Will North America Ever Understand Soccer?

I used to live in Toronto, the most multinational city on the planet according to the United Nations. Whenever the World Cup was played, the streets were filled with blaring horns and people running through the streets with the flags of their native countries, all of whom were represented in the World Cup. Very few native-vorn Canadians were amongst the crowds. They, like their souther neighbors in the U.S., seem to be two of the only countries that are not completely caught up in soccer fever.

I went to the 1994 World Cup opener in Chicago with my son, Adam, who was 10-years old at the time. We watched Germany defeat Bolivia. I must admit it was a great spectacle, but I sat there less than absorbed by the game. This year, however, I watched a lot of soccer. I have to admit that I started to realize what a great game this is. I also started to understand why the game has not caught on in North America.

Some analysts claim that Americans rejected soccer because it was played by the British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. That may be the case, but that would not explain why Canada is not a soccer country. Canada is still part of the British Commonwealth and the Queen is still Canada's official head of state.

I think the differences are in North American life style, which is faster than life in the rest of the world. As one of my former colleagues explained, "soccer is like chess; American sports are like checkers". Americans do not like the slow pace of chess, a game that is based upon ancient European war strategy. The favorite sports in the US are "in your face". They are about size and power. US football (and the Canadian version as well) is played by huge men who are smashing each other. Hockey is fast and furious and, once again, is about smashing ones opponents. Baseball was a slow game until it got "juiced" (players, ball and bats) and the game become one of "long ball". Baseball aficionados may love a 1-0 "pitchers dual", but most of the crowd yawns and wishes for a home-run derby.

Soccer requires patience--something we do not have. It requires thinking--something we do not like to do. It requires us to watch opponents out-finesse each other for nearly 2-hours to score, perhaps, only one goal. That may be "beautiful", but it can also appear boring to a society that is used to speed and smash. It is interesting that many countries (Netherlands, Brazil, etc.) were lamenting the change in the way soccer is being played. There is more emphasis on defense. There are more "yellow cards" being given for rough play. Soccer was to be beautiful--like a ballet.

One has to love the interviews with the Dutch today, however. They were admitting that Spain was a better team; that Spain deserved to win They did not curse the Spanish. They did not blame refs or their own team. They accepted defeat. One Dutch fan summed it up: "oh, well, we came in 2nd. That's better than most countries". Imagine that? Someone accepting defeat. Americans are used to seeing t-shirts that announce "second place is first loser". Everyone wants to be #1 or nothing.

The World Cup was a great example of great sport and great sportsmanship. It should be a great point to reflect on why we see things so differently in North America. It likely would explain a lot about why we are so different from the rest of the world.