America Wakes Up To The World Cup
Is America a soccer nation, now? On the morning of the United States’ most-hyped ever game against England, I combed through the front covers of every single American newspaper listed at Newseum, a good couple of hundred of them (which is not comprehensive, but is a pretty hefty sample-size), to see what Americans were waking up to read about it on their front pages — if anything at all.
I found broad coverage and feature stories in surprising places, from Las Vegas to Detroit. Some states, though, had complete black-outs; other sports stories such as Nebraska’s move to the Big 10 in college sports or the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup celebrations wiped out any reference to the World Cup from the front pages in large areas of the midwest.
We see a tabloid, the New York Post, trying to stir hysteria; a Las Vegas daily telling soccer fans to “ignore the haters”; and a North Carolina newspaper fairly summarising that “We like soccer, but we love hoops.”
We see that newspapers dispatched their photographers to local bars and Mexican restaurants to capture local passion, with few having correspondents in South Africa. It’s often not presumed that readers are fans of the United States: “National pride, but for which nation?” asks The Daily Breeze in California.
The vast majority of the coverage is enthusiastic: “What a kick!”, the Miami Herald headlines, while the Sarasota Herald-Tribune says “a proper sports fan’s heart will beat a little faster today.” It will indeed.
Scroll below for the cover of every newspaper that had a major feature, in a state-by-state listing; click the image to open a readable PDF, and big ups to Newseum for the cover images.
Alabama: The Anniston Star led with a feature on “The Best Game”, as “local soccer fans catch World Cup fever.” The Tuscaloosa News took a similar approach. The Montgomery Advertiser took a youth soccer angle while featuring the World Cup
Anniston Star, published in Anniston, Alabama
Montgomery Advertiser, published in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Tuscaloosa News, published in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Alaska: No coverage.
Arizona: Phoenix’s The Arizona Republic has a colourful feature explaining “The World’s Passion”, while the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson offers tips on how to cope with your “World Cup fever”.
The Arizona Republic, published in Phoenix, Arizona
Arizona Daily Star, published in Tucson, Arizona
Arkansas: No coverage.
California: No surprises with the Los Angeles Times featuring the World Cup in a major feature. Numerous regional dailies also have feature stories, or at the least, teaser blurbs on the front page. Surprisingly, the San Francisco Chronicle did not feature the event on its front page, and the San Jose Mercury News also lacked a feature story. The Daily Breeze in Torrance asks “National pride, but for which nation?”
Press-Telegram, published in Long Beach, California
Daily News, published in Los Angeles, California
La Opinión, published in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles Times, published in Los Angeles, California
Oakland Tribune, published in Oakland, California
Daily Breeze, published in Torrance, CA
Contra Costa Times, published in Walnut Creek, CA
Colorado: The Denver Post is “futbol crazed”, and asks “whether the U.S. team, eager to gain respect at home, can upset mighty England.” Coverage is thin on the ground elsewhere, though the Greeley Tribune offers a reminder to catch the game today.
The Denver Post, published in Denver, Colorado
Connecticut: Coverage is very thin in Connecticut, with The Hour featuring the only major frontpage story.
The Hour, published in Norwalk, Connecticut
Delaware: Wilmingont’s News Journal offers a major feature on an event “worth getting wild about”, taking in a Mexican restaurant for their game yesterday.
The News Journal, published in Wilmington, Delaware
District of Colombia: Very surprisingly, the Washington Post, only features one tiny blurb on the World Cup on the front page.
The Washington Post, published in Washington, DC
Florida: Newspapers in Florida offer extensive coverage: “It’s a futbol revolution”, says the Sun Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale, while the Sarasota Herald-Tribune says “a proper sport’s fan’s heart will beat a little faster today.”
Sun Sentinel, published in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Florida Today, published in Melbourne, Florida
The Miami Herald, published in Miami, Florida
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, published in Sarasota, Florida
Georgia: There is not a great deal of coverage in Georgia’s newspapers, though dailies in Athens and Atlanta offer feature stories.
Athens Banner-Herald, published in Athens, Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, published in Atlanta, Georgia
Hawaii: No coverage.
Idaho: The Idaho Statesman has a World Cup fans’ guide.
