Soccer has Arrived (Again)?

Ken Belson's article in today's New York Times says that interest in the World Cup should help soccer continue to grow in the United States. I hope he's right, but keep in mind we've heard this before. The 1966 World Cup, won by England in a dramatic overtime final, convinced investors that not one but two professional leagues could make it in this country. Neither did.

In the early '70s when the Atoms drew five figure crowds to Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, there were stories around the country about how the youth leagues were exploding.

In 1999 the success of the U.S. Women's Team and the Women's World Cup in this country led to the formation of a professional league which folded after its third season.

“The M.L.S. won’t be the N.F.L. in our lifetime,” said Jeff L’Hote, a consultant to soccer teams and companies interested in working with them, in the Times story. “Maybe it’s not as sexy as some want, but we’ll see steady growth.” And as Belson writes, "Growth is growth." He points out that MLS has signed two World Cup sponsors (Castrol and Continental Tire) to long-term contracts, that new soccer-specific stadiums in New Jersey and Philadelphia bring the total of such facilities to nine, and that high school soccer has the largest growth rate of any major sport over the past 20 years.

All of this is good news for soccer fans and I hope the article is right. But go back to the May 23 entry on Coach P's Blog about the Sports Illustrated piece with arguments why soccer will or will not catch up with the other so-called major pro sports, and look at the quote from the story: : "We dare ya. Take the top three [MLS] teams and name at least two players on each. Exaaaactly . . ."