Aman Singh ji
LOL I have been monitoring the news today and the trend is now shifting. Three (3) or more stories about the World Cup on Page of of many local papers. New Zealand vs Italy really drew a lot of attention stateside it would seem.
FIFA World Cup 2010 - Thank You, South Africa!
Aman Singh ji
LOL I have been monitoring the news today and the trend is now shifting. Three (3) or more stories about the World Cup on Page of of many local papers. New Zealand vs Italy really drew a lot of attention stateside it would seem.
The reason football- soccer is not popular in the USA is more due to the commercial value system created by the sports practiced in the US, which are American football, Basketball, Baseball, Ice Hockey Nascar, Indy car series etc etc.
In the US, sports need commercial breaks to be economically viable. During breaks people grab beer and food. We see vendors of beer and other goodies when the games are going on in the stadiums and sports arenas.
Soccer does not offer that because of its 45 minutes of continuous action. It has not fitted in the American psyche yet although it has been tried in different ways for many years. Even Pele along with other world renowned soccer players played in the early 80's in the soccer league which eventually folded. Pele played for the New York Cosmos.
Let's not forget that sports is a multibillion dollars business in the US and Americans are crazy about their teams and they support them by buying goods from the sponsors.
If US gets into the group of 16, it may give another nudge to the American psyche, otherwise it will be forgotten for 4 more years and may be revived if US classifies for the next world cup.
Till then, the most famous sport in the world will remain out of the most lucrative market.
Unfortunately, Americans have no idea what " jogo bonito"- the beautiful game is all about.
It is a ballet of life filled with creativity, improvisation and beauty which unites the world as one for a month every four years.
Come to think of it, isn't that the true essence of Gurbani in our everyday lives, that is to see the ONE in everyone?
Tejwant Singh
PS: On a side note the game between Brasil and the Ivory coast was wonderful which Brasil won 3-1.
In the US, sports need commercial breaks to be economically viable. During breaks people grab beer and food. We see vendors of beer and other goodies when the games are going on in the stadiums and sports arenas.
Soccer does not offer that because of its 45 minutes of continuous action. It has not fitted in the American psyche yet although it has been tried in different ways for many years. Even Pele along with other world renowned soccer players played in the early 80's in the soccer league which eventually folded. Pele played for the New York Cosmos.
Let's not forget that sports is a multibillion dollars business in the US and Americans are crazy about their teams and they support them by buying goods from the sponsors.
If US gets into the group of 16, it may give another nudge to the American psyche, otherwise it will be forgotten for 4 more years and may be revived if US classifies for the next world cup.
Till then, the most famous sport in the world will remain out of the most lucrative market.
Unfortunately, Americans have no idea what " jogo bonito"- the beautiful game is all about.
It is a ballet of life filled with creativity, improvisation and beauty which unites the world as one for a month every four years.
Come to think of it, isn't that the true essence of Gurbani in our everyday lives, that is to see the ONE in everyone?
Tejwant Singh
PS: On a side note the game between Brasil and the Ivory coast was wonderful which Brasil won 3-1.
Tejwant ji
Do they have soccer clubs for kids in Nevada? Practically every private/catholic school has one on our end, and neighborhood associations start them up too. I agree with your analysis, but I also think that in time this will change. The same was true of ice hockey and it became a major sport.
Do they have soccer clubs for kids in Nevada? Practically every private/catholic school has one on our end, and neighborhood associations start them up too. I agree with your analysis, but I also think that in time this will change. The same was true of ice hockey and it became a major sport.
Narayanjot ji,
Guru Fateh.
Yes, there are lots of soccer clubs for kids in Nevada. Trimaan used to play for a club when he was a kid. Even the so called Soccer Moms elected George W. Bush twice.
However, the true power of its potential popularity lies in the hands of NCAA because the sports system in the US is totally different and the right one in my opinion as compared to the sport system in the rest of the world. Soccer players are chosen when they are as young as 10 years old and groomed for that purpose only where their academic education is ignored and takes the seat on the back bench, unlike in the US where they have to go to college.
