Megan described a social setting in which she remembered the Landon Donovan goal to become Group C champs but she couldn't remember who the US beat in that match. Others shared similar sentiments acknowledging how special that moment was.
Andrew Sharp (SBNation.com), one of the hottest young sports writers on the web, distilled it this way: "USA-Algeria: And Now A Whole Lot Of Americans Are Soccer Fans". The entire piece can be found here but this quote captures the feeling we all felt that day:
On the brink of elimination, with American sports fans all across the country watching, we got a moment that we'll remember forever. As a sports fan, that's the holy grail—when something happens, and you know right then, for the rest of your life, you'll remember where you were for that moment. And isn't that true of the Landon Donovan's goal at 90:46?
The U.S. gave us one of those moments today. And now, instead of "What the heck was that?" we can say, in between catching our breath, "That was... Everything we could ever want from sports."
And of all things, soccer is what gave it to us.
...And just like that, it's a good bet that a whole lot of Americans just became soccer fans.So now what does US Soccer do? It's four years until the next World Cup and there are no guarantees for US success in those matches. Football starts tomorrow - NFL football that is - and with the start of that season, Landon Donavan's gift to US Soccer will be placed on the shelf of nice memories, far, far away from the momentum it had just a few months ago.
If you were in charge of US Soccer, what would you do? Big challenges but smart people are working on it...stay tuned.
And just for fun...
I can't say I was too impressed by the reaction of American fans during the World Cup. The euphoria took place for 5 minutes during/after each Team USA game (if they won, of course) and didn't seem to have a long lasting effect. Still there is no local league on a level good enough to develop a large fan base -- if you have the best basketball, baseball and football leagues in the world, why follow a mediocre soccer league? Americans are used to being the best in sports, so selling the one important sport you are not that good at is just not an easy job.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I am a skeptic when it comes to soccer in the States, but I will get better!
I agree completely and your perspective is an interesting one. Americans don't get behind sports they can't dominate. So if you are US Soccer Foundation, how do you handle this? Not sure there is much they can do but it is a huge challenge.
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