Josh Ouellette
By Josh Ouellette
I have been thinking a lot lately about football. Both football’s actually. So I wanna show some appreciation to a sport I really have come to love over the past few years. Soccer as we call it in the states is increasing in popularity by the day.
Not that it already wasn’t popular everywhere else.
I follow the English Premier League. I should say I follow West Ham United. As of right now they are dead last in the Premier League, but I have high hopes.
This is a sport where in America the fan base isn’t and probably never will be as big as football is in the U.S. But I think it should be. Soccer, well football as I am going to correctly call it, is an amazing sport. One that gives the viewer so much to cheer and jeer about while watching.
Football fans, especially in Europe are so passionate about the sport they follow them till their death. It is not uncommon for someone’s remains to be spread on the pitch or buried in an urn on the side of the pitch.
So why cant football take off in America?
For one the MLS doesn’t have enough fame to become as prominent as the EPL. In fact ESPN shows more EPL matches then MLS matches throughout the course of a season.
Also there isn’t enough talent in the league to be brutally honest. The Premier League and other European leagues like Spain’s Liga BBVA or Germany’s Bundesliga get so many of the best players in the world that any team can compete on a match day. The best players the MLS gets are famous European players who are passed their prime.
One prime example is David Beckham. Beckham is one of the most renowned players in the world who came to L.A. to play for the Galaxy. Sure he sold millions in jerseys but he has yet to make an impact on the team in a major way.
The biggest problem is that most of the American talent goes over seas to play. The only one who has really stayed and is a big name in football is Landon Donovan. And even he goes on loan spells to Europe to play. His last one being his most successful yet playing at Everton F.C in the EPL, so successful the club wanted to keep him past his loan and make him a full time member of the team.
So when will the U.S. decide to catch on and be on fire for football? It might come sooner than we all think. U.S. Soccer has made a bid for the 2022 World Cup. Yes that might be far away, but in World Cup rotations it is when we would have the best shot. With the 2014 tournament being held in Brazil, the recently finished 2010 Cup being in Africa, and the 2018 Cup looking like it is going to end up in Europe. The 2022 Cup would have to be in either Asia or North America. With Japan playing host to the 20o2 World Cup the most likely choice is the U.S.A.
It is highly likely because of the ’94 World Cup being held in Atlanta it will fall to the West Coast. Which would mean in 12 years L.A. has a huge shot of hosting the World Cup.
By then the rise in popularity of football in the states will be high enough a generation, following the one of Donovan and Tim Howard and so many other great players who have done so much to promote the sport, will be able to win it all for their country.
This is my dream. I know it maybe a fool’s dream. But come 2022 if the World Cup is here in America. I’ll be there. Maybe by then some of you who are on the fence about “soccer” will be there too.
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