While We’re Waiting… Wild Card’s factor in MLB attendance
September 12, 2013Cleveland Browns Film Room: Game 1, What the heck happened? Part 1
September 12, 2013Wednesday was September 11, 2013, the 12th anniversary of one of the most tragic days in our nation’s history. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, sports helped to remind the nation why we were stronger than any enemy. The NFL postponed one week of games, but when the league returned to action on September 23, it brought about a host of incredibly powerful images of patriotic pride and national unity. Citizens of all political persuasions watched President George W. Bush take the mound at Yankee Stadium before Game 1 of the World Series and fired what is surely, given the circumstances, the most impressive and important first pitch in baseball history. America watched these moments and began the slow healing process.
Two days ago, on the eve of that 12th anniversary, I stood in a cramped soccer stadium in Columbus and watched yet another example of how sports bind our nation together in common purpose. This time it wasn’t healing that America needed. Instead, we were in search of the joy that would come with a berth in the World Cup to be held next summer in Brazil. All the United States Men’s National Team needed to do was defeat their archrivals Mexico and hope that Honduras could earn at least a draw against Panama.
The atmosphere at Columbus Crew Stadium was electric. The weather was hot and humid, but the American pride in the air was thicker than any moisture. The American Outlaws, the traveling supporters’ group for the national team, was tireless in leading chants from behind the north goal. They came equipped with drums, horns, microphones, and giant speakers, and kept the entire stadium cheering, chanting, clapping, singing, and stomping for the entire 90 plus minutes. While some Mexican fans were present amongst the standing room only crowd of 24,584, Columbus was chosen to host this crucial qualifier for the fourth consecutive World Cup Qualifying cycle largely because US Soccer knows that the vast majority of seats for the game will be filled by supporters of the red, white, and blue.
Even with the looming anniversary, the American fans who packed into Crew Stadium seemed unaware of the momentous date that awaited them when they would awake the next morning. Any sense of impending somberness was replaced by a bated anticipation of the goal that would signal that it was time to erupt in ecstatic celebration.
That breakthrough looked like it may never come as the Mexicans controlled the first half. The Americans, playing without four key players in midfielders Michael Bradley and Geoff Cameron, striker Jozy Altidore, and defender Matt Besler, generated but a few half chances. The Mexicans, led by the creativity and skill of Giovani Dos Santos, looked threatening, forcing US goalkeeper Tim Howard into a number of tough saves. In spite of the onslaught, the United States and their stout keeper were able to keep the game scoreless until halftime.
After the break, it was abundantly clear that the fortunes of the two teams had turned. The US looked energized, while the Mexican side resembled a boxer who had punched himself out. Forward Eddie Johnson’s goal off a Landon Donovan corner just four minutes after the restart seemed like somewhat of an inevitability. Mexican keeper Jesus Corona missed his chance to punch the ball clear and Johnson – a very strong leaper in the box – had no problem putting his header into the vacated goal.
From there, an American victory seemed all but assured. The American Outlaws behind that north goal – the same one where Johnson scored – broke out the big guns, launching into chants of “We are going, we are going, we are going to Brazil! You’re not going, you’re not going, you’re not going to Brazil!”
Whether it was the goal or the raucous cheers, the Mexicans seemed rattled. Landon Donovan’s tap in following a beautifully creative run by substitute Mix Diskerud in the 78th minute gave the United States a 2-0 lead and prompted cheers of “Dos a cero!” – a reference to the score by which the Americans prevailed in each of the previous three World Cup Qualifiers against Mexico held in Columbus. As the clock ticked towards 90 minutes, the Mexicans continued to drag, until Jamaican referee Courtney Campbell mercifully blew the final whistle and sent the faltering side home; thoroughly and utterly defeated.
The celebration was one of relief and elation upon that final whistle, and it only intensified when Honduras finished off a 2-2 draw against Panama to secure the American side’s place in Brazil. The players danced, hugged, and chugged Bud Lights on the pitch. Those fans that remained did the same in the stands. The United States was going to their seventh consecutive World Cup. All was right in American soccer.
While the simple fact of qualifying for the World Cup is significant, the accomplishment is even more interesting to examine in the context of its timing just a day before the 9/11 anniversary.
In the months after the attacks 12 years ago, we looked to sports for reassurance that all would be fine; that we were still the land of the free and the home of the brave. On Tuesday in Columbus, the emotional undercurrents ran quite differently, but the end result was the same. A sporting event captured the nation’s imagination and, if only for a short while, brought Americans just a little bit closer together.
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Image: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
21 Comments
Absolutely fantastic article.
