All Lot to Smile About | burgundy's Blog

It's hard being a soccer fan in the US.

You almost have to follow the MLS team and a plethora of other teams - from various leagues - that you enjoy. My European and South American buddies are often curious but at the same time jealous of my American citizenship because I can, legitimately, be a fan of multiple teams. Of course, there is really only one team for each of us but we can enjoy the separation of European and South American leagues moreso than our fellow international soccer fans.

However, at the same time I also need to put up with every slack-jawed, low-brow, buck-toothed, Wilbon-and-Kornheisered moron who insists that soccer "isn't a real sport," that it will "never catch on in America," and that soccer is for effeminate metro-sexuals who wouldn't last a minute in [insert major American sport here].

Soccer is a real sport. It has already taken hold in America and if you haven't played the game then you haven't any real inkling about what stamina is all about - 45 minutes of constant motion, jumping, sprinting, pushing, shoving, and all out pain. You get a 15 minute break and then you get to do it all over again.

I wonder if those low-grade imbeciles will be anywhere near Baltimore this Friday when AC Milan and Chelsea FC will be playing at a sold out M&T Bank Stadium. I wonder if any of those same elitist Kornheisers or Wilbons were secretly the guy that bought my three extra tickets off of ebay for about 100% more than what I paid for said tickets. I wonder if anyone on ESPN will do anything but footnote the fact that The Gooch is going to start that game - a part of the rebuilding Milan is doing. Yeah, an American kid - if they are younger than I then I get to call them kids - is part of a rebuilding plan for a major, historically significant, powerhouse club.

I didn't really enjoy seeing that LA Galaxy fan jump out of the stands but in a sick and perverse way I did because that guy loves his soccer and he loves his team - again - if you love the Galaxy that is a deep, unabiding love.

I didn't enjoy watching Coach Bob fail to grasp the dire situation he was in and let a major tournament victory over the second-best team in the world slip away. It, in fact, broke my American soccer heart. It probably broke yours too. It is the consequence of what a high school soccer coach in California once called "the cruelest game."

Yes, it can be cruel but oh my sweet Lord I love it so.

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July 28, 2009 10:48 AM ET

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Really enjoyed the post. I think that's a pretty accurate description of the perspective of the US soccer fan. That first point you made about being able to be a fan of multiple teams in different leagues is a good one. I have never thought about that before, but you're right. MLS isn't quite enough so it's perfectly acceptable to have a favorite in multiple leagues. I enjoy your enthusiasm about the sport and I agree with you 100% that it is growing faster and bigger than people in this country realize.