Back to Normal

Hope Solo's cover on SI

Soccer has gone back to normal, and with it the general interest in the sport as well. For a brief moment in July it seemed like some of America was actually interested. It was even women’s soccer, to boot. But all the while most fans temporarily embraced the ladies of the sport, its detractors shifted their focus from questioning the popularity of the game itself to “should we be interested because it’s women playing?”

Most people didn’t care because they dismiss, ignore or despise the sport. Whether it is the frustrating draws, the silly antics or exuberant, over the top celebrations (post-goal activities resemble James Brown in his heyday having to be helped off his knees while bringing soul to the masses in the sixties) most Americans are clearly not self-identified soccer fans.

But the group (of mostly guys) who wanted to dismiss it because of the fact the participants were female still shows a high disregard for women in sports. Ok, ok. I get the NBA and the WNBA are clearly at different skill levels, and you wouldn’t pit the women in the lingerie league against players from the NFL on a football field, but to not appreciate what happened in the last month for what it is because of gender brought to light a level of sexism in American sports I am clearly uncomfortable with.

Defending the dignity of women’s athletics is an untenable position to take with a group of male friends at the bar, but it’s one I chose to take a few weeks back while the U.S. Women’s National Team was charging toward the FIFA World Cup Final. I also sent out a few tweets regarding a lot of what was occupying my feed through the month-long tournament in Germany. I held my ground. I was a one man gang. But that’s the point. No one agreed with me or just made fun of my point of view.

If any of you men out there have kids, specifically girls, that are active in sports I’d like you to take a moment to tell them after they are done with soccer, volleyball or softball practice that when they grow up a vast majority of people in this country will not fully appreciate the time and dedication they are putting into their chosen sport(s). Hey, this means you, if you took the stance of some of my friends. Sure, when you’re a kid it’s just a game, but even at an early age we understand the competitive nature out there as well. This country is and was supposedly founded on it. And devaluing accomplishments and time served on the practice field because of gender is the truly indefensible stance to be taking.

I’m not here to convince anyone to enjoy the sport of soccer any more than what they can tolerate, and I didn’t really want to get too preachy when it comes to this subject. However, it was something I couldn’t and didn’t want to ignore any longer at the time. When it comes down to it, I guess I would hate to be the dad who could tell his daughter she wasn’t as important as a man just because of she is a she, regardless of what they were doing.

United Move On

Javier Hernandez punched Manchester United's ticket to the fifth round of the FA Cup.

It may not have been the prettiest showing from Manchester United earlier today against League One opponent Southampton at Saint Mary’s Stadium, but the 2-1 result is what was expected. This is nothing new to United this week however, as it took until the second half for United to defeat Blackpool 3-2 on the road during the last frantic ten minutes after being down 0-2 for most of the match.

This afternoon, Southampton took a 1-0 lead into the break amid some weak defending and some lackadaisical play all around. It may have been the quickest first half I can remember watching in quite some time. All snoozing aside, Michael Owen was able to find the net along with Javier Hernandez to pull out the win and move on to the next round.

United look poised to compete deep into not only domestic contests but also the upcoming European UEFA Champions League. The side today may have been slightly weakened with Rooney, Berbatov, Van Der Sar, Vidic, and Ferdinand all on the bench, but was able to grind out a win while getting some rest for those top players.

The draw for the next round will be coming up quickly as United also must focus on reclaiming the Premier League title all while preparing for their round of 16 match up against Olympique Marseille. United will be favorites to win the domestic club title along with moving on to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, so long as Berbatov can keep his pace he is currently on.  At the moment he is the odds on favorite for the Golden Boot with a league leading 20 goals, which nearly a half a dozen have come in the last two matches.

The next task at hand will be remaining five points clear of second place Arsenal by returning to Old Trafford and picking up all three points against Aston Villa on Tuesday. Look for a stronger squad out of the field to ensure United say in the drivers seat for the Premier League title.

Spain Win World Cup…Now What?

Andres Iniesta after his extra time goal.

With the 2010 World Cup in the books, the remaining American soccer watchers who hung on past the U.S. National Teams exit might be left to wonder what is next.  The World Cup has a history of drawing in the casual soccer fan for the four or five weeks it is on and then alienating them for the next three years and 11 months.  National team players scatter across Europe (for the most part) to their respective club teams.  Most who thought the rules and regulations of a contained tournament like the World Cup hard to figure out will find club schedules, league cups and continental cups convoluted and confusing.

So if that doesn’t discourage you and if you made it through today still are wanting more, never fear, because many of Europe’s big league teams are gearing up for the start of their season in a little over a month.  In the meantime, you might be able to keep yourself satisfied with the top flight of American soccer in the MLS, however the level of play between what you’ve been witness to the last five weeks and what we consider our best professional soccer league is as wide as the Grand Canyon.  I’m not trying to come down on our domestic league, but it is what it is.

Hopefully your local cable or satellite provider is armed with Fox Soccer Channel, which primarily shows Barclays (English) Premier League matches every Saturday and Sunday morning.  Some of the time it will also show Italian Serie A matches.  Although if you found yourself frustrated by 0-0 draws and 1-0 wins, you’ll want to avoid this defensive minded league.  If you want to keep up with it all, I’d recommend ESPN Sportscenter style shows like Fox Soccer Report and Sky Sports’ hour long daily recap show.  What you don’t see in the limited matches broadcast will be shown in a highlight format everyone should be familiar with.

Picking a team is important as well.  You would have to be a pretty big fan of the sport itself to not have a rooting interest in any of the teams.  I chose to follow Premier League giant Manchester United based on the recommendation of my soccer watching guru, who has been a fan since the mid-90′s.  It’s also important to find people you can talk show with, because if you’re the only guy trying to keep up with soccer while all your buddies are only watching the NFL or college football, your interest from this summer will die a pretty quick death in the fall.

Believe it or not, the Premier League also has fantasy soccer as well.  If you watched a good portion of matches you might have picked up on some of the players that are in the league.  But you might want to spend a year figuring out who is who.  If you’re a numbers geek, you might be able to look at stats and figure out who is who.  I’d recommend watching for at least one season before really trying to get in to it.

So what if you don’t want to watch a league with no playoffs and a point system that might be foreign and semi-difficult to grasp?  The Euro 2012 tournament is only two years away, and qualifying matches with the same European national teams you’ve been watching lately will be in action starting with qualifying in less than two months.  And if you felt yourself wanting more from the U.S. team, don’t worry.  Their next match will be an international friendly at the new Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey against South American giant Brazil.