Chelsea vs. Inter Milan's contest at Lucas Oil Stadium: Brilliant
Strategic Move or Potential Bust?
Many are those who wonder loudly whether the game of soccer
would ever take complete root in the US. And by virtue of that question, I
understand them to ask simply whether soccer will ever fare well amongst its
rival sports or arguably whether it could compete against them. The question
rather should be whether it can coexist as an authentic American pastime.
A while back I watched with great dismay and complete
terror an episode on ESPN called “Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story
of the New York Cosmos” on how tremendous effort and massive investment made in
the late 70’s to bring Pele, the king of soccer, to the US to help develop the
game, create a fan base and to infuse the passion seen elsewhere in the
world into the US fans had miserably failed.
I was astounded by the level of success owners and investors
had been able to reach during the peak of the NASL championship in the 70’s.
The game, for the first time, had reached tremendous height in popularity. Pele
as the sole and best ambassador of soccer, did all he could to help elevate the
game and contribute to its success. And nothing would have seemed more legitimate
than that. After all, he was the god through which all worshippers of soccer
send their prayers.
Let me point out though that Cosmos has achieved an extraordinary
feat. Their early season attendance was only a couple thousands of fans and through
the end of the 70’s played in front of 77,691 fans. From a business and
investment standpoint, this was simply magical! And yet as puzzlingly as it
might have been to many that sudden growth did not last more than a brief
decade. The NASL folded and soccer development as a buy-product failed terribly
at taking roots despite having its king and the money to support it.
And why is this episode critical to revisit at this juncture
one might ask? It is because what is
taking place tonight in Lucas Oil Stadium needs context in its significance to
those who wish to see an organic growth approach to developing the most
recognizable game to the world--in a country where sport is part of its social and
cultural fabric.
Ever since I too have wondered, secretly though, what is the
right approach which would be organic and sustainable that could help prevent a
repeat of the 70’s experience? As a fan who wishes to see it reaching the top,
I struggled with that question up until US Women's Soccer started to gain not just
recognition amongst men and women, but legitimate notoriety from the US, particularly
in the media. Nothing commands more passion from the US fans than when engaged
in any international competition to see their team become the ultimate winner. And
this women's team of the 90’s had more than delivered on that front!
I’m not advocating that women's soccer was the only reason why
the game had finally gained real popularity, but I knew somehow this was the
impetus the game needed! And because of it, kids all over this great country were
enrolled in soccer programs all over town to be the next Mia Hamm. Soccer had
found a new household name to represent it. The name 'soccer mom' became common
parlance and was mainstreamed. I knew
this movement would eventually yield to something greater and more sustainable.
Ironically though, it isn’t Pele who made the game as popular, but some unknown
passionate ladies whose parents must have watched him play! What a delight it
will be to see those kids again tonight and their parents wearing soccer jerseys
of some other players (although not Pele) cherishing the dream of becoming them. It’ll simply confirm
again that someone had made the right investment in the right place and at the right time. And who knows maybe we will
see Messi and Neymar in Indy someday!
Enjoy the game whether on TV or live at the stadium!
I think it will be another 15+ years until MLS starts to compete at the level of rest of the worlds professional teams. People 50 and younger know what soccer is and many played it growing up. Their kids played and now there kids, kids are now growing up playing the sport. It takes at least 3-4 generations to build enough following to fund highly competitive professional sports. With interest will come more money, with more money player salaries will go up and start attracting athletes who in the past would have played American football, baseball or basketball to concentrate on soccer. With this change our leagues will get better and better and as the money and talent goes up we will start pulling stars from other countries to come here to play. We are finally getting enough people who have played the game of soccer so that they can appreciate being a spectator. In the past so many people had never played so they don’t appreciate how difficult the game is to play at a high level or the athleticism it requires. Not understanding soccer and seeing most games end with less than 3 goals is understandably boring for the uniformed however what has changed is that there are more and more people who are educated about soccer and appreciate the beauty of the game.
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