Comments on: 714, 60: Soccer needs its own American story http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/06/12/714-60-soccer-needs-its-own-american-story/ Exploring football culture around the world Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:00:51 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: A. Ruiz http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/06/12/714-60-soccer-needs-its-own-american-story/comment-page-1/#comment-7755 A. Ruiz Sat, 11 Jul 2009 03:09:40 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/?p=1316#comment-7755 Chris, good point. I honestly had no idea about the NY cosmos, even after I started following MLS. I knew about Pele, Best, Cruydd and Beckenbauer, I just had no idea about the NASL at all! Well not until the documentary "Once in a Lifetime" came out. Anyway, a few years back MLS had Edward James Olmos narrate a bunch of "NFL films" style MLS highlights. I think it's a good proof of concept. I think a saturday morning/afternoon type show after cartoons on Fox Network would help. I used to watch "This Week in Baseball" growing up and it helped me get into the league. Well that and watching the Cubs on WGN. Chris, good point.

I honestly had no idea about the NY cosmos, even after I started following MLS. I knew about Pele, Best, Cruydd and Beckenbauer, I just had no idea about the NASL at all!

Well not until the documentary “Once in a Lifetime” came out.

Anyway, a few years back MLS had Edward James Olmos narrate a bunch of “NFL films” style MLS highlights. I think it’s a good proof of concept. I think a saturday morning/afternoon type show after cartoons on Fox Network would help. I used to watch “This Week in Baseball” growing up and it helped me get into the league. Well that and watching the Cubs on WGN.

]]> By: chris L http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/06/12/714-60-soccer-needs-its-own-american-story/comment-page-1/#comment-7558 chris L Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:59:27 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/?p=1316#comment-7558 In the 60s and 70s, I grew up watching the stories produced and broadcast by NFL Films. I fell in love with American Football partly through these stories. Their formula was to describe a game from beginning to end, focusing on key plays, and giving brief stories, within the stories, of key the participants. Learning about the games was great but hearing the player stories was even better. I heard stuff like ....he didn't enter the NFL until 1958, but he was a seventh-round draft pick of the Browns in 1957... OR ...he was a mill worker as a teenager from a tough part of town... OR ...everyone hated him but everyone repsected him... Similar personal soccer player stories do not exist in the minds of Americans. Someday, some entity will produce compelling, well told stories and plant them in the minds of americans. Soccer will elevate in importance then. In the 60s and 70s, I grew up watching the stories produced and broadcast by NFL Films. I fell in love with American Football partly through these stories.

Their formula was to describe a game from beginning to end, focusing on key plays, and giving brief stories, within the stories, of key the participants. Learning about the games was great but hearing the player stories was even better.

I heard stuff like ….he didn’t enter the NFL until 1958, but he was a seventh-round draft pick of the Browns in 1957… OR …he was a mill worker as a teenager from a tough part of town… OR …everyone hated him but everyone repsected him…

Similar personal soccer player stories do not exist in the minds of Americans. Someday, some entity will produce compelling, well told stories and plant them in the minds of americans. Soccer will elevate in importance then.

]]> By: Rob http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/06/12/714-60-soccer-needs-its-own-american-story/comment-page-1/#comment-7513 Rob Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:02:57 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/?p=1316#comment-7513 While I agree that US Soccer needs an international face, which is the only way to get the American media to recognize its own, it's going to take years of patience and a couple of lucky bounces of the ball in favor of the Yanks. The MLS is slowly but surely developing, whether some want to disagree or not. The nation as a whole is hitting a peak in terms of footballing talent for the 2010 cup, and it will now depend on the nations ability to develop better players in general going into the future. But as for this article, the only way the US gets its footballing face is for the US to make some kind of footballing history. MLS is an average league, and dominating CONCACAF isn't good enough anymore. To the yanks. While I agree that US Soccer needs an international face, which is the only way to get the American media to recognize its own, it’s going to take years of patience and a couple of lucky bounces of the ball in favor of the Yanks.

The MLS is slowly but surely developing, whether some want to disagree or not. The nation as a whole is hitting a peak in terms of footballing talent for the 2010 cup, and it will now depend on the nations ability to develop better players in general going into the future.

But as for this article, the only way the US gets its footballing face is for the US to make some kind of footballing history. MLS is an average league, and dominating CONCACAF isn’t good enough anymore.

To the yanks.

]]> By: Jeremy http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/06/12/714-60-soccer-needs-its-own-american-story/comment-page-1/#comment-7497 Jeremy Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:35:05 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/?p=1316#comment-7497 The Offside book by Markovits was the most interesting read I've had in years. Great post. Fans and supporters are the soul of any sports league, and I agree with most everything you've said. I'm pretty sure Markovits's claim at the end, though, is that MLS must essentially "beat" the NHL to cement itself in our national consciousness and become the fourth main sport. The Dallas situation, where a city already has the Cowboys, Mavericks, and Stars, is an example of this. A vibrant hockey team might be crowding out the kinds of fans FC Dallas needs. Chicago's recent ticket troubles have also directly coincided with the Blackhawks' playoff run. Seattle Sounders FC are in a way, filling the gap left by the Sonics, and the fact that there are only 3 Major League teams in Seattle now. I think this is the reason MLS is now expanding mostly to cities without huge Major league presence (Philly excluded). The Offside book by Markovits was the most interesting read I’ve had in years.

Great post. Fans and supporters are the soul of any sports league, and I agree with most everything you’ve said. I’m pretty sure Markovits’s claim at the end, though, is that MLS must essentially “beat” the NHL to cement itself in our national consciousness and become the fourth main sport. The Dallas situation, where a city already has the Cowboys, Mavericks, and Stars, is an example of this. A vibrant hockey team might be crowding out the kinds of fans FC Dallas needs. Chicago’s recent ticket troubles have also directly coincided with the Blackhawks’ playoff run.

Seattle Sounders FC are in a way, filling the gap left by the Sonics, and the fact that there are only 3 Major League teams in Seattle now. I think this is the reason MLS is now expanding mostly to cities without huge Major league presence (Philly excluded).

]]> By: Jason Davis http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/06/12/714-60-soccer-needs-its-own-american-story/comment-page-1/#comment-7487 Jason Davis Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:04:08 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/?p=1316#comment-7487 Great article. What you say rings true in that the ascension of soccer (if there is to be one) will be a piecemeal regional one rather than an explosion on the national consciousness. Towns like Portland, Seattle, etc. make sense as expansion locations for that exact reason-it's the longer standing clubs that have yet to create a unique culture that are worrisome (oddly enough the city that comes to mind is Dallas, where they've accepted hockey in a surprising way, but are still not supporting soccer in large numbers). How much of the responsibility falls to the organizations and how much you can put on an intrinsic resistance to the game is tough to determine. Great article. What you say rings true in that the ascension of soccer (if there is to be one) will be a piecemeal regional one rather than an explosion on the national consciousness. Towns like Portland, Seattle, etc. make sense as expansion locations for that exact reason-it’s the longer standing clubs that have yet to create a unique culture that are worrisome (oddly enough the city that comes to mind is Dallas, where they’ve accepted hockey in a surprising way, but are still not supporting soccer in large numbers). How much of the responsibility falls to the organizations and how much you can put on an intrinsic resistance to the game is tough to determine.

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