but I think in many places in the world that's the perception.

I am a teacher in the states and where I live and teach, high stakes testing at different points in a students education are the norm as they are in most places now in the US - if it's not tested it's an after thought and history and geography are often not given the attention they should be. It's a shame, and it's a bigger shame music, art, drama and physical education are being left further and further behind as well. Where I teach in 4 years of high school a student gets a year of World history and Geography and a year of American History- you could do a semester just on the ancient civilizations (or more) mush less give justice to World History and teach Geography in a single year.

We tend to know that which is important to us- either it's required for what we do in our day to day or it is something we have a passion for. if not it's off our radar and likely somethng we will know little about or understand well. It's not I don't care it's just reality about how much time we have and the need to devote most of that to our day to day lives- we are all wired that way.

Personally I don't miss growing up in a culture that cared little for soccer but I think I'd have loved Gaelic Football and/or Rugby and missing those opportunities does disappoint me.
7/22/2009 6:05 PM EDT


Padraig wrote:
Yank. Americans win the world cup. Naw. Just like you said the US bests athletes go into other sports. Until it gains some ground with men, I don’t think the world cup is in seeing distance. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve made some good strides. On the other hand, the women are the world power house; basically, they leave these other pathetic excuse for women footballers sniffing the sweat off the pitch.
7/23/2009 1:02 AM EDT

TheYank wrote:
Padraig,

Basically I agree. I think one thing that may not help men's soccer in America, but does help the women, is that the two sexes play together for a number of years at the junior level. Young American girls learn that soccer's a tough game. I've been told this is not as common now as it was 15 years ago, so I'm not sure.

Regardless, soccer is a game for immigrants' children and the middle classes. I've read a number of times that single moms love soccer because it's not a game dominated by aggressive fathers. I bet that also has an impact, but the real downfall of soccer in America is that it is still the game that must be organized. Kids don't just play it everywhere and anywhere as they do here.
7/24/2009 10:01 AM EDT

Someday America will win the World Cup, even if it takes a few flukey results to make it happen. In 2002 they were denied a chance at a semifinal by a handball on the line by a German defender. Germany then beat S. Korea for a place in the finals.
7/24/2009 10:04 AM EDT

Padraig wrote:
yea they will. they've got some real talent. I don't know them by name but I watched them play Spain, wow. i think in all things first you need talent, well you got that, then leadership, and magic: that little bit of luck with team cohesion and most of all heart! i can't tell how many time my small club wins or loses solely based on the mood.
7/25/2009 6:48 AM EDT

TheYank wrote:
And, they don't have a difficult task to qualify, unlike the European countries.
7/25/2009 7:32 AM EDT

Half-time

I love sports. Still live & die with the Mets. I'm not a big soccer fan, but I always watch Ireland's games. I think if I was a big soccer fan I'd be less keen on the international soccer. Like a lot of Americans (40+ anyway) the only real experience of international sports taking hold of me was during the 1980 winter Olympics when the hockey team won the gold. Otherwise, international sports are for amateur sports fans (even if the games are no longer amateur).

It's half time in Bulgaria and it's 1-1. A win would be great, a tie enough. A loss ...

UPDATE: Finished 1-1. Not bad, no not bad at all.