Halftime Hype

Anybody watch the AC Milan vs. Chelsea game? In Europe, people would throw Super Bowl-esque parties and surround their television sets for such an event. In the States, we're just discovering what the game of soccer, or as it's known globally, football, is all about. It's been the national sport of wealthy, European nations as well as depressed, third world countries. Of course, though, the sport has gone practically unrecognized in America, with David Beckham's arrival three years being one of the few exceptions. Whether it's the media's fault for not bringing the game to our attention, a lack of soccer moms, or lack of American soccer players/talent, or the fact that the U.S. shelters one of the more obscure leagues in the MLS, Americans are gradually grasping the fact that this game is just as exciting and relevant, if not more, than baseball, basketball, and (American) football, the Monday Night kind.

This game featured two wonderful teams, if not cultures, in one sports match and it turned out to be truly extraordinary. They knew that by matching up these two brilliant soccer superpowers that they could sell-out a crowd of 71,000+. If only we could do that for an MLS game. There have been very few moments in MLS soccer when fans gasped as loudly as when Ronaldinho hit the post on a set play. When Chelsea fans cheered on after Drogba's goal, it was truly an amazing moment - one that so far hasn't been found in U.S. soccer matches.

If the MLS wants to achieve any global recognition, it needs to pay its players more and snag a piece of this culture. I have no doubt that American soccer fans would love to see Chelsea's Drogba, who I like to dub "the soccer version of Ron Artest" after an incident with a ref., in the MLS. The only problem is the Beckham stigma. After all the damage that Beckham has done, MLS teams may be more hesitant to experiment with European talent. Nonetheless, the MLS can't really sink any deeper. In fact, Major League Soccer can only help its popularity by signing someone from overseas. I understand the hesitation to scout Europeans. Fine, then don't look at England. Try searching for prospects in Spain, Italy, Germany, or somewhere else. If we can attract more David Beckhams, as long as they don't tarnish the image of American league soccer, prosperity will certainly follow.

Part of attracting culture, though, is retaining your own. In the past, we almost had the MLS's best, Landon Donovan, leave for Bayern Munich. Luckily for Major League Soccer, he came back. But there are others who've decided to head outside America's boundaries. Recently, we saw Onyewu, an American national team player, sign with AC Milan. One of Team USA's best strikers, Jozy Altidore, left the MLS to play for Spanish club, Villareal, and is currently on loan to La Liga team, Xerez. The youngest scorer in MLS history, our very own Freddy Adu left the U.S. to play in Portugal for Benefica and while on loan has already made nine appearances for AS Monaco. And our midfielder who enjoyed some success in the Confederations Cup several weeks ago, Clint Dempsey, has 14 goals to his name as a player for Fulham since '07. For U.S. soccer, or more importantly, the MLS, to get out of turmoil it needs to keep its own players on their home turf.

Once all the above are achieved, then the American press will swarm towards soccer. As of now, there's only one soccer columnist at my local newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, and truthfully, that's not enough. Around the world, there are entire periodicals and magazines filled with soccer from cover to cover. Television coverage isn't any better. Sure, MLS matches are televised - sometimes on ESPN's network. But let's also broadcast the world-class soccer being played in other continents. Then, instead of ending coverage there, we can show several highlights of these games on the nationally-televised SportsCenter. It's not very often that soccer is on the front page of your local newspaper's Sports section, but in the future it should be a common sight.

Soccer continues to expand in the United States. Why not show the world that we know how to play? Why shouldn't the MLS emerge as one of the top-tier leagues in soccer, let alone, in sports?