The Beautiful Game, MLS and the American Fan

Nice to see soccer - specifically the World Cup - on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week, with the title, "The Beautiful Game." The special report by Grant Wahl includes photos of people kicking a ball around in various parts of the world. I have not yet read the entire piece, but these three sentences on the first page are worth repeating: "At its most basic level - a handful of kids kicking what passes for a ball round whatever open ground they find - the game is a source of joy, sometimes a means of escape. At its pinnacle it defines nations and dissolves differences. In short, this simplest of games unites humankind like nothing else."

But will the intense worldwide attention to the World Cup translate into increased fan interest in the United States, where it has been said for at least 30 years that soccer was the game of the future and always will be? In its May 3 issue, SI briefly weighs in on this debate with several reasons why soccer will or will not "crash the major North American sports-popularity party." On the plus side are soccer specific stadiums catering to crowds of 18,000 to 27,000, the fact that the NHL and NBA have seen dropping attendance and that there is fan support beyond the MLS (noting the home opener sell-out of the D2 Portland Timbers). But on the other side it is argued that right now MLS is simply a cheaper ticket in a recession and that two top-drawing teams, Seattle and the Union, are riding on first or second-year excitement. "How many nil-nil draws before those fans disappear?" asks the writer.

But the argument against soccer really, I mean really, ever competing with baseball, football or basketball for fan interest in the U.S. is the last point: "We dare ya. Take the top three teams and name at least two players on each. Exaaaactly . . ." I think they have a point there.

Will You Still Need Me When I'm 64?

"When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now. Will you still be sending me a Valentine, birthday greeting, bottle of wine?"

Those lyrics, of course are from "When I'm 64" on the Beatles' immortal Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album released in June 1967, at the end of my junior year in college. Forty-three years later I still remember how I and many of my 20 and 21 year old friends said we could not imagine what it would be like to be 64.

Today I find out. Yep, Coach P is 64 today, May 19, 2010. And if anyone ever doubts the rewards of coaching, I can show him or her the birthday wishes posted on my Facebook pages from a number of my former players on both the Medford Strikers Xtreme and the Medford Strikers '81-'82 team, and from some parents from those teams.

Thanks to all for the good wishes. And what does 64 feel like? Well, I'm still out running, just not as far or as fast. And I'm still working. So not much different than 63. And anyway, it beats the alternative suggested by another song from back in my college days, this one called "My Generation," by The Who: "Hope I die before I get old."

MLS in the News

Lots of news about the MLS today. Jack Bell reports in his blog in the New York Times that the Montreal Impact will be introduced tomorrow as an expansion team beginning play in 2012. It will be the league's third Canadian side, along with the existing Toronto FC, and the Vancouver Whitecaps, which begins play next season.
Earlier today MLS announced that Manchester United will play three games in the United States this summer: July 21 in Philadelphia, July 25 in Kansas City and July 28 against the MLS all-stars.

More from the Times: Jere Longman's piece on the British view of American soccer (60% respect - up from 30% not too long ago - according to former American international, John Harkes) reports "widespread indifference to Major League Soccer." Longman quotes noted British soccer writer Brian Glanville as saying of David Beckham's move to the L.A> Galaxy: “As much as his game has eroded over the years, he should be one of the better players in the early-retirement home that is M.L.S.,”

Ouch.

Longman's article is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/sports/soccer/06longman.html?ref=soccer

Running for Our Girls

TABERNACLE, NJ, May 1, 2010 -- We're here because four girls died.

Today on an unseasonably hot morning at Seneca High School was the 12th Annual Run For Our Girls, supporting the Precious Gems Foundation in honor of Amanda, Megan, Shana and Angela, who were killed by a drunk driver in North Carolina on April 6, 1999. Amanda's parents are among my closest friends and she played on a Medford rec league soccer team with my son Scott way back at age 7.

I ran a lousy race (5K), but who cares. We're here because four girls died. If you knew any of them or their families, it's impossible not to shed a tear when their names are read just before the start.

I was pleased to see another good turnout for this event, which benefits the foundation as well as substance awareness programs at Shawnee and Seneca High Schools. Shana's sister, Erin, is a teacher at Seneca and all of the girls were current or former students at Shawnee.

My good friend, Bob Ellis, who is three years older than I am, continues to defy age and beat me by more than three minutes while my son, Scott, ran a 20:05 on the slow course, good for 5th overall and 2nd in his age group. But times don't matter. We're here because four girls died.

Five years ago, when the race was run at Shawnee H.S., I caught up with Cara, at the time a girl on my Medford Strikers Xtreme team, in the first mile. No way a 9th grade girl on her high school track team should be running behind a guy in his late '50s, as I was then. We had a game that night, so as I ran by, I told her, "Cara, if you don't beat me, you're not starting tonight." She passed me at the 2-mile mark and finished comfortably ahead of me. (See post-race photo, right.)

It was a good race, and everyone had fun, but then, as today, it didn't matter. We were there because four girls died. Honor their memory.

JAGS is back!

It's that time of year: Jersey Area Girls Soccer (JAGS) Tournament. This year is the 30th annual.

