*FAN SUBMISSION by Crazy Sports Anne of Northern, VA. Follow her on Twitter @Ps5826.*
Courtesy: NY Daily News
After leaving work early and spending a nice summer afternoon indoors to watch the US Mens’ soccer team lose 2-1 to Belgium in the 2014 World Cup, reality set in for me. I turned to my friend Brandon and said, “What a great game. The US team made the last two weeks exciting. Now it’s time to watch a real sport and catch up on baseball.” One day he will speak to me again.
But I wasn’t alone in my thinking! I saw a friend’s Facebook posting, “Americans can now stop acting like they love soccer and go on with their lives.” And don’t lie and say you weren’t annoyed when you heard someone trying to sound like an expert and discuss the US style of play when you know three weeks ago, the only thing they knew about Men’s soccer was David Beckham! And his abs. And his underwear.
My friends and I weren’t the only ones taking a late “lunch” that day. And the week before, I hung out with friends to watch the US-Portugal game. During both games, live shots of crowds gathered together to watch the games in various US cities were shown.
So to remind me that I am still in his dog house, Brandon sent me an ESPN article yesterday stating that US soccer not only had higher ratings than the NBA Finals but also last year’s World Series. I could have countered by saying that the NFL draft had higher ratings the night Lebron’s Heat played the Nets, therefore cementing American football as the number one real sport in the land but I didn’t want to dig a deeper hole. But the question I could have asked was, “Do high ratings make an event a “real” sport?”
In America, the biggest sporting event is the Super Bowl. It kills in ratings and is the only championship that’s guaranteed to bring people together to view it. But outside of the actual stadium where the game is played, there are no public square gatherings of fans. People don’t leave work to watch the game. Also, in that stadium and those homes, not everyone is rooting for the same team. And in March..well we know that story. I am known where I work to ask for the first Thursday and Friday off for March Madness so I can join my friends and others for a marathon session of college basketball. But again, we are not rooting for the same team. We may have a team in the competition but for the most part, we’re rooting for our brackets. I’m sure if you put the US soccer games against those events, it would quickly go from, “I believe that we will win” to “I believe if you switch the channel to soccer, it’s gonna get ugly.”
But somehow, a German guy that no one liked because he kicked the most famous face off the team, pulled a country together to root for men that most people did not know about, in a sport that a lot of people only think about every four years. Was it just patriotism that made us watch? Maybe in the beginning. But I dare you to find anyone in America who isn’t a Tim Howard fan now. By the way, they better get that soccer movie out soon. And yes, Common better be picked to play Howard!
So when I insinuated that soccer wasn’t a real sport, I kinda meant it. But watching Tim Howard battle Tuesday immediately reminded me of Henrik Lundqvist’s valiant effort to keep his team in the Stanley Cup finals long enough until his teammates could score a goal. And unfortunately I was again reminded that one man can’t do it alone. Clint Dempsey shaking off a broken nose to continue to play in the humidity and heat reminded me of Nick Sundberg, the long snapper for Washington, playing with a broken arm the entire game against the Saints. Brazil-Chile making the penalty kick part of the game just as exciting as a Vinateri kick in the playoffs.
Courtesy: USA Today
And the athletes. Clint Dempsey, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesi, Julio Caesar, James Rodriguez, Neymar and Tim Howard. Those guys rock. And how can you beat a guy named Hulk? Who looks like The Hulk! And of course the ultimate villain, Luis Suarez.
Bottom line, isn’t that what sports are all about? The athletes, the drama, the memorable plays, the underdog going further than anyone imagined and maybe, just maybe, winning it all? Maybe you don’t need a major TV contract, cheerleaders, Hard Knocks, psychedelic uniforms or a glitzy pre-game show to be a real sport.
Performing in front of packed houses, in extreme weather, through cramps, and a streaker! Okay, maybe this is a real sport. Besides, if Patty Mills can get a championship ring and a new contract by flopping, who are we to judge?
