USA must change their perception of soccer (football)

Today marks the beginning of the FIFA World Cup with the first match starting at 1700 GMT between Germany v Costa Rica, followed by Poland v Eucador. It is the biggest sporting event in the world, but it is probably likely that somewhere in North America, approx 270 million people may only care about the first and last game, and that is the USA.

Some may point out that the USA shocked many other countries by reaching the quarterfinals in 2002, its best performance since reaching the semifinals in 1930. However, it has never won the World Cup trophy. A few may know that the United States is a three-time champion of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North and Central America (CONCACAF), having won it in 1991, 2002, and in 2005. Surprisingly enough, the USA is currently ranked 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, tied with Spain. England is placed 10th. However, the rankings do not justify the results, and not many countries consider the USA a worthy opponent.

However, with their 2002 performance and their chances this year, that perception may change. Winning the World Cup would hopefully lead towards a "soccer" revolution in the most powerful nation on earth, and that may prove to be a delight for many of the strongest football fans living in Central and South America. USA is in the E group (called by some in the media as the "Group of Death") which includes Italy (13th), Czech Republic (2nd), and Ghana (48th).

In addition, the American fans themselves must change their perception of football (soccer). The FIFA World Cup is bigger than the Super Bowl. NFL executives claimed about a billion people watched the game, but upon closer research, only 93 million saw it in 2005, and 98% of the audience were in the United States. For the World Cup, an estimated 28.8 BILLION people watch the whole tournament, and 1.1 BILLION watched the final game. The Super Bowl is now more about the show than the game itself. Millions just watch for the commericials, the half-time show, and there isn't much interest in the game unless your city team is playing in it or you got a massive $500 bet going for the scorebox. People say 45 minutes of football in each half is boring except for the goals. I totally disagree with that view. I think people lack the vision that football has to offer and while scoring goals is important, the strategy and skills to create that goal deserves more too.

Yes, NFL football is mostly an American sport, so the audience level is lower, but it's just to disprove the NFL claims that it has such a high worldwide audience. Some may say that the World Cup is only important for the countries that qualified for it, but this is not true. USA may prove to be an exception but the level of football participation is much higher in the rest of the world than there. Some say there is not enough gambling linked to world football, but I think you paid too much attention to what goes on in the gambling halls of Las Vegas. It has a huge betting apparatus and the US betting companies should do more to advertise it in their domestic markets.

Americans think it is mostly boring because they watched the MLS games with their low attendance or they do not encounter the level of passion and atmosphere of the game in the youth and professional leagues. All the top players in the world are in the european leagues so the US market is placed at a disadvantage. Living in the UK for over two years can really change your perspective on football. The passion, the spirit, the pride, and the jubilant atmosphere are all there.

I can say with no doubt that seeing how David Beckham kicks the football and how Ronaldinho can purposefully hit the crossbar of the goal post three times in a row shows a level of skill that equates to Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, and Tom Brady for example.

So come on England! But here's to the USA too. Perhaps 2006 is not their year, but we can show the rest of the world that the US national team will become a powerful force to reckon with in the next 20 years.

Good luck to the rest of the teams!

Note: Did you know that the warring factions in the Ivory Coast declared a truce in their civil war because their country qualified for the World Cup?

Watch this great Coca-Cola World Cup Commerical

Update: Germany, the host nation, defeats Costa Rica 4-2. However, Eucador stages an upset by defating Poland 2-0. Next up is England's first game against Paraguay on Sat.