| De-bunking Soccer Media Myths (November 2004) |
By Jim Sheldon
Turn on sports talk radio. Read the newspaper. Watch Sports Center. Sooner or later, you’ll hear one – a potshot at soccer.
Mainstream American media have been spreading myths about soccer for so long that many sports fans accept them as fact. It’s time to debunk some of those myths. A little true or false (with some equivocation):
Soccer is boring. FALSE. Any sport where the ball is actually in play more than 70 percent of the time isn’t boring. You can make multiple trips to the bathroom or fridge during any baseball, football or basketball game and not miss a thing. Why? Constant timeouts, continual substitutions and the indisputable fact that the ball is not in play for the majority of time. Is the ball actually in play during a baseball game even five percent of the time? You can argue that Americans have short attention spans, but don’t tell me that soccer is boring. There is something happening virtually every minute of the game because of the simple fact the ball is play.
It’s too low-scoring. TRUE, but so what? It’s about the anticipation, stupid. For the simple reason the ball is almost always in play, you’re one pass away from a goal. Get distracted by your toddler or dare to take a bathroom break and you may miss a goal. If it’s the only goal of the game, shame on you. If your team gave up that goal, you’d better be glued to your chair the rest of the game hoping for the tying goal.
Soccer is a foreign sport. SORTA. Was it invented in this country? No, but the only team sports that started from scratch here are lacrosse, volleyball and basketball (and that by a Canadian). Baseball and football are stepchildren of foreign sports that we claim as our own. Fine, but don’t hang the foreign label on soccer just because it’s an import that has remained largely recognizable from its original form. Besides, soccer has been played in this country since sometime around the Civil War, depending on what version of history you want to believe. One hundred fifty or so years later, it’s still foreign? C’mon.
And even if you want to cling to the foreign label, wake up. Is that an American car you have parked in your garage? Look at the corporate brand on your TV. Was it made in America? Ever had tacos? We live in an increasingly global society. Many things once seen as foreign now are part of everyday American life.
The sport is for girls. TRUE (good), but it’s also for boys. The fact that 40 to 45 percent of Americans playing the sport are female should be celebrated. A sport that appeals to both genders stands a better chance of appealing to the entire marketplace. You can’t say the same about football, baseball or hockey.
Soccer is for athletes who aren’t good enough to play other sports. FALSE. Just a few examples: Brad Friedel (recruited to play Division I college basketball), Tony Meola (taken in the Major League Baseball draft), Jay Heaps (a basketball letterman at Duke), Alexi Lalas (a top hockey prospect) and Briana Scurry (a hotshot high school basketball player). On the flip side, look at famous athletes from other sports who played soccer (not including football placekickers): Grant Hill (basketball), Cal Ripken (baseball), Nomar Garciaparra (baseball), Earl “The Pearl” Monroe (basketball) and Steve Nash (basketball).
Both lists are longer than that. The point is that soccer attracts good athletes who are normal-sized human beings. You don’t have to be seven feet tall. You don’t have to weigh 300 pounds. Who said you had to be a virtual freak of nature to be a good athlete?
Furthermore, any sport where the participant has to run six or more miles, sprint over varying distances, be explosive in runs, be able to jump and have the coordination to execute everything from a swerving dribble through a packed penalty area to making a diving save – all over 90 minutes with no timeouts and only three substitutions at the professional level – adds up to remarkable athleticism.
Americans aren’t any good at soccer. FALSE. Our women have been at the top of the international heap for more than a decade. Our men’s national team made it to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals. The fact that it will take more time for our men to be serious and consistent threats to win World Cup titles shouldn’t be seen as a negative. This country always has been about striving to be the best and not giving up until you reach that goal. We’re still striving. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s very American.
Any sport where you don’t use your hands is ridiculous. SAYS WHO? Who made that rule? Just because humans don’t have opposable big toes, it’s somehow alien to rely primarily on your feet in the execution of a sport? First, players do use their hands in soccer. Goalkeepers obviously do. Field players use their hands for throw-ins and (sometimes legally, sometimes not) while fending off an opponent. Second, think back to when you were eight years old. Ever play kick the can? Kickball at recess? Did your mom ever tell you how much you kicked in the womb? Kicking is perfectly natural.
So give it a rest, Jim Rome. Your arguments and those of the other soccer bashers don’t hold water. Perpetuate the myths if you must, if you think it’s somehow good for ratings. The rest of the world knows you’re full of it, and millions of Americans have come to the same conclusion, and more will reach that conclusion in coming years.
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