Oh Say Can You See..Any Excitment?
It was quite the normal day in the city of Chicago. I sat outside at lunch enjoying a spinach and scallop salad as I coordinated my interview schedule for the remainder of the week with the Vein of Form assistants. Assistant #1 commented on how embarrassingly quiet the streets were given that the city was a day from playing host to a pair of semi-finals in an international football competition. Assistant #2 nervously chewed her pencil fearing that I was about boil over for reasons other than the waiter failing to relay my "easy on the goat cheese" request to the chef.
But the observation was spot on. It was a beautiful 82 degrees and sunny outside. Where were the fans of the semi-finalists? Why wasn't there singing in the streets from supporters of the USA, Canada, Mexico and even Guadeloupe? Why weren't the bars and pubs that regularly show football matches overflowing with fans from the competing countries mingling and taking pictures as they soaked in a Chicago summer afternoon? I wanted to see flags being waved and traffic being stopped as drunk supporters flooded the streets.
I put on my sunglasses to hide the disappointment in my eyes and demanded that Assistant #2 cancel all interviews after 3pm. I would need to go to the lake front for a jog to clear my head. She wondered if I shouldn't be available to talk about the firing of Chicago Fire head coach Dave Sarachan. Surely, there would be people wondering what, if any, implications this sudden change will have on the arrival of Mexico's Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Coincidentally, Blanco will be playing his first match in Chicago for the Mexican national team on Thursday. An interesting thing to point out here is that this may be the only time Blanco plays in the city of Chicago as the Fire play in Bridgeview. Toyota Park is a lovely facility. Bridgeview, I must say, not so pleasant of a place.
Anyways, I can no longer accept the attitude in this country towards soccer. Our national team is a win away from having the opportunity to claim the region's prize trophy on home soil. No one cares. Why is it that Americans will stop whatever they are doing at any given moment and place their hand on heart at the instant they hear "Oh, say can you see" but completely take a pass on coming out in droves to watch a sport where singing your national anthem for 90 minutes is how you support your team? I've been to many baseball games and I have to say, "Not really what I want at a sporting event".
The snide remark of how "Americans have their own football" is tired. Is it not lost on anyone that the only players on an American football team that actually uses his foot to control the ball are the kicker and punter? Positions universally recognized as the weakest on the team. US Soccer should be ashamed at the level of marketing they put behind this event. I've seen students working a free internship handing out Wrigley chewing gum generate more excitement on Michigan Avenue than what an entire marketing department at US Soccer has managed this week.
I would not be surprised to see 60,000 people in Soldier Field tomorrow. I fully expect the majority will be fans of Canada, Mexico and Guadeloupe and I fully expect they will be cheering against the US. Easily drowning out the US supporters as they put on a fine example of how you support a soccer team.
US Soccer and MLS should be taking notes. Whatever plan they have been operating off of to this point has not worked.
But the observation was spot on. It was a beautiful 82 degrees and sunny outside. Where were the fans of the semi-finalists? Why wasn't there singing in the streets from supporters of the USA, Canada, Mexico and even Guadeloupe? Why weren't the bars and pubs that regularly show football matches overflowing with fans from the competing countries mingling and taking pictures as they soaked in a Chicago summer afternoon? I wanted to see flags being waved and traffic being stopped as drunk supporters flooded the streets.
I put on my sunglasses to hide the disappointment in my eyes and demanded that Assistant #2 cancel all interviews after 3pm. I would need to go to the lake front for a jog to clear my head. She wondered if I shouldn't be available to talk about the firing of Chicago Fire head coach Dave Sarachan. Surely, there would be people wondering what, if any, implications this sudden change will have on the arrival of Mexico's Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Coincidentally, Blanco will be playing his first match in Chicago for the Mexican national team on Thursday. An interesting thing to point out here is that this may be the only time Blanco plays in the city of Chicago as the Fire play in Bridgeview. Toyota Park is a lovely facility. Bridgeview, I must say, not so pleasant of a place.
Anyways, I can no longer accept the attitude in this country towards soccer. Our national team is a win away from having the opportunity to claim the region's prize trophy on home soil. No one cares. Why is it that Americans will stop whatever they are doing at any given moment and place their hand on heart at the instant they hear "Oh, say can you see" but completely take a pass on coming out in droves to watch a sport where singing your national anthem for 90 minutes is how you support your team? I've been to many baseball games and I have to say, "Not really what I want at a sporting event".
The snide remark of how "Americans have their own football" is tired. Is it not lost on anyone that the only players on an American football team that actually uses his foot to control the ball are the kicker and punter? Positions universally recognized as the weakest on the team. US Soccer should be ashamed at the level of marketing they put behind this event. I've seen students working a free internship handing out Wrigley chewing gum generate more excitement on Michigan Avenue than what an entire marketing department at US Soccer has managed this week.
I would not be surprised to see 60,000 people in Soldier Field tomorrow. I fully expect the majority will be fans of Canada, Mexico and Guadeloupe and I fully expect they will be cheering against the US. Easily drowning out the US supporters as they put on a fine example of how you support a soccer team.
US Soccer and MLS should be taking notes. Whatever plan they have been operating off of to this point has not worked.
posted by Anonymous at 8:06 PM
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