As the lead in this article by Jack Bell in last Friday's New York Times notes, "Soccer is not a sport seduced by numbers, unless that number is three — as in the points awarded for a win."
However, there is a constant effort to quantify the sport along the lines of football and baseball. Even when I played in college more than 45 years ago, the school's sports information director had to mention how many saves a goalie had in a match or how many shots were taken. (In our case, our goalies had plenty of saves because the other teams took most of the shots.) Watch a pro game now and you'll see information on time of possession, number of touches, percent of bad passes, and more.
Now, those who want to dissect every last movement on the field, there is a book: “The Numbers Game,” subtitled “Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong.” According to the Times, it will be available this week, so I'll have to read it and let you know what I think.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Phil Woosnam, Long-Time NASL Commissioner, Dies
Phil Woosnam, the Welsh professional player who came to the United States and served as commissioner of the North American Soccer League for 15 seasons, died Friday in Georgia, as reported by the New York Times.
After playing more than 300 matches for Leyton Orient, Aston Villa and West Ham United, and earning 17 caps for Wales, Woosnam came to the United States in 1966 and played for the NASL Atlanta Chiefs beginning in '67 and became coach of the team in '68. The following year he became coach of the U.S. National Team. A year later he became commissioner of the NASL, a post he held for 15 seasons.
I had occasion to get to know Phil a bit when I worked for an upstart soccer publication called Soccer Weekly, that lasted just one year. He was a nice enough guy and as I recall reasonably accessible, but we always had the impression that he felt the league didn't need us. We were hoping for some contacts with sponsors as potential advertisers but never got it.
Afterall, the NASL was on an upswing, growing from nine teams and average attendance of 5,954 (usually in large stadiums) in 1973 to a high point of 24 teams and average attendance and average crowds of 14,440 in 1980. But it wasn't part of the sporting fabric of the country. It wasn't regularly on television or in Sports Illustrated, or talked about at the local bars. And that's where Phil and the other powers of the league missed out: by not helping the grass roots local media. Maybe the league would have ultimately failed anyway, given the over-expansion, the tanking of the economy in the '80s, and the over-spending on player salaries, all of which contributed to the demise shortly before the 1985 season. But the free publicity of lot os small media outlets around the country couldn't have hurt.
Phil Woosnam went from his commissioner's post to the marketing arm of U.S. Soccer and is given some credit for getting the men's World Cup for the United States in 1994. In 1997 he was elected to the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame, a well-deserved accolade.
After playing more than 300 matches for Leyton Orient, Aston Villa and West Ham United, and earning 17 caps for Wales, Woosnam came to the United States in 1966 and played for the NASL Atlanta Chiefs beginning in '67 and became coach of the team in '68. The following year he became coach of the U.S. National Team. A year later he became commissioner of the NASL, a post he held for 15 seasons.
I had occasion to get to know Phil a bit when I worked for an upstart soccer publication called Soccer Weekly, that lasted just one year. He was a nice enough guy and as I recall reasonably accessible, but we always had the impression that he felt the league didn't need us. We were hoping for some contacts with sponsors as potential advertisers but never got it.
Afterall, the NASL was on an upswing, growing from nine teams and average attendance of 5,954 (usually in large stadiums) in 1973 to a high point of 24 teams and average attendance and average crowds of 14,440 in 1980. But it wasn't part of the sporting fabric of the country. It wasn't regularly on television or in Sports Illustrated, or talked about at the local bars. And that's where Phil and the other powers of the league missed out: by not helping the grass roots local media. Maybe the league would have ultimately failed anyway, given the over-expansion, the tanking of the economy in the '80s, and the over-spending on player salaries, all of which contributed to the demise shortly before the 1985 season. But the free publicity of lot os small media outlets around the country couldn't have hurt.
Phil Woosnam went from his commissioner's post to the marketing arm of U.S. Soccer and is given some credit for getting the men's World Cup for the United States in 1994. In 1997 he was elected to the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame, a well-deserved accolade.
