Posted on July 18 2011 by Caitlin Carver

Video QuickCast: Jon Washburn’s passionate response to dissenters on his “Soccer is UnAmerican” article

After the U.S. was defeated by Japan in the Womens World Cup final yesterday, Jon Washburn published this post: Soccer The UnAmerican Sport. His basic premise was that one of the reasons why casual American sports fans will never fully embrace soccer is because the sport is not set up to consistently reward the team that plays better with victory.

Needless to say, Jons article stirred up a healthy and at times vitriolic debate in the comment section. So Jon decided to do a video quickcast in response.

Watch now, or read the transcript below the vid.

-

The best team does not always win in soccer:

Objections: The best team doesn’t always win in basketballDuke vs. UNLV in 91; UCLA vs. Notre Dame in 74; Dallas Mavericks this year.

The point is not that the best team always winsthe point is that basketball, football, etc., reward the team that plays better during THAT GAME.

Yes, I have seen the movie, “Hoosiers.” I’m from Indiana. It’s my favorite. But anyone that thinks that Jimmy Chitwood’s team was truly BETTER and would win a 7-game series is kidding themselves. But what COULD they do? They could play that one magical game, and play better than the other side ON THAT DAY. And that’s what they did. And they were rewarded for it. Duke outplayed UNLV in the Championship game. Bill Walton had a bad day against Notre Dame. Dallas, in my opinion, WAS the best team in the NBA just look at their record this season when their starting five was healthyand they didn’t even have Caron Butler!

The fact is, no matter how you slice it, the USA outplayed Japan yesterday. No one has really disputed this.

A few people have tried to say that “Japan just wanted it more” or “That’s the beauty of soccerthe team with the greater will always wins.”

REALLY?!?! Japan wanted it more than the USA yesterday? REALLY!?!? Japan’s players “willed their team to victory” and the USA just caved in? REALLY?!?!? What an insult to Abby Wambach, Hope Solo, and Drew Lange’s own, Alex Morgan. This is just simply not true.

A few others have tried to point to this game as a reason WHY soccer is a beautiful game. Here is an exact quote from a comment on my article:

Watch the Netherlands vs Italy in Euro 2000. The Italians had a man sent off in the 33rd minute, gave away two penalties in regular time (one saved, the other off the post), and held on for penalties where they won, and all this against the host country. Football, unlike almost any other sport, tests a player’s heart to an unprecedented degree..He goes on to regurgitate more garbage about how Japan just wanted it more and was mentally tougher than the USA.

But he’s ignoring the only point I made. I remember Euro 2000, and Holland PLAYED BETTER than Italy and LOST!!!! AND I’M AN ITALY FAN!!!!! Was I happy that my team won? Of course. Would that have happened in any other sport? Not likely.

This, at the end of the day, is what’s so bothersome about soccer fans, and in my opinion, exactly why the sport will never ultra-popular in America.

Is soccer more popular than it’s ever been? Of course it is. And it’s what, the fifth most popular sport in the country?

Here’s a fact. Right now, America doesn’t care about soccer unless the Red, White, and Blue is involved. How are the MLS ratings? Even better, how are the EPL ratings in this country? Even the Champions League the best soccer in the world including the World Cup has lackluster ratings in the States.

Just yesterday, less than three hours after the US lost in the WORLD CUP FINAL.the front page on ESPN showcased a REGULAR SEASON MATCHUP IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST!!!!

In my article, I simply wanted to look into a reason why it is so unpopular in America.

I’m not bashing soccer. I love soccer. I have played it, competitively, longer than any other sport I have ever played. In fact, I’m playing a game tonight at 6:30 (Charlestonians can come watch if you want.) But there are reasons it’s less popular here than everywhere else.

One problem is we just have too many sports. I’ve been to Brazil. I’ve been to Mexico. The absolute best athletes there play soccer. As long as football and basketball exist in America, soccer will never achieve the popularity that soccer fans dream of.

I don’t believe Americans are ignorant of soccer. Sure, people my father’s age may not understand the game, but youth soccer is one of the most popular sports in America. The game will continue to grow as long as our kids keep playing it. But, AT SOME POINT, soccer has to appeal to casual fans.

And when the entire country gathers around the tv set, to cheer on their country in the most important game from the last four years, and they watch their nation completely outplay the other side for 115 of the 120 minutes, and they don’t get rewarded for itI think they are turned off.

Are true fans of soccer turned off? Probably not.

But Joe Sixpack in Pittsburgh is completely ticked off. At least, he could admit to himself that the Packers outplayed his Steelers in February.

Now, all he can do is re-affirm to himself, “This is why I like the REAL football better.”

Similar Posts:

Share

Leave a Reply