fucking Vlokians
I'm having loads of world cup angst right now. Its not that we just lost, its that we were simply OUTCLASSED. Realistically, we could only have hoped for a draw, but a 3-nil drubbing should have been avoided. Now we are behind on the goal differential, as well as points, so we can almost certainly go buy our tickets back home...
What I'm most upset about is how no one here respects the game I love so much. I am fully aware that America is not a "soccer" nation. I have no delusions about that. But what is so distressing is how poor the coverage is and how it seems no one is treating the world cup and the game, for that matter, as anything but a quaint sideshow across the pond.
We've got sports radio heads that probably have never even touched a ball hacking their way through their discussions. Its clear they dont know anything about the game and they seem to wear that as a badge of pride. I think its safe to assume that with them the common paradigm is "oh no, i'm not cool if i actually try to understand a game i know nothing about. Heaven forbid i do make any attempt to find out more so i can sound even slightly intelligent talking about it." Again, thats just sports talk, so i dont really expect too much from them anyway, because thats really more a game of "sports-themed entertainment."
The coverage of the matches on national television is not any better. First, their "experts" are just former players from national teams past that they have dressed up in suits and put in front of a camera simply because they used to play for the national side. They understand how the game works, but I could almost guarentee none of them follow it passionately at the club level, aside from Alexi Lalas, but then he's basically the only credible one on the whole broadcasting team. The play-by-play isnt much better. I dont know were they found these people, but it obviously wasnt someplace renowned for great broadcasting quality. perhaps ESPN the ocho or something. You can tell they are just reading prepared notes and attempting to make weak analogies between "soccer" and games that Americans supposedly care about. If i hear one my comparison to baseball or the NFL during a match, its going to be straight shotgun decapitation.
There seems to be a great hypocracy to the whole affair. US Soccer says that its goal is legitimize the game in America and bring it up to the level of other American sports. I can understand trying to make the game accessable to new people by trying to present it in a manner that they will understand, but allowing the coverage to be this poor is not going to accomplish this. You can tell that the broadcasters dont care, they arent well prepared, and the whole deal exhudes a cheapness that I can't imagine is condusive to attracting new fans. I dont understand why they put out such a low quality product if they have FOUR FUCKING YEARS to prepare for it.
My other problem is that I think a lot more people care about "soccer" than they care to acknowledge. Its mostly younger people that have an interest in the game, which is good for the future, but presently its a demographic thats still underrepresented in the grand scheme of things. Furthermore, its a lot of young working-9-5ers that are fans of the game, which is why the tv ratings havent been spectacular. Americans take off work a lot less than other workers, so they obviously arent going to be missing work to watch the matches as they do it other places. thank you puritan work ethic. Younger working people are even less likely to miss work, even if they have vacation time, and i doubt many employers are bound to be accomdating to the world cup, because bosses/managers are likely of that older generation that doesnt really give a shake about those kids and thier damn communist football game.
Thus is my aggravation about my country and its views on the game it calls "soccer." Basically, US Soccer wants to legitimize itself, but its never going to happen if it doesnt make an effort to make itself credible through proper coverage of the game or a concerted effort to demand some domestic respect. I think that a lot more people care about the game in this country than is acknowledged and likewise, I think that the attempts to lure new fans into the game by making the coverage so imebecile is detracting from the game's already low credibility. US Soccer almost is punishing those of us who actually have a passion for the game.
In my opinion, it would be better to set the bar higher. The game is a lot easier to pick up than NFL, NBA, or even Baseball. There's two goals and a ball. If it goes in the net a team scores a point. I dont think thats too hard to grasp. The game's accessibility is thusly inherent to its construction. There's no need to attempt to spoon feed it to people by sounding like a moron. Part of the American psyche is a constant desire for self-betterment. We most respect individuals who raise themselves to high expectations. Whats more, we dont like being treated like are dumb or ignorant, we feel like to feel like we're better than that, even if we arent. If american "soccer" honestly wants to legitimize itself, then it should just go ahead and do it. Follow the lead of other countries and give the game intelligent and insightful coverage. Hire people to comment on the games that know what they're talking and know the players, the history, whats going on with the club level game, and HOW TO CORRECTLY PRONOUNCE THINGS! If you set the bar high, you will eventually get better results. Treat it like its legitimate and it will become so, even if it takes a little time.
Autoracing, particularly NASCAR, much like "soccer" started off as an outsider to the American sports scene. It was intially just a regional phenomenon, and wasnt really taken seriously by anyone at first. Hard to believe that years later it is arguably one of the most popular sports in American and has far surpassed IndyCar racing, which used to be at the pinnacle of auto racing in America. I dont believe NASCAR is any more accessable than "soccer," but its success can be attributed mainly towards the way it was marketed, and the fact that it did, and still does, have a substantial financial draw. For the sake of this discussion, leaving the money aside (though i will admit this has a lot to do with this, as well), NASCAR achieved has a lot of its success by playing to its base, something "soccer" in America has never done. NASCAR's aim has always been to provide a product that is legitimate, and from the beginning they've treated their sport like its a big deal. They present it in a way that tells people "you should care about this! its the Daytona 500! Look at the history! Look at the excitement! The cars are cool colors and have logos you recognize on them! WATCH IT! WATCH IT!" And thats how they get fans. And they dont dumb down their coverage at all for new viewers. They've got you watching it because they've told you should care, so you feel obligated to figure out whats going on. Hey, its a big deal and the coverage is great, the commentators are professional and talk as though they care about the sport. Its inviting, mainly because people are drawn to things that are well put together. You can trust these guys because its obvious by they way they're presenting it that they know what's going on and really care, meaning that the viewer should to.
"Soccer" coverage is exactly everything that NASCAR coverage is not and thats a big reason why people arent being drawn into the game. Our "soccer" coverage is poorly produced and the commentators are not well prepared or passionate, and come off very much like some guy down the street who once played for a couple years in high school trying to explain everything while fumbling through names and places that he's never heard of. And the coverage isnt geared toward people who already know about the game, which tends to frustrate people who already like to watch it. Nothing about the coverage is at all inviting, they dont "sell it" like its something that a viewer should care about, and on top of everything there's a complete lack of confidence exhuded by the whole thing. People wont be drawn to that, even if they do mention from time to time that everyone in the world is watching. The viewer asks "So why should I?" but get no credible response from the coverage as they casually switch the channel.
Aiming low is never the way to accomplish anything. If "soccer" ever wants to reach the level of other sports in this country it needs to stand up and say that it is legitimate and prove it by approaching the situation in much the same manner as a sport like NASCAR, by selling the game the right way. You can't give everyone a participation trophy when you're trying to grow the sport. Focusing on the base and demanding a higher standard in coverage is the only way to build it. Again, if you say that you are legitimate and back it up, then you've accomplished your goal.
Until then, we are stuck with this crap...
cheers.