Soccer: The success of Team USA

9 thoughts on “Soccer: The success of Team USA”

1. Dear Drew,

   You might find this funny. When I saw the US women beat Brazil I did my goofy Rocky Balboa impersonation (goofy because I’m bad at the impersonation) and went.”YO ROCKY!!!! WE DID IT!!!!!” I got to thinking that would have been a funny cartoon and a cute spin on one of my favorite sports movie of all time.

   Down a goal, Into extra time, down one player. If this wasn’t the stuff of “Rocky” legend I couldn’t think of what could be. If the women do win the world cut it’ll be because of a game like this.

   All the best

   Louis

2. Not sure if us winning would be a shock – our girls are the No. 1 Contenders, and teams 2 (Germany) and 3 (Brazil) are now out, and those two stars on our crest are for our two titles. But the comeback Sunday was a top notch rally, and from a situation that most soccer people would look at and declare done.

   Wambach’s goal was just as dramatic as Donovan’s last summer – we’re getting a reputation internationally as an entertaining country to watch, which is great.

   Also telling, however, was how the crowd – many of whom were local neutral supporters from Moenchengladbach – turned on Marta and the Samba Queens for their cynical, cheap play. On the international soccer stage Brazil NEVER gets booed, especially in favor of the Americans.

3. Oh, and Hope Solo is the mother of my children. That is all.

4. Good Morning from Omaha,

   Our son from Colorado, the football coach, called us to tell us to watch the soccer game…huh there is a soccer game on? and what a game… That a watching the tour de France made for an exciting weekend. OK at least for me anyway.

   Still got the rides and walks in..at least I wasn’t a total couch potato, no quite.

   Bring that cup back to the United States.and inspire another generation of young women to be there best.

   Strive for excellence, nothing but your best.

   Gene

5. USA was going into the WC as Contender #3 behind Germany (won last two WC) and Brazil. Germany never playd at the Level they did the past 8 Years ago and lost deserved to Japan. Brazil playd ok, but not good enough.

   Yet, i would rate USA as #2 Contender behind Sweden who played until now the best Soccer. Lets see how USA does tomorrow against France, they are not easy to beat.

6. The seeds planted in 1999 are starting to bear fruit, woo hoo!!!

7. “It could change the way we view the game of soccer in this country forever.”

   Usually i agree with u but here u are wrong. In 1999 the women shocked the world and won the world cup.We said it would change American views on soccer. Did it? Well 12 years later we are still wondering when views on the game would change!

8. Joey, That’s a false equivalency, just like the people who say that Pele, the 1994 World Cup, 2002 World Cup run, David Beckham, MLS, or last year’s Landon Donovan heroics didn’t change things.

   If you’re expecting an overnight change where we wake up tomorrow and soccer is suddenly replacing baseball, it’ll never happen. American views on the game HAVE changed, but it’s been slowly over decades.

   25 years ago, we couldn’t qualify for a World Cup. 20 years ago, we didn’t have a league. 15 years ago, you couldn’t watch a live Premier League game on basic cable. 10 years ago, European teams weren’t interested in coming to play in the States. 5 years ago, The World Series had more viewers than the World Cup Final.

   ALL of that has changed. Manchester United, Arsenal and Real Madrid get frequent press coverage, not to mention sellout crowds, in the states. US qualifiers, formerly held at high schools, sell out NFL stadia. Major League Soccer outdraws hockey and basketball teams in some markets. The Champions’ League is a frequent long lunch every spring. Seattle and Portland’s MLS teams have season ticket waiting lists, not to mention an intense rivalry. And last year, 18 million Americans watched the Giants beat the Rangers while 24 million watched Spain beat Holland.

   If you’re still wondering when views on soccer will change, you’re simply not paying attention. Americans didn’t always follow the NFL – It took decades to grow into the powerhouse that it is today from some very humble beginnings. Basketball went from a niche sport in the 70’s to a sensation in the 80’s…but it took some great players, teams and a long-standing foundation to make it happen in a decade. Hockey has risen and fallen and risen again, as has NASCAR, but it took over 20 years for both to happen. Mixed Martial Arts was, 20 years ago, literally an underground sport, but is now the most successful pay-per-view product on the market. We didn’t wake up on day and decide, as a nation, to replace horse racing and boxing with other sports; Sports fan changed their minds, individually and over time.

   Evidence for me is really close to home. One of my oldest friends is a retired pharmacist and devoted fan of the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bears, as well as fan of golf and racing. After watching a couple of World Cup games with me two weeks ago, he’s not missed a minute of the playoff rounds.

   Joey, you might not have changed you mind about soccer. But to say the game is in the same place it is today that it was in 1974, 1986, 1998 or even 2004 with the rest of us is just incorrect.

9. I see that here in the Northwest. The Timber fans are amazing and rabid, as are the Sounder fans in Seattle. When they started talking about an MSL team here in Portland, this time around, I thought they were nuts, ditching the AAA baseball team and making the stadium here strictly soccer, what were they thinking? They sold out this season in a very short time! I was really amazed at the number of Timber fans that traveled to the Timber’s first game in Colorado.