So, if NCAA spent money in the schools and the universities to promote soccer as it does with American football, basketball and other sports, then only it would get into the American value system. Otherwise, it will remain as a kids' clubs sport which will force the kids to choose other sports at their schools and colleges.
Regards
Tejwant Singh
Narayanjot ji,
Guru Fateh.
One more thing I would like to add to my previous post which cropped up during my morning solitary journey is about the drop out rate and obesity among the Blacks and which is also increasing among the Latinos. Most of the Blacks and the Latinos do not finish High School, hence the communities have a very high jobless rate.
If soccer were promoted by the NCAA through funds from the elementary schools to all the way to the colleges, then people of these communities will have something else to look forward to rather than basket ball if they are not tall enough and do not have to fatten themselves to become linebackers in American football.
We can see the talent among the African and the Latin countries in soccer. Most of the players from these countries play in Europe.
Regards
Tejwant Singh
Well Hollywood people play like hollywood heroes.Bad luck for slovenia 2-0 up against USA and a Draw and now almost were in pre quarter but eliminated
Just keeping track of press and public awareness on the progress made by the USA team. Baseball merits the big pic on front page sports news. Baseball and basketball get 2 pics each to the US soccer team's 1 photo. However, something new has been added. Sports writer coverage -- "For enjoyment, give World Cup a look" -- so that is progress.
Not a tsunami strength yet. icecreamkaur
Not a tsunami strength yet. icecreamkaur
U.S. wins game -- and a host of new fans
Long after the game had ended and the jubilant players had left the field, the U.S. fans partied on in the stands, singing, dancing and waving their American flags. Back home, folks who couldn't pick Landon Donovan out of a lineup only a few weeks ago celebrated his goal with die-hard gusto.
For decades now, soccer enthusiasts have insisted it was only a matter of time before the game grabbed hold of the United States as it has the rest of the world.
That time is here.
US Fans
AP Photo/Nick Ut Ecstatic Americans were partying hard in Pasadena, Calif. and across the nation Wednesday after Landon Donovan kept the U.S.'s Cup dreams alive with a big winner against Algeria in the game's final seconds.
U.S. sports fans love winners, and the Americans are moving on to the second round of the World Cup as the top team in their group -- ahead, even, of mighty England. But it's the way this team is playing, every match an adrenaline-fueled, heart-in-your-throat, can't-look-away-for-a-second dance on the edge that is captivating the country. And changing the game in the United States.
"Anybody that watched today's game and can't get excited about it, we're not going to win them over," U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said. "But I think we won a lot of people over today."
Peter Wilt, president of the Milwaukee Wave professional indoor soccer team and U.S. coach Bob Bradley's former boss at the Chicago Fire, called it the biggest moment in American soccer in more than 20 years.
Walter Bahr, who played on the 1950 U.S. World Cup team that beat England 1-0, watched the U.S. victory from his home in Boalsburg, Pa. He says he is already looking forward to the next match.
"I thought it was one of those games where they couldn't buy a goal," Bahr said. "They certainly had enough opportunities -- a little here and a little there -- and they just couldn't put it in the net."
Soccer has been on a slow, steady climb for years now, and its growth is inevitable with all those kids who've been packing their local parks each weekend. But to become a major player in the U.S. sports scene, to generate the kind of interest the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball do, soccer needs some kind of watershed moment.
South Africa is it.
The wall-to-wall TV coverage on ABC and ESPN -- unprecedented in the United States -- helps. So, too, does having a team filled with friendly, likable, humble guys. The first World Cup in Africa holds a certain appeal, too.
But none of that would mean anything if the Americans weren't advancing. And doing it in entertaining fashion.
One of America's biggest complaints about soccer is that it lacks action, that it doesn't have the high-scoring drama of our other sports. You can play 90 minutes and see only a goal or two. Or, worse, a 0-0 tie.
