soccer it to me

The people have spoken. Today's blog will be about soccer. I don't really know anything about soccer (except they seem to have the best looking athletes- David Beckham, Cristian Ronaldo- I mean, seriously). But I don't have to know anything to talk/write about something (there are a great number of radio and tv hosts who prove that point every day).

The big question about soccer has always been whether Americans will ever support soccer- not just as football/futbol, but as a valid sport. There is the big 3- baseball, football, and basketball- and really, everything else is going to be shoved into the last 12 minutes of SportsCenter. Hockey is momentarily interesting (when there is a fight), golf can get some viewers (as long as Tiger is playing), and many people consider driving a sport when it's done in an oval at 200+ miles per hour. But really, they are just events- instead of actual sports.

I've had a hard time with soccer myself. I went to an indoor soccer game when Cincinnati had its own pro team (the Silverbacks). I didn't really understand why they fell down so often. Nobody really seemed to be watching the game either. I surely didn't understand why people in South America were killing each other over soccer games- I mean, it's not even a sport, right?

More recently, I've started watching a game here and there. And like most things, the more I've learned about the game, the more fun it is to watch. But more than that- the intrigue stems from the passion of the fans. The first time I was watching a game, I was wondering if there was a giant swarm of bees somewhere near the microphones. Someone filled me in about the kazoo things. I was amazed. That is 90-minutes-plus of humming. That is dedication.

It's more than that- people live and die (often literally) by these teams. Just watching them makes it more exciting. And it's a soap opera- fans have thrown vomit at players. Vomited into a cup, and then threw it at a player. That's beyond dedication and bordering on psychosis. I've realized that soccer is more of a holistic spectator sport. I have to watch the players. But I also have to watch the fans. I have to watch the sweat that glistens not only the players' faces, but the fans as well. The beauty of being a sports fan is the vicarious fulfillment of glory through the players. The glory is exponentially heightened when there are thousands of people humming in kazoos, screaming, sweating, possibly vomiting, and feeling every emotion that we normally reserve for our most prurient relationships.

I'm not sure Americans are ready for that kind of passion though.