The Beautiful Game

As a soccer fan in America I am often asked why I like the sport. Many people in the US do not understand the appeal, the rules, the structure, or the fact that it is the world's most popular sport. However, the coverage and general knowledge of the game is growing thanks in part to television coverage on ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel and the numerous media publications focusing on the upcoming World Cup in South Africa. While the teams, organizers, and fans continue to prepare for the the globes biggest event I wanted to leave you with two excerpts from the most recent issues of Sports Illustrated and Time. While brief, and certainly not all encompassing, these quotes help represent why I love 'The Beautiful Game'.

“Soccer is the most democratic of sports.  It can be played on any surface with almost any object, if not a soccer ball then a tin can, a stone, a rolled up pair of socks.  It does not require elaborate equipment: no pads, no helmets.  You don’t have to e 6 ft. 8 in. tall or as wide as a house.  You just need to be nimble and talented and willing to practice – a lot.  Greatness is egalitarian; the finest players come from every income bracket, every religion and ethnic group, every nation on the planet.”

-Richard Stengel, Managing Editor, Time Magazine, June 14, 2010

“One thing Americans agree about soccer – the fans and cynics both – is that goals are rare things.  The critics will say this critically, of course; how could anyone love a game in which neither team might score at all?  Who can sit through 90-plus minutes of that sort of drudgery?  We are a nation of the tangible.  We are a country of Avatar (in 3-D!), slam-dunk contents, NFL’s Greatest Hits music videos and Lady Gaga.  Subtlety isn’t our thing.

Fans, though, will say the scarcity of goals in soccer is the whole point.  A goal at the highest level of the game is a miracle.  Consider the odds.  You have to move a ball across a large field, eluding 10 obstinate foes, without using your hands.  You cannot legally pass the ball to a teammate who has raced past the last defender.  Once you approach the goal, you must put the ball into a net eight yards wide and eight feet high, guarded by the one man on the field allowed to use his hands.  It is, when you think about it, an impossible task. 

But it is not impossible.  It happens.  And this, the lovers of the sport will tell you, is why soccer soars.  What it takes to score a goal goes beyond hitting a home run, beyond scoring a touchdown, beyond slipping the puck past the hockey goalie.  It is something beyond athletic skill, something that transcends ball handling and deft touch and a powerful shot.  It takes, for lack of better word, magic.”

            -Joe Posnanski, Sports Illustrated, June 7, 2010