US Soccer

Soccer is the most popular sport in all of Europe, South America, and Africa. The United States, somewhat known as the sports capital of the world, is oddly different from all of these other parts of the world. Soccer has never blossomed here, but instead is almost looked down upon from a proffessional level.Instead, football, basketball, hockey, and baseball are the leading sports in the US, but this summer, the soccer World Cup brought a suprising amount of attention to this globaly respected sport.

This years World Cup was in no way the best effort ever put forth by a US team, but for some reason, our nation rallied around them and supported them like never before. This year was the most viewed World Cup for the US in the history of this prestigous championship. The US lost in the second round of elimination, which is not something amazing. Landin Donovan and Tim Howard of the US led their team through the first grouping stage, which involved a tie with England and a glorious last second goal in their last game to propel them forward to the next round.

Possibly, this emotional rollercoaster of a trip made it so special this year. After all, isn’t that what makes a championship game so memorable? The most watched and special Super Bowl games are not the blow out games, but the ones that have the people standing on their feet and yelling at the top of their lungs at the end of the game. The same goes for NCAA basketball championship. The games that are remembered are the ones that go to the last minute. The ones that make the fan feel as if they experience the same ups and downs that the players and coaches feel.

More than likely, this is the reason why this year was such a great year for US World Cup. Fans or just casual observers love to feel the dramatic horrors and glories with a certain team, which is exactly what happened during this magical summer. Some believe that this could be the start of a soccer revolution in the States. This could be true, but in order for it to happen, US soccer will have to take advantage if this oppurtunity and bring more supporters. Maybe someday soccer will be held up with those other sports in this sport centered country of ours, but until soccer makes another dramatic step forward, they will always be the sport that only lights up every four years during the special time known as the World Cup.