Idaho Statesman, published in Boise, Idaho
Illinois: Shockingly, there is no coverage of the World Cup on the front pages of Illinois’ numerous newspapers, though for the Chicago dailies, there is a simple excuse: the Chicago Blackhawks’ victory in the Stanley Cup completely takes over today.
Indiana: Bloomington’s Herald-Times is the only newspaper in the state to cover the World Cup on its front page.
The Herald-Times, published in Bloomington, Indiana
Iowa: Soccer features on the front page of just one newspaper in Iowa, The Gazette in Cedar Rapids…but it’s a story about a local women’s team, not the World Cup.
Kansas: Kansas also draws a blank, with sports news focused more on Nebraska’s move to the Big Ten than the World Cup.
Kentucky: The biggest coverage comes from the Lexington Herald-Leader, with some lovely front page imagery and a number of stories on the World Cup.
The Kentucky Enquirer, published in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky
Lexington Herald-Leader, published in Lexington, Kentucky
Louisiana: No coverage.
Maine: A couple of teaser blurbs, the biggest in the Portland Press Herald.
Portland Press Herald, published in Portland, Maine
Maryland: “It’s soccer, er, football fever” says The Capital.
The Capital, published in Annapolis, Maryland
Massachusetts: Surprisingly, there is no coverage in the Boston Globe. The Cape Cod Times has a small blurb reading “U.S. team beings World Cup quest today”. The biggest coverage is in Worcester’s Telegram & Gazette.
Telegram & Gazette, published in Worcester, Massachusetts
Michigan: The Detroit News offers a major feature on the World Cup in general, while the Times Herald in Port Huron focuses on one fan.
The Detroit News, published in Detroit, Michigan
Times Herald, published in Port Huron, Michigan
Minnesota: There’s the briefest of blurbs in Mankato’s Free Press, but the major daily Star Tribune in Minneapolis centres some World Cup imagery on their front page.
Star Tribune, published in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mississippi: No coverage.
Missouri:The Kansas City Star pronounces its city to be “one of the biggest soccer towns in the U.S.”
The Kansas City Star, published in Kansas City, Missouri
Montana: No coverage.
Nebraska: No coverage.
Nevada:Las Vegas’ daily tells its readers to “ignore the haters – U.S. Soccer, led by Landon Donovan, is cool.”
Las Vegas Sun, published in Las Vegas, Nevada
New Hampshire: Just tiny blurbs in Manchester’s Union Leader and Nashua’s The Telegraph.
New Jersey: The biggest coverage is in The Record; the same photo used below is also featured on the front page of The Herald News.
The Record, published in Hackensack, New Jersey
New Mexico: Another Mexican restaurant is visited, this time by The Santa Fe New Mexican.
The Santa Fe New Mexican, published in Santa Fe, New Mexico
New York:The New York Post does its best to out Sun England’s Sun newspaper, tying in Obama’s criticism of BP to the game today in a fit of attention-seeking hysteria, while the New York Times takes a pictorial approach.
New York Post, published in New York, New York
The New York Times, published in New York, New York
North Carolina: Raleigh’s News-Observer offers a different perspective with their feature piece: “We like soccer, but we love hoops”, commenting on “America’s tepid interest in soccer.”
Asheville Citizen-Times, published in Asheville, North Carolina
The News & Observer, published in Raleigh, North Carolina
North Dakota: No coverage.
Ohio: The biggest coverage is in The Repository of Stark-County, giving a typical local angle to the World Cup.
The Repository, published in Canton, Ohio
Oklahoma: No coverage.
Oregon: Only a tiny blurb on the impending “World Cup dust-up” in Salem’s Statesman-Journal.
Pennsylvania: Erie’s Erie Times-News pluckily reports that soccer has “small but growing fan base in Erie.”
Erie Times-News, published in Erie, Pennsylvania
The Philadelphia Inquirer, published in Philadelphia, PA
Rhode Island: Nothing but a small blurb on the cover of the Newport Daily News.
South Carolina: No coverage.
South Dakota: No coverage.
Tennessee: No coverage.
Texas: The biggest features come from the dailies in smaller cities, with the Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle offering little.
The Beaumont Enterprise, published in Beaumont, TX
The Brownsville Herald, published in Brownsville, Texas
The Monitor, published in McAllen, Texas
Utah: Provo’s Daily Herald offers one of my favourite feature titles on the World Cup today: “Drink Up”.