The U.S. notched a grand total of one goal in the victory over Algeria on Wednesday, yet it would be a chore to find any game, in any sport, more exciting or nerve-racking.
"It was like a track meet," goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "Back and forth."
The Americans knew they had to win or they were going home, and they played with a scrappiness that is uniquely American. They banged ***** off the posts and sent the Algerian goalkeeper diving to block shots. They hustled from end to end, taking shots and shutting down Algeria's counterattacks. They even shed blood, with Clint Dempsey sporting a busted lip afterward.
But when 90 minutes were over, it was still tied at zero. Had the game ended like that, the Americans may as well have lost.
"We all believed we were going to win this game," Jozy Altidore said. "No other result would have worked for us."
Less than a minute into injury time, Howard made a spectacular save and fed the ball to Donovan. He sent a long pass from about midfield to Altidore, whose shot on the breakaway was tipped by Dempsey into Algerian goalkeeper Rais Bolihi. Donovan -- who might have given Usain Bolt a run for his money with his full-throttle sprint to the front -- got the rebound and tapped it in, setting off raucous celebrations.
Donovan belly-flopped into the corner, and his teammates quickly dogpiled on top of him. Chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" thundered through the stadium.
The reaction back home is even more telling, however. The fans who made the long, expensive trip to South Africa are going to be fans regardless of where the Americans finish here.
It's the folks just discovering the allure of the beautiful game that matter. People who played hooky from work to watch the game at a bar exchanged hugs and high-fives. Screams of elation were heard on suburban streets. Twitter and Facebook were flooded with celebratory posts.
One of the home-based fans, Carl Witkowski, declared that he has cried only three times in his life.
"When I got married, when I saw my son was born," said Witkowski, who wore his blue No. 17 Jozy Altidore jersey to watch the match at the Highbury Pub in Milwaukee. "And today."
The 1-0 victory over Algeria saved the Americans from elimination and sent them into the second round for a game Saturday against Ghana. With no work to get in the way and a viewer-friendly kickoff time (the game starts at 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC), expect ratings even higher than the blockbuster numbers ESPN and ABC have already seen.
"I'd be surprised if we didn't make a few more fans tonight," Donovan said, a smile playing on his lips. "My guess is Saturday is going to be a pretty cool occasion for our country."
Not everybody who wanted to watch was able to skip work, of course, leading to lost production akin to what happens in the U.S. during the NCAA men's basketball tournament each March.
Jayme Joers, a clerical assistant at a law firm in Cincinnati, had to make due with an Internet feed at her desk. Pushing the limits of the office's business-casual policy, she wore her U.S. jersey and a blue headband to work while her "very understanding" co-workers even brought her some heartburn medicine.
"I tried really hard to be quiet," she said. "But as the game progressed, I couldn't."
At places like the Highbury, a soccer-themed bar in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood, Donovan's goal led to an explosion of joy.
"If you imagine an atom bomb dropping, imagine 30 of them going off at once in the 100-foot radius," said Alan Bykowski, who was waiting outside the door when the bar opened at 5:30 a.m. "Except they're atom bombs of joy!"
An hour after the big win, Highbury patrons were embracing, singing and dancing on the bar. James Brown's "Living in America" was blasting on the sound system.
"I have hugged and kissed more men and women today than I have in my entire life," Bykowski said.
Will the U.S. win the World Cup? Not this time. It still has a ways to go before it is truly the equal of the Italys, Spains, Argentinas and Brazils of the world, and there are bound to be some setbacks on the way to full membership in soccer's elite. The United States made the quarterfinals in 2002, remember, only to crash out without a victory four years later.
But Americans now know that soccer is as exciting and exhilarating as any NFL or NBA game. And that is enough to keep them coming back for more.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
U.S. wins game, group -- and a whole lot of new fans - ESPN Soccernet
Long after the game had ended and the jubilant players had left the field, the U.S. fans partied on in the stands, singing, dancing and waving their American flags. Back home, folks who couldn't pick Landon Donovan out of a lineup only a few weeks ago celebrated his goal with die-hard gusto.