As I detailed last year, it is amazing how well the tournament committee operates. The main reason is a hard core group of people, including directors Tom Bayless and Rick Firth, who have been around forever, know what they're doing and do it well.

I just sent out our 2nd e-mail blast to 277 college coaches and am looking forward to seeing 50 or so of them June 19 and 20 at Mercer County Park.

Washed up at 20?

Good article in the Sports Illustrated that arrived today about the kid who was the future of MLS and perhaps US Soccer six years ago. Except it didn't turn out that way.

Freddy Adu signed with DC United at age 14, projected as the American Pele. But six years lateer, he is warmin g the bench for Aris FC in Greece, his sixth professional team. And he almost certainly will not be on the United States roster for the World Cup.

"What happened?" asks SI's Grant Wahl, one of the nation's top soccer writers, who has written another masterpiece. What happened is summed up by Jerome De Bontin, an American who is president of Monaco in the French league. De Bontin is quoted as saying, "Everybody has the same analysis. He had incredible talent, yet he was lacking standard tactical knowledge that most players his age had. It was tied to the fact he became professional at 14 and in some ways stopped learning at 15."

Somethin g to think about the next time MLS looks for a teenage saviour.

Union Home Opener: LeToux 3, United 2

Good game tonight as 34,870 at Lincoln Field watched the Union down winless DC United, 3-2 behind a hat trick from Sebastien LeToux. It was the first men's pro soccer league game in Philadelphia in some 30 years.

Unfortunately, one of the fans attending happened to be the Vice President of the United States and this caused chaos in entering the stadium, resulting in some very angry fans.

The weather was good and there was a festive atmosphere around the stadium as fans tailgated, cooking, drinking beer and kicking soccer balls around. We made our way to the stadium about 35 minutes before kick-off and when we saw the long lines to get in my wife jumped in line while I went to pick up the tickets at Will Call. We made it through Secret Service security and their metal detectors by about 5:45 and had to time to find our overpriced seats in the Club Level.

But I learned later that the gates were closed when Vice President Biden entered and quite a few fans missed the kick-off and as much as 20 minutes of the first half. It's not clear why they had to shut down the gates as opposed to driving Mr. Biden in an armored car through one of the private tunnels leading into the stadium and simply securing just that one area.

After the Vice President's granddaughter did the honors for the ceremonial first tap play got underway at 6:10,meaning it was not quite a quarter past 6 when LeToux scored the first goal in team history, a nice header into the right corner off a cross by Roger Torres. The play had started with a free kick by Torres after Alejandro Moreno was fouled. DC keeper Troy Perkins deflected the ball to Moreno, who passed out to Torres on the right. Torres made a perfect pass in the air to LeToux at the 6 and he buried it in the net.

Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz, speaking to a group of lawyers a few weeks earlier, had promised that the team would play an "attractive, fun-to-watch attacking style. It did not take long to see what he meant.

After the early goal, the blue and gold continued to press forward and dominate play. In the 39th minute Moreno on the left found LeToux in the middle of the field and fed a lead pass. LeToux ran onto the ball, with a defender in hot pursuit, carried, then at just the right moment calmly shot into the lower left corner for a 2-0 lead.

I though the Union should have been awarded a penalty kick in the 60th minute when the referee called a trip (and issued a caution) which appeared to be in the box but then placed the ball a yard outside the 18. The free kick sailed over the crossbar.

United drew within one in the 63rd minute when Santino Quaranta beat a defender and then shot past keeper Chris Seitz to make it 2-1. Seitz preserved the lead two minutes later when he made a nice save on a corner from the left. But in the 69th minute his costly mistake led to the equalizer. While attempting to punt Seitz dropped the ball outside the box in the vicinity of Jaime Moreno, who had an easy pass into an open net. Suddenly it was 2-2.

LeToux to the rescue. After The visitors' Dejean Jakovic was sent off for a hard foul in the 77th minute, Letoux drilled the resulting free kick into the net for the lead that stood up.

SOME THOUGHTS:

-- I would have liked to have bought a program of the historic home opener, but none was to be found.
-- Despite the price of tickets at the Club level, the concession stands were bargain basement in their menus, if not the prices. Hot dogs, pizza, beer and soda was about all that was available, unless you wanted to take the time to go to another level.
-- The team made a nice gesture by asking for a moment of silence before the game in memory of those from the Polish government killed in the plane crash in Russia the day before.
-- Someone needs to clue the P.A. announcer on redundancy. For example, is it necessary to say, "The referee has issued a yellow card to ...?" Who else would issue a yellow card? The vice president, maybe? Or, "The 4th official on the sideline has indicated there will be two minutes of stoppage time." Who cares that the 4th official holds up the sign? And where else would he be but on the sideline? The amount of time is in the referee's discretion anyway.
-- The video replay did not show either DC goal or the foul that earned Jakovic the red card.
-- Nice to hear some singing from the fans. It is common at European and South American soccer matches, but not seen in other sports in the United States. The Union's fan club, "Sons of Ben," sang somewhat sporadically in the north stands, while another group was more or less continuous with the vocals at the opposite end.
-- All in all a good game worth seeing. I'll be back and I expect many others will as well.