The state of "Football" in America

And as one might have guessed from the above term being put in quotations, I will indeed be talking about soccer in today's entry! But before I do, I just would like to recognize the comments made by "MisterK" and Peter. First off, thanks to you both.

To address Peter comments directly, I basically agree with your overall assessment of the current Hornets. They have been somewhat inconsistent as I may or may have not pointed out in the earlier entry. It's difficult to figure them out. One night, they'll get blown out by the 4-21 Timberwolves, and the next they'll beat the Mavericks in OT. I honestly don't believe its an issue of effort necessarily. Coach Scott would never tolerate that. One must understand that every team has its off nights, and that other team may happen to make shots that it doesn't typically make. The Spurs may be the only team that has yet to have an off night this season, but each of the other contenders have yet to play flawless basketball through each of their 30 or so games. The Hornets defeated both Phoenix and Dallas at home, and pushed Detroit and San Antonio to the edge at home as well. They beat the Lakers on the road, and have split two games with the Nuggets in Denver as well. As you said, the first few games of '08 on the West Coast may be pivotal contests that could be used to determine this team's place in the Western Conference come season's end. We'll see what happens, but so far, the Hornets have emerged as a playoff contender in the West.

It appears that Chris Paul is well on his way to MVP status. Another 40 point, 10 assist result against the Grizzlies is just another example of how strong his overall game is. He is also making the players around him better. This is the true mark of a point guard, and it has appeared to be realized in the development of David West. D West has been improving recently, and is slowly becoming a bona fide star. The Hornets need West to complement Paul in terms of production and leadership on a consistent, nightly basis. Until that happens, I too, won't consider the Hornets to be an elite team in the West. But they are looking like a sure-fire playoff contender to me.

And the Knicks...well let's just say my discussion of them will be limited. I don't necessarily think it's completely Isiah's coaching that has destroyed this once proud organization, it was his work in creating this team of disasters as a member of the front office. As one might remember, Larry Brown and Herb Williams didn't have much more success than Isiah has. It comes down to drafting players, and trading for players to create what you believe to be a perfect team. It just hasn't happened. Isiah, for whatever reason, has brought guys with a ton of talent but no understanding of the 'team' concept, or great teammates who hustle and do the little things, but have no statistical talent (in terms of like ppg, and assists, etc.). Yes Isiah needs to be fired, but as we found out with Larry Brown and Herb Williams, firing a coach when things are bad isn't always the perfect panacea. It ultimately falls on the players...and if anyone deserves to be booed mercilessly and given the proverbial pink slip, I believe that in this case, the brunt of the blame falls just as much on the players as it does on the coaches. Although, it was Isiah who brought all of these clowns here. Thank god for David Lee. Let's just keep drafting Florida guys and call it a day.


Now to my discussion of soccer this evening. Another reader, "MisterK," hails from the UK, and wanted to hear my thoughts on the general American attitude concerning the World's Game, and the influence of David Beckham and Posh, more specifically, on the states.

I was one of the people most skeptical when hearing words like "HUGE" "LIFE CHANGING" and the multitude of comparisons of David and the Beatles arriving in the U.S. Of course, I wish soccer would be adopted by the American masses, but unfortunately, I knew better. Importing Pele, Beckenbauer and friends to play for the New York Cosmos in the defunct USSL made headlines for a couple of months, but never fully transformed soccer into a sport loved by Americans as much as by citizens of any other nation. It's difficult for me to pinpoint as to why exactly soccer has never taken off in this country. I think one reason may be that America's most zealous sports fans often reside in less urbanized areas in the south, and the midwest for example. Soccer is thought of as a "game played by foreigners" by many of these people, and the thought of our nation participating in a sport that wasn't invented in the "Good Ol' US of A" is something that many Americans are not intrigued by. Soccer also doesn't require the traditional American ideologies of athleticism, meaning that an athlete is someone who needs to be huge, extremely strong, and fast all in one. Soccer also requires its participant to be able to run for 45 straight minutes, without many stoppages. Most American viewers are captivated by the major American sports because they are divided up into quarters and innings. The American viewer does not want to be bored by what he is watching. To them, sports like soccer, and hockey to a lesser extent here, have not caught on because points are rather difficult to come by. People will watch the World Cup because of the spectacle and its repuation, but they won't take the time to watch a NY Red Bull vs. DC United match, or even a Arsenal/Chelsea match because the players often aren't American, and those who do play, are thought to be lesser because "they weren't good enough to become professional football or basketball players, so they play soccer." As I continue to state, I have a tough time really thinking of reasons as to why soccer hasn't taken off here as it has in other countries. Even the name of the sport makes it sound "different" and "other," something not American, and therefore "worthy of American attention." It is just something that wasn't established when the older generations (including the baby boomers and the "great generation" primarily born in the post WWI years) were growing up. Maybe as soccer has become more and more popular among the younger generations, it will become a force in the world of American sports. But I'm not so sure about that.

One obvious reason as to why Beckham himself has yet to uplift soccer to the same status as American football, basketball and baseball is simply the fact that he has yet to really play. When it was first announced that Beckham and Posh would be arriving in the states, the tabloid magazines were going crazy. It seemed like the fact of him playing for a team in Los Angeles meant that this was a story more fit for the "National Enquirer" than ESPN. And in fact, it really hasn't amounted to more than that. Beckham hasn't done a whole lot on the field that has been recognized. ESPN ran a bunch of stories on him and the MLS during the time of his signing, but the fact that he never debuted when everyone thought he would, and the string of injuries he endured during his first month or so with the Galaxy sort of spelled doom for the David Beckham experiment. As a result, I couldn't tell you any of his stats right now, nor could I tell you the record of the Galaxy, even though I know they struggled this season even with him on the field. I do know, however, that Houston beat the New England Revolution in the MLS Cup final this season...I doubt many other American sportswriters can tell you that!

The point being that Beckham and Posh made headlines upon their initial entrance into America and made an imprint on American culture. Yet that imprint has not lasted, and we are hearing fewer and fewer stories about the couple. If anything, more attention is being paid to Posh rather than to David. It's unfortunate for all of us soccer fans in the states that David couldn't do more to bring some long-term visibility to the sport here in America, but I won't say that I'm surprised that the experiment failed to work. The Beckham hysteria is not as great as you may think it may be here in America. The couple covered the tabloid headlines for a couple of months, and the ESPN discussion for a couple of weeks, but their impact hasn't appeared to have lasted....hope this helps!