For decades now, soccer enthusiasts have insisted it was only a matter of time before the game grabbed hold of the United States as it has the rest of the world.
That time is here.
US Fans
AP Photo/Nick Ut Ecstatic Americans were partying hard in Pasadena, Calif. and across the nation Wednesday after Landon Donovan kept the U.S.'s Cup dreams alive with a big winner against Algeria in the game's final seconds.
U.S. sports fans love winners, and the Americans are moving on to the second round of the World Cup as the top team in their group -- ahead, even, of mighty England. But it's the way this team is playing, every match an adrenaline-fueled, heart-in-your-throat, can't-look-away-for-a-second dance on the edge that is captivating the country. And changing the game in the United States.
"Anybody that watched today's game and can't get excited about it, we're not going to win them over," U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said. "But I think we won a lot of people over today."
Peter Wilt, president of the Milwaukee Wave professional indoor soccer team and U.S. coach Bob Bradley's former boss at the Chicago Fire, called it the biggest moment in American soccer in more than 20 years.
Walter Bahr, who played on the 1950 U.S. World Cup team that beat England 1-0, watched the U.S. victory from his home in Boalsburg, Pa. He says he is already looking forward to the next match.
"I thought it was one of those games where they couldn't buy a goal," Bahr said. "They certainly had enough opportunities -- a little here and a little there -- and they just couldn't put it in the net."
Soccer has been on a slow, steady climb for years now, and its growth is inevitable with all those kids who've been packing their local parks each weekend. But to become a major player in the U.S. sports scene, to generate the kind of interest the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball do, soccer needs some kind of watershed moment.
South Africa is it.
The wall-to-wall TV coverage on ABC and ESPN -- unprecedented in the United States -- helps. So, too, does having a team filled with friendly, likable, humble guys. The first World Cup in Africa holds a certain appeal, too.
But none of that would mean anything if the Americans weren't advancing. And doing it in entertaining fashion.
One of America's biggest complaints about soccer is that it lacks action, that it doesn't have the high-scoring drama of our other sports. You can play 90 minutes and see only a goal or two. Or, worse, a 0-0 tie.
The U.S. notched a grand total of one goal in the victory over Algeria on Wednesday, yet it would be a chore to find any game, in any sport, more exciting or nerve-racking.
"It was like a track meet," goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "Back and forth."
The Americans knew they had to win or they were going home, and they played with a scrappiness that is uniquely American. They banged ***** off the posts and sent the Algerian goalkeeper diving to block shots. They hustled from end to end, taking shots and shutting down Algeria's counterattacks. They even shed blood, with Clint Dempsey sporting a busted lip afterward.
But when 90 minutes were over, it was still tied at zero. Had the game ended like that, the Americans may as well have lost.
"We all believed we were going to win this game," Jozy Altidore said. "No other result would have worked for us."
Less than a minute into injury time, Howard made a spectacular save and fed the ball to Donovan. He sent a long pass from about midfield to Altidore, whose shot on the breakaway was tipped by Dempsey into Algerian goalkeeper Rais Bolihi. Donovan -- who might have given Usain Bolt a run for his money with his full-throttle sprint to the front -- got the rebound and tapped it in, setting off raucous celebrations.
Donovan belly-flopped into the corner, and his teammates quickly dogpiled on top of him. Chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" thundered through the stadium.
The reaction back home is even more telling, however. The fans who made the long, expensive trip to South Africa are going to be fans regardless of where the Americans finish here.
It's the folks just discovering the allure of the beautiful game that matter. People who played hooky from work to watch the game at a bar exchanged hugs and high-fives. Screams of elation were heard on suburban streets. Twitter and Facebook were flooded with celebratory posts.
One of the home-based fans, Carl Witkowski, declared that he has cried only three times in his life.
"When I got married, when I saw my son was born," said Witkowski, who wore his blue No. 17 Jozy Altidore jersey to watch the match at the Highbury Pub in Milwaukee. "And today."