Monday, July 22, 2013
First Trip to PPL Park
Finally made it to PPL Park Saturday night to see the Union play for the first time since their inaugural match back on April 10, 2010 at the Linc. Despite the oppressive humidity and the electrical storm that delayed the second half and caused us to leave before the half began, it was a fun time as the Union played to a scoreless tie with the Portland Timbers.
Just as the teams left the field for intermission, the lightning bolts from the dark storm clouds across the Delaware River coupled with a downpour forced an extended halftime of nearly 40 minutes, Between the humidity, the later hour and the prospect of wet seats and possibly more rain, Debbie and I left just as play resumed.
The 45 minutes we watched were entertaining, albeit somewhat slow-paced, but the it was about 90 degrees at the opening whistle. Although the Inquirer reported a sell-out of 18,740, we saw quite a few empty seats at the opening whistle. I thought the Timbers generally had the better of the play in the first half, although the Union certainly had some chances. But according to the Inquirer, the home team stepped it up in the second half and Portland needed some great saves from Donovan Ricketts to salvage the draw.
We sat on the southwest corner, 19 rows from the field, inside the 18-yard line, and not far from the boisterous Sons of Ben fan club's area on the south end. It was very cool when the Sons unfurled a large American flag as the crowd joined in to sing the Star Spangled Banner. The Sons kept up the noise level, and drum beats, throughout the half. There was a lame attempt by the team to have everyone sing I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover at the 20:10 mark of the game to commemorate the team's founding in 2010. I get the 20:10 but no one explained the significance of the song and it doesn't matter because very few sang it.
The stadium itself is everything positive I'd read about it: clean, soccer-specific, good seating, plenty or rest rooms and uncrowded (but typically over-priced) concessions stands. Definitely a good place to watch a game, and far more convenient to South Jersey fans than Villanova Stadium where the Philadelphia Charge (R.I.P.) of the W.U.S.A. played. The parking is likewise overpriced at $20, but the lots are well lit and managed by the team, They could use some numbering of areas to make it easier to find your car afterwards, and the signage leading out of Lot C where we parked is confusing or non-existent, as are the signs directing traffic to and from the Commodore Barry Bridge.
Just as the teams left the field for intermission, the lightning bolts from the dark storm clouds across the Delaware River coupled with a downpour forced an extended halftime of nearly 40 minutes, Between the humidity, the later hour and the prospect of wet seats and possibly more rain, Debbie and I left just as play resumed.
The 45 minutes we watched were entertaining, albeit somewhat slow-paced, but the it was about 90 degrees at the opening whistle. Although the Inquirer reported a sell-out of 18,740, we saw quite a few empty seats at the opening whistle. I thought the Timbers generally had the better of the play in the first half, although the Union certainly had some chances. But according to the Inquirer, the home team stepped it up in the second half and Portland needed some great saves from Donovan Ricketts to salvage the draw.
We sat on the southwest corner, 19 rows from the field, inside the 18-yard line, and not far from the boisterous Sons of Ben fan club's area on the south end. It was very cool when the Sons unfurled a large American flag as the crowd joined in to sing the Star Spangled Banner. The Sons kept up the noise level, and drum beats, throughout the half. There was a lame attempt by the team to have everyone sing I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover at the 20:10 mark of the game to commemorate the team's founding in 2010. I get the 20:10 but no one explained the significance of the song and it doesn't matter because very few sang it.
The stadium itself is everything positive I'd read about it: clean, soccer-specific, good seating, plenty or rest rooms and uncrowded (but typically over-priced) concessions stands. Definitely a good place to watch a game, and far more convenient to South Jersey fans than Villanova Stadium where the Philadelphia Charge (R.I.P.) of the W.U.S.A. played. The parking is likewise overpriced at $20, but the lots are well lit and managed by the team, They could use some numbering of areas to make it easier to find your car afterwards, and the signage leading out of Lot C where we parked is confusing or non-existent, as are the signs directing traffic to and from the Commodore Barry Bridge.
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