Really great to see soccer getting some additional coverage, not only of WFNY but on national networks as well. I still think the sport has a long way to go before it can even come close to the levels of football, baseball, basketball, or even hockey in this country.
The question is what will it take for soccer to reach that level, if ever? USA in the World Cup final? An American star in the Premier League? More MLS franchises?
I think the USA being in a WC final or having an American star in the EPL would give a slight bump for awhile, but not change the overall perception of the sport.
It, for too long, has been fighting a battle with football. The NFL and college football are too ingrained (currently) to be displaced in ratings or interest. That could change, but it doesn’t seem likely to change soon.
Also, we don’t currently care about soccer as much as the rest of the world. But, MLS is setup as if we do. The regular season schedule goes from March until October (regular season only). What? There are “friendly” and “champions league” matches during the season. Huh? Games are on random days of the week.
I get that works for EPL and such leagues. MLS needs to be tighter and smarter though if it wants to get our attention. Put games on Friday/Saturday nights. Confine the schedule to April-September. Don’t have exhibition games during the season unless it’s against a team we have heard about and care about.
Or, ignore all of that, and have a MLS team make the finals of the champions league in Europe (is a MLS team even allowed to compete in that one? I don’t know). It would vindicate the league and bring a ton of exposure.
One final way to get more people to watch. Sign Tim Tebow.
I do agree that MLS needs to be smarter with its scheduling, but it is limited to only certain times of the year. For example, most elite soccer leagues limit their schedule to the same time frame as MLS to accommodate the national team schedules (since things such as the World Cup, CONCACAF Gold Cup, and UEFA Euros) take place in the summertime. Changing from this schedule is very very difficult (just look at the cluster**** the Qatar World Cup is causing, and all the backlash from league managers about the proposal to move it to the wintertime to avoid the Qatari summer heat).
Since they have to keep their current scheduled time frame, I agree that Friday night matches would be better. One of the allures of the NFL is that it has unofficially declared Sunday as its day, and all Americans know that Sundays in the fall/winter mean football. Moving to Friday nights could have a similar effect – and they’d only have to compete with high school football – but Friday nights are a terrible TV slot since most people aren’t home sitting in front of the TV.
And to answer your last point, no, MLS teams cannot compete in the UEFA Champions League. There is the CONCACAF Champions League, which pits teams from the US, Canada, Mexico, and Central America against each other. Salt Lake City, LA, and Seattle have fared well in recent years, but have yet to win the whole tournament.
thanks for the info on the Champions League.
My younger son loves soccer (have had my kids play all sports and let them decide what to play. older son loves football, younger son loves soccer). So, I’m trying to get him into soccer at all levels and it’s been tough with how MLS does things (and my own lack of knowledge).
I think we’re well on our way to see it really taking off in the US and Tuesday night was evidence. Mexico used to play home games when they came to the states, when I was looking for tickets Monday/Tuesday there were plenty of sellers but there were also notes on almost every ad that said “Selling to US supporters only” which is absolutely beautiful (something I wish Browns fans would participate in but thats neither here nor there). People care about soccer in this country, check out a Seattle home game if you come across one, their fans are amazing and they’re on tv a lot. The key for the future is getting our talented atheletes into soccer which is obviously very difficult but I think they have thrown their hat in the ring and could very easily pass the MLB at some point soon.
Yeah I hear ya. It’d be much easier if the MLS (other other soccer leagues in general) was more widespread so that it would be easier to root for a local team.
I remember when I was younger I would go see Cleveland Crunch games down at the Gund, and that helped me learn more and stay interested in soccer.
Soccer has certainly started to penetrate the American sporting consciousness. The national team – and to a certain extent the women’s national team – has captured our national attention and is becoming a very big draw, both live and on television.
The Premier League is also gaining momentum. NBC Sports Network – in its first year broadcasting the Premier League in the US – reported that some of their early season EPL broadcasts were getting similar ratings to NHL games on the same network. While this may be more a comment on the current state of hockey in this country (which makes me sad – I’ve played my whole life and it was probably the first sport I fell in love with), it is still a notable accomplishment for soccer.
Further, American stars have been ending up in the Premier League more and more frequently. The problem is that they haven’t been performing like stars once they begin playing in England. Jozy Altidore is three games into his second stint in the EPL with middling Sunderland – his time with Hull City ended with just one goal in 28 league appearances. Clint Dempsey scored 17 goals for Fulham in the 2011-12 season before moving to bigger club Tottenham Hotspur. Unfortunately, his one season for Spurs was underwhelming and he was sold to Seattle Sounders of MLS this summer. Landon Donovan’s time with Everton was short-lived. The most consistent American in England has been Tim Howard, who played at Manchester United before moving to Everton, where he just began his eighth season as the unchallenged first choice keeper.
