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Every Four Years
Jun. 20th, 2014 10:01 amEvery four years, they play the World Cup. The biggest sporting event on the planet, bigger than the Olympics and the Super Bowl. And every four years, I try to get into it. I follow the scores, I learn about some of the players, I watch some games. And when it's done, I move back to baseball and football and the other sports that Americans love and that the rest of world knows about but doesn't love like it does "the beautiful game."
The thing is, each World Cup, I get into it just a little more. The Internet helps. Highlights, extensive coverage, games streaming for free. This year, I also have a coworker who is a big soccer fan. Having someone to talk about it with makes something of a difference, especially when you can name maybe six soccer players who aren't American (and maybe six who are). It's also worth noting that a lot of the sportswriting on the topic is excellent, and goes beyond the usual cliches I see (and a lot of stories that acknowledge everything that is wrong with having the Cup in Brazil, and everything that is wrong with FIFA and even some really good history).
Plus the timing is good. Basketball season is over, and the glories of the playoffs are washed away in a flood of stories of LeBron's future and Donald Sterling. The Mets are not merely bad this season, but dull. There is a sports void. So, why not soccer?
Oh, and it turns out that soccer on the radio is a lot more interesting that soccer on TV. On TV, the field is too big, the cameras are too far away, and no one seems to know what a closeup is. On the radio, the play by play gets to the essence of things for me.
So here I am, actually engaged by the whole thing. Not just the USA team, though that is the big hook. The level of engagement is so much higher than before. And yet...the games really can be pretty dull sometimes. There is just not enough offense to suit me. Which might be very American, but it's how I watch. So the question is, will I actually try to follow the sport more between now and World Cup 2020?
I can't say for sure. Odds are, I won't. But right now, I am into it. And I like that.
And unlike that other sport called football, there isn't a huge problem with concussions. That alone might make me pay more attention.
The thing is, each World Cup, I get into it just a little more. The Internet helps. Highlights, extensive coverage, games streaming for free. This year, I also have a coworker who is a big soccer fan. Having someone to talk about it with makes something of a difference, especially when you can name maybe six soccer players who aren't American (and maybe six who are). It's also worth noting that a lot of the sportswriting on the topic is excellent, and goes beyond the usual cliches I see (and a lot of stories that acknowledge everything that is wrong with having the Cup in Brazil, and everything that is wrong with FIFA and even some really good history).
Plus the timing is good. Basketball season is over, and the glories of the playoffs are washed away in a flood of stories of LeBron's future and Donald Sterling. The Mets are not merely bad this season, but dull. There is a sports void. So, why not soccer?
Oh, and it turns out that soccer on the radio is a lot more interesting that soccer on TV. On TV, the field is too big, the cameras are too far away, and no one seems to know what a closeup is. On the radio, the play by play gets to the essence of things for me.
So here I am, actually engaged by the whole thing. Not just the USA team, though that is the big hook. The level of engagement is so much higher than before. And yet...the games really can be pretty dull sometimes. There is just not enough offense to suit me. Which might be very American, but it's how I watch. So the question is, will I actually try to follow the sport more between now and World Cup 2020?
I can't say for sure. Odds are, I won't. But right now, I am into it. And I like that.
And unlike that other sport called football, there isn't a huge problem with concussions. That alone might make me pay more attention.