The Daily Herald, published in Provo, Utah
Vermont: No coverage.
Virginia: Some nice imagery in The Free Lance-Star.
The Free Lance-Star, published in Fredericksburg, Virginia
The Roanoke Times, published in Roanoke, Virginia
Washington: Little coverage, aside from the Seattle Times.
The Seattle Times, published in Seattle, Washington
West Virginia: Just a small blurb on the cover of Huntington’s Herald-Dispatch.
Wisconsin: Milwaukee’s major daily offers a primer for newbie soccer fans.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, published in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wyoming:“It’s on,” says the Laramie Boomerang.
Laramie Boomerang, published in Laramie, Wyoming
Of course, there are omissions nationally here, but it took me three hours to comb through all those as it is. If you noticed any other interesting cover stories today, let us know in the comments.
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Great stuff, Tom.
The Charlotte Observer and (Elizabeth City) Daily Advance in NC had front page coverage as well. I mention Elizabeth City because even 10 years ago you’d be shocked to see any soccer in a smaller city’s paper.
Excellent post! Thank you.
I am waiting for the first match.
I must look.
Tom- the Seattle Times is, at the moment, the *only* printed paper in Seattle, so there’s a good reason that’s all the print coverage. The Stranger, one of the two operating alt-weeklys, has been covering it regularly at their blog (full disclosure: I’m doing some of the live-blogs with them) as well. But it’s pretty biased to say “oh only one paper is covering it” dismissively when there’s only one paper in town. Especially as they’ve been covering it all week. Here’s Wednesday: http://twitpic.com/1vejrx
Here’s the layout from the Rockford Register Star’s World Cup preview on Friday.
Kelley Simms did great work on the foosball graphic.
http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/100611cuprockfordgraphic.jpg
notice what is most hard to find in all those newspapers? pictures of actual AMERICAN soccer fans. want to know why? because in the entire united states, there are probably a few hundred of you fags. watching your gay ass sport. why don’t you limp-wristed pansies try watching REAL sports – football (played with a pigskin), basketball, baseball, and hockey?
Unterglauben, I don’t recall any here asking for, or caring about, your opinion. But you have a nice day in your mom’s basement.
By the way, Tom, great post.
Seriously unterglauben, football where they were protective gear of all kinds and stop the game every few mintes, sorry soccer is where it’s at. It’s actually interesting to watch because it’s constantly moving and you don’t get bored. Why do you think there are so many commercials during a football game, hello easy to get up and walk away for that, and when there’s a soccer game only commercials at half time and after the game.
Thanks for the great post Tom!
I love how angry he is, it’s beautiful. Almost arousing in a perverse sort of way, really. The best part is that you know he was watching yesterday, but hoping England destroyed the United States because he didn’t was desperate to read the negative articles that would’ve appeared today if that had happened, imagine his sorrow when Green fumbled the ball. He probably slapped his wife/cousin in anger.
Really though, seeing the anger from Americans that work against the growth of the sport in this country is almost as rewarding as seeing the stadiums and teams that didn’t exist 20 years ago.
It’s great to see Football being accepted in the states, blog’s such as this will certainly help sprad the word about the beautiful game
wow the americans are really getting into the game this is great
It is refreshing to see some “late comers” in the U.S. press latch on to what so many Americans have known for a long time: soccer has no limit.
It is also facinating to see the paranoia that soccer will overtake the neanderthal, homophobic sports that USED to dominate the headlines.
This great nation has room for multiiple sports and a diversity of people. However, the world has, and always will have, only one favorite sport – regardless of what our stiff-wristed, flower-hating, pork-carrying poster may fear.
Just for the record, the Columbus Dispatch didn’t have anything about the game on their front page for last Saturday, but they did have a big article on it on Friday. The article took up much of the front page and was about the rivalry between English and American fans.
By the way, unterglauben, what position do you play when you play football? What, you say you don’t play it, you just watch it? Well, then. think about this. Lots of us who are soccer fans also play the game. What’s wrong with your sport that so few people actually play it? And isn’t actually playing soccer more macho than merely watching football?
An N&O photographer showed up at the bar where we were watching the US-England match, and was made fun of roundly for the “lack passion” line (as well as greeted with a song or two). We’re hoping we dispelled that notion.
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