The rest of the world is obsessed with soccer. Go anywhere and you will see kids playing it in the street, people wearing the various jerseys of the world's top clubs and fans turning out in droves to see their idols. \nYet, despite the global obsession with the game, America has remained largely outside the fray. There have been peaks in America's interest with the game. The 1970s saw the greatest player of all time, Pele, suit up for the Cosmos of the NASL; however, when the league folded, so did American interest. The 1994 World Cup similarly had no staying power.\nThis summer has seen the forces that be make a sustained push to bring the world's game here, working on the heels of the success of the U.S. national team in last summer's World Cup. David Beckham has been all over the media the last six weeks, coinciding with a personal tour of the States and his transfer to Real Madrid. Beck's former club, Manchester United, concluded a two-week, four-match, four-city tour of the United States on Sunday, during which they played some of the top clubs from Europe as well as the defending Mexican champions.\nWill all of this new publicity elevate soccer in the U.S.? Probably not. In America soccer is a secondary sport. Despite the high numbers of people who play the game in their youth the spectator portion of the game has never caught on. \nMany Americans view the game as boring, slow and, most importantly, not high-scoring enough to be of any interest. The last of these is probably the most harmful for the game here. All the other major sports in the U.S. have been doing nearly everything to increase scoring. In soccer, a 1-0 final is not uncommon, and it would be nearly impossible to make soccer a high-scoring game without drastically changing the sport's nature.\nThis does not mean that soccer is doomed to fail in the U.S.. One of the great things about the size of this country is that a "small" fan base for a sport can equal several million people. Soccer fans in the U.S. have their own character, a sense of community that other groups of fans do not normally share. Any trip to a soccer-friendly bar (like my personal favorite, Nevada Smith's in the East Village in New York City) gets that point across quickly.\nIn addition, there is a lot to look forward to for the future of the American game. There is the continued success of Mia Hamm and the American women's national team. With this summer's move of Tim Howard to Manchester United the top three U.S. goalies all play in England's top division (generally considered either the best or second best league in Europe). Players like Landon Donovan and DeMarcus Beasley are drawing attention from clubs all over Europe. There is the "LeBron of soccer," 14-year-old Freddy Adu, a player who could play in the next World Cup for the U.S. at the tender age of 17. This is all part of an important ingredient to sporting success -- homegrown talent and success.\nAlso, it appears that America's own league, MLS, has finally realized that the future of American soccer is not sold-out mega football stadiums. The league and its member teams have adopted a new strategy-the building of soccer specific, smaller stadiums built on the typical English design. These stadiums not only are built to the size specifications that soccer should be played on (which is wider than most American football stadiums), but provides a better atmosphere. When you put 20,000 people in a 70,000-seat stadium, it looks, sounds and feels empty. When you put them in a 25,000-seat stadium it is much, much better.\nAmerica might never be the hotbed for soccer that England, Brazil and Germany are, but the increased exposure of the American population to the game and the increased success of American players and teams should allow the game a solid, albeit small, place in the American sports pantheon.
Quick Hits\n • Only 31 days until the NFL season kicks off, but football is finally back with this past weekend's American Bowl and tonight's Hall of Fame Game. It's only pre-season, but it sure is nice to watch football again, isn't it?