The 1-0 victory over Algeria saved the Americans from elimination and sent them into the second round for a game Saturday against Ghana. With no work to get in the way and a viewer-friendly kickoff time (the game starts at 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC), expect ratings even higher than the blockbuster numbers ESPN and ABC have already seen.
"I'd be surprised if we didn't make a few more fans tonight," Donovan said, a smile playing on his lips. "My guess is Saturday is going to be a pretty cool occasion for our country."
Not everybody who wanted to watch was able to skip work, of course, leading to lost production akin to what happens in the U.S. during the NCAA men's basketball tournament each March.
Jayme Joers, a clerical assistant at a law firm in Cincinnati, had to make due with an Internet feed at her desk. Pushing the limits of the office's business-casual policy, she wore her U.S. jersey and a blue headband to work while her "very understanding" co-workers even brought her some heartburn medicine.
"I tried really hard to be quiet," she said. "But as the game progressed, I couldn't."
At places like the Highbury, a soccer-themed bar in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood, Donovan's goal led to an explosion of joy.
"If you imagine an atom bomb dropping, imagine 30 of them going off at once in the 100-foot radius," said Alan Bykowski, who was waiting outside the door when the bar opened at 5:30 a.m. "Except they're atom bombs of joy!"
An hour after the big win, Highbury patrons were embracing, singing and dancing on the bar. James Brown's "Living in America" was blasting on the sound system.
"I have hugged and kissed more men and women today than I have in my entire life," Bykowski said.
Will the U.S. win the World Cup? Not this time. It still has a ways to go before it is truly the equal of the Italys, Spains, Argentinas and Brazils of the world, and there are bound to be some setbacks on the way to full membership in soccer's elite. The United States made the quarterfinals in 2002, remember, only to crash out without a victory four years later.
But Americans now know that soccer is as exciting and exhilarating as any NFL or NBA game. And that is enough to keep them coming back for more.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
U.S. wins game, group -- and a whole lot of new fans - ESPN Soccernet
Attachments
The article, Aman Singh ji, really does sum up the situation in the US. It will take more time for the sport to catch on. in the American imagination.
The important thing is to make the effort and achieve a decent result. That is true for everything in life. Anyone of us can be a champion at aomething, And it is not necessary to be a champion at everything.
The important thing is to make the effort and achieve a decent result. That is true for everything in life. Anyone of us can be a champion at aomething, And it is not necessary to be a champion at everything.
Aman Singh ji
Please forgive this moorath! Whose barrel is Italy confronting? swordfightI cannot really make heads or tails of this. All I know is we are in the second round of something or other. The US beat a favorite. And Brazil is still favored to take the cup. LOL, I am backing Brazil.
cheerleader
OK - I see. Italy is facing Slovakia - not a good picture either.
fifa world cup 2010 - Google Search
Automatic updates here fifa world cup 2010 - Google Search
It would be funny if Portugal beats Brazil. Then all bets are off.
Please forgive this moorath! Whose barrel is Italy confronting? swordfightI cannot really make heads or tails of this. All I know is we are in the second round of something or other. The US beat a favorite. And Brazil is still favored to take the cup. LOL, I am backing Brazil.
cheerleader
OK - I see. Italy is facing Slovakia - not a good picture either.
fifa world cup 2010 - Google Search
Automatic updates here fifa world cup 2010 - Google Search
It would be funny if Portugal beats Brazil. Then all bets are off.
Narayanjot ji,
Guru Fateh.
Italy, the Champion of 2006 and France, the Vice champion are both out of the world cup.
It is a good decision to back Brazil up.
As far as the match between Portugal and Brazil is concerned, it is just a token match in the round robin first round as both are selected in the next round. So, it does not matter who loses or wins. It does not affect anything.
The other Interesting aspect is that US, which was on the verge of elimination is number one its group and that is the reason it will be playing Ghana rather than Germany if it were second. Now Germany is going to play England who was number two behind the US.
Regards
Tejwant Singh
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