Why We Should Care About The World Cup
If you are like me, you have at best a passing interest in the World Cup starting this weekend. Soccer, in spite of it’s massive participation by young kids, has never had the kind of acceptance or interest of the other major sports we follow here in the U.S. Whether it’s the Super Bowl or the World Series, we like to think we have the sports world by the tail.
On my way back from Italy recently, I watched the movie Invictus. Invictus is about the world championships of rugby, and more particularly about the South African Rugby team winning the world championship when Nelson Mandela won his election back in the 1990s. I was sitting there watching on the plane, realizing that there was this great sporting event that happens all over the world, and I have never watched a minute of it. More than that, I really understood very little of the sport part of the movie, which for me is very unusual.
I grew up playing and watching soccer. By watching I mean going to games and seeing some of the best teams in the nation come through Oneonta NY for the annual Mayors Cup tournament. Oneonta is now the home of the Soccer Hall of Fame, in large part because the city was very much ahead of it’s time back then. And yet, today, I still pay soccer no mind. I don’t go to MLS games, I don’t watch the games from the Champions League in Europe. I am just not interested.
What I realized when I was in Italy, however, is that I think we have it wrong, not the rest of the world. Yes it’s a bit slow moving; yes, the players dive all over the field and feign injury to play to the crowd and the refs; none of the US players are really famous here in the US; throw in your objections here. Those are all of the things that we don’t like. However, perhaps it’s a chance to get behind our team and let them take us on an unexpected ride. These guys are pretty amazing athletes, and the better games are actually a lot of fun to watch, even if you are just half paying attention. Maybe the US will lose their first few games and be out. If that happens, I will certainly care less. But, you have to admit that watching them against England tomorrow does carry a certain amount of intrigue. Bubbling just below the surface is the animosity of the Revolution, and I hope we kick their ass.
I don’t know how much I will watch, but I have decided that I am going to follow our team, learn their names, and try to care about how they do. I might even learn about the other favorites and make sure I at least try to watch some of the other, more interesting games. I will probably just have it on in the background and pay attention when someone scores, but I think I at least owe it some attention to see what all of the fuss is about.
Here is the link to our team’s roster. Who’s with me?
