The Cellar - World Cup unity

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- - World Cup unity (http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=1701)

One of the blogs I follow (OK, Instapundit) has this note from a reader:

Quote:

I've been following the latest World Cup games pretty closely on Spanish-language TV and radio in Miami, and I'd like to share the following observation:

TV and radio commentators, and callers to radio shows, call the American team "el equipo de todos nosotros" (the team of all of us). This morning, as I was driving home after the U.S. - Mexico game, there were calls from Colombians, Argentineans, Brazilians, Central-Americans of various stripes, all rooting for the U.S. team, and all expressing the same sentiment, that the American team was the "home" team. This is a marked departure from previous World Cups, where latins tended to stick with other latin countries if their own didn't make the cut. I had never heard this expression, "the team of all of us," before this World Cup.

As one caller explained, they feel this way not just because the U.S. is the country that received them, but also because many have U.S.-born children, and they want to teach their children to root for their country. Who would have thought of soccer as a force of acculturation and assimilation?

I have a little tear... this is how it's supposed to be... soccer as a force for bringing people together...

There has been a long standing problem with USA soccer going with and catering to suburban gringos at the expense of the new immigrant communities. MLS will and is changing that, the quest for the dollar is going to give more opportunities to players who can bring chunks of their immigrant communities to the stadium. All you have to do is go to a DC United match to see it. We still have a Mexican "problem" though. They consider their league to be higher quality than MLS so the Galaxy is probably gonna lose the recent immigrants to south of the border clubs. It is, however, going in the right direction... lets have a bloody good cry!

(ow talk about bringing a tear to your eye)

Griff, I think we were on the same wavelength on this one.

I believe that Hispanics are going to single-handedly make soccer finally stick here. I'd be willing to wager that many if not most fans at an MLS game are Hispanic. All the teams are in cities with large Hispanic populations (although I scratch my head a little at Boston, but I don't know the city that well). The NASL lasted 18 years, and I believe this is the 8th season of MLS. Although Miami and Tampa Bay folded this year, the MLS as a whole still seems pretty solid. They built a stadium specifically for soccer in Columbus. DC United won a CONCAFAF tournament 2 years ago. We'll see...I have hope.

For some reason, we can't seem to make soccer stick after high school and college...but there IS a loyal fan base. With the growing Hispanic population, and the fact that World Cup seems to garner more and more US attention each time, I think it can happen.

Its been a few years but I seem to recall a sea of pale faces at the Revolution match I attended. New England may be the place that can be successful going with the suburban market. Their new stadium might be worth a road trip this summer but I prefer the DC crowd, way more fun. The immigrant market is dedicated, I saw a Gold Cup match between Colombia and Nigeria at Rutgers the place was full of Colombians, man can that crowd party. Naturally my (also white) buddy and I donned Nigeria t-shirts, with comical results, the few Africans in attendance appreciated the support, much love was received. I prefer soccer to American football crowds any day.

Rho and I got great seats for a DC United game in 2000. It had poured all day, and only let up shortly after the game started. It was a good mix of people...two guys walking around RFK, beating a drum...the Screaming Eagles and Barra Brava fan clubs making their retractable sections bounce up and down all night...the various fights that almost broke out among fans...it was a blast.

RFK is a toilet now, and I'll feel bad if the Expos move to DC and have to play their first few seasons there. But it gives the team a bit of character...and of course, RFK is incredibly easy to get to.

Yeah, but would all these people be so sentimental if the U.S.A. had lost in the first round? I think you can call this a bandwagon.

Quote:

Originally posted by thebecoming
Yeah, but would all these people be so sentimental if the U.S.A. had lost in the first round? I think you can call this a bandwagon.

It's doubters like you that ruin all this joy! ;)

Had this been 1994 or 1998, I might have agreed with you. But in the 4 World Cups I can remember ('90, '94, '98, '02), this has been the most talked about in the US...even though the games are on at 2 in the morning, and the US team was thought by some to be suspect. (Fortunately, most folks can either watch the game tomorrow or keep up with it online, since it's on at 7am ET...a decent hour finally.)

I think a lot of things have changed for the better since the World Cup hit our shores 8 years ago. We have new outdoor leagues for men and women. The US women's team is one of the world's best, and the men's team isn't too shabby. And then there are the immigrant and Hispanic factors.

I'm still skeptical of course, but I think we're on our way.