Everton is a solid upper tier club, but not one of the four or five most recognizable teams in England. Americans have had some success in the EPL, but we have not yet seen a Yank become a true star at Chelsea or Man U or Liverpool.
Moving back to MLS, the league has unveiled plans to expand to 24 teams by 2020. New York City FC – a partnership between the New York Yankees and England’s Manchester City – will be the 20th franchise when they begin play in 2015.
So I guess all that is a long way of saying that there’s no one secret ingredient to propel soccer in America to the heights of the NFL or NBA. The steady growth we have been seeing recently may be the reality for the foreseeable future. But then again, some completely unexpected event (miracle US World Cup run?) could come out of nowhere and change that reality.
I think the key for the MLS is money. Football is it’s own monster so I won’t talk about that too much, but the NBA and MLB have been able to attract and keep top flight domestic and international talent because they pay significantly more than other leagues. Yes, there is a certain element of prestige in terms of playing baseball in Japan or basketball in Turkey vs. doing so in the U.S., but prestige isn’t something MLS can fix in the short run; that will come with time.
I really hate the MLS salary cap. Yes it keeps some degree of competitive balance amongst the teams in the same way it does for the NFL and NBA, but it is holding the league back in terms of acquiring stars. In order for the MLS to grow, it needs to acquire top-flight, name brand players who are in their prime, not washed-up has-beens (sorry, David Beckham, Thierry Henry, and Robbie Keane).
The winner of the CONCACAF Champions League – which is dominated by teams from Mexico’s Liga MX – qualifies for the FIFA Club World Cup, which includes the winners of the UEFA Champions League and Copa Libertadores (South American) club champion as well as the winning clubs of the other federations’ championships. So, an MLS team could conceivably get a shot at the European champions, but most UEFA squads look at the FIFA Club World Cup as a second-rate competition and treat it as such with regards to team selection and club emphasis.
I’m so happy that NBC picked up the TV rights to the Premier League. It’s officially turned my Saturdays into one big sports bonanza, allowing me to watch top flight Premier League games in the morning and then transition seamlessly to college football at noon.
And hopefully the Yankees/Man City partnership in NYC will help bring more money into the league as a whole, the one thing that will help it the most.
That exact reason is why Columbus has had the honor of hosting the last four home WCQs against Mexico. The number of Mexican supporters among the 24,000+ on Tuesday night could not have been more than 3-4,000. US Soccer loves that and will always avoid putting a Mexico game in a market where lots of tickets will be bought up by Mexican fans.
Columbus currently holds the mystique of being an impenetrable fortress for the Mexican side, but don’t be surprised if where to play this game in the next World Cup Qualifying cycle in 2017 becomes a big issue. Some observers are already speculating that Seattle will provide a strong challenge to Columbus due to the massive crowds they draw for Sounders games on a regular basis. I obviously hope this fixture stays in Columbus, but it will surely be a discussion four years from now.
yes, exactly why I’m trying to get him interested in pro-soccer too.
good to know, thanks.
Columbus and Denver seem to make more sense than Seattle in terms of weather conditions because of the possibility for cold weather. Tuesday showed that getting intense fans there will not be an issue.
Awesome bounce-back game after the Costa Rica fiasco. Great to see Eddie Johnson contributing so much to the national team in his latest stint!
Right but there were games in Columbus that were 60/40 for El Tri
You know I was there. U-S-A
I think soccer is growing at a fine rate here. The MLS should just keep on keepin’ on. This is the deepest our national team has ever been and it’s because the MLS is competitive and making our players better. It is nowhere near the level of play as the top European leagues but it’s a hell of a lot better than it was in 1996 when it started. If we keep improving like this a World Cup final is in our future. Probably not 2014, but hey no one thought we’d make the quarter finals in ’02.
mgbode – If you’re still following these comments, make a note of some of the comments below. Check the NBC and NBC Sports Net listings. They carry the English Premier League games and they air first thing in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s ideal for you and your son because it’s the best league in the world and the games don’t interfere with college football or NFL. Enjoy.
appreciate it.
I do DVR an EPL game from time to time, but my son (being young) enjoys the ability to go to the games (even if it is very sparingly). so, he likes the Houston Dynamo for better or worse. it has become a little tough with our TV dropping CSN (Houston local sports channel) as 1/2 the games are there.
I might try getting him back into EPL though just to see if it sticks (picked Arsenal 15yrs ago when I had time to watch every sport imaginable, cheered for Aston Villa sparingly while Randy owned the Browns, but I think I can go back to Arsenal again now 🙂 ).