Mr. Met Is a Gooner: Vindication - Football, a.k.a. Soccer Comes to the Home of the New York Mets

It's true, soccer at the home of the Mets

I apologize in advance for going a bit off subject, but I promise that this rant will be worth it. (Plus, the game in question took place at Citi Field where the Mets play and I saw several folks wearing Arsenal jerseys so it's somewhat on topic).

I used to work at the biggest sports talk radio station in the country (no I was not on the air) and in the five years that I was there the sport of soccer was barely given any attention. In fact the area's local MLS team was ignored to the extent that even the scores of their games weren't announced. It was as if the city's professional soccer franchise and the sport itself didn't exist.

"Real" U.S. soccer fans of all ages

The know it alls at this station called soccer boring and only popular with foreigners and kids. While I love "America's pastime" of baseball, it's ironic that the same folks who talk non stop about everything baseball would call soccer boring. If you really look closely at the game of baseball, (even though I love it) it can be extremely boring. While in baseball there are constant time outs, trips to the mound, pick off attempts, stepping in and out of the batter's box, etc. the game of soccer is non stop action for 90 plus minutes. While fat tubby guys like Bartolo Colon and Prince Fielder are playing baseball, soccer players have to be athletes in top condition in order to keep up with the pace of their sport.

Maybe us Americans just like high scoring games and soccer matches are often tightly contested. Perhaps if every touchdown that Peyton Manning threw only counted for one point rather than 6, American football wouldn't be as popular. Imagine the Colts beating the Patriots 3-2 instead of 21-14. Would that make football boring too? After all as the Wall Street Journal reported, while an NFL game is 60 minutes long, in reality there is a grand total of 11 minutes of action. Add in the commercials, time outs and half time and your average 60 minute football game lasts 3 hours, yet contains only 11 minutes of play.

While working at the radio station I often tried to check out what was going on in Champions League matches on one of the station's many newsroom televisions. I was pretty much laughed at and usually the channel would be changed to horse racing or something "more suitable".

The radio station's office was located in an area known for its high Greek population. After the final match of Euro 2004 ended I made a bet with a couple of co-workers that if we went outside we would hear horns honking and people cheering within 5 minutes. The bet was accepted and sure enough cars were driving by with men waving Greek flags and horns were honking like crazy. Of course that was dismissed as something that only the local Greeks cared about.

While the rest of the planet was following the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the radio station pretty much just mentioned the scores of the games in brief updates.

Eventually I was able to get one of the more open minded on air hosts to come with me to check out an Arsenal vs. Manchester United match at Nevada Smiths. At the time, Nevada Smiths was one of the only bars in New York that showed live soccer. In fact to this day, Nevada Smiths uses the tag line, "Where football is religion".

Due to the 5 hour time difference, we entered Nevada Smiths at 2:30 in the afternoon and as I expected, the place was packed with folks wearing Arsenal and Man. U jerseys. As we squeezed in to find a spot, the singing began, the pints were flowing and I could tell that my guest was beginning to sense the passion and the meaning of the game to these fans. While I can't recall the final score (I'm sure Arsenal won), as we left the still packed Nevada Smiths and emerged in to the late afternoon sunlight, the radio host told me that he loved the experience and defnitely got a better understanding of the sport and its fans.

Becks, more than just a pretty face

One of the most arrogant know it all hosts at the station, begrudgingly allowed MLS Commissioner Don Garber on air for an interview when the news of David Beckham coming to the states first hit. It was probably the only time the sport had received more than a passing mention on air in the station's history. I'm pretty sure it happened only because Beckham is a celebrity and on the pages of gossip magazines...not because he played soccer.

While this particular station continues to this date to ignore the sport of soccer in its own city, country and around the world in favor of baseball, NFL football, basketball and sometimes hockey (they don't really think anyone cares about hockey that much either), soccer has taken off big time in the U.S.

The NY area is now home to one of
the world's greatest soccer stars
Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry

Major League Soccer has continued to grow with regular expansion in to new markets: Seattle, Philadelphia, Vancouver, Portland and Montreal in 2012, with increasing attendance and a clear plan for continued growth.
Big name players have come to the states to play in MLS: Beckham, Henry, Angel, Márquez, Ljungberg while MLS players have gone on to Europe and succeded: Donovan, Friedel, Dempsey, Holden, Altidore, Edu.
Here in New York (sorry New Jersey) the Red Bulls have a beautiful brand new soccer specific stadium and a growing fan base.
The US Men's national team topped their group at last summer's World Cup (sorry England) and stirred up a bit of soccer fever throughout the country.
Most recently the Women's national team, yes the women, were being talked about everywhere, were all over the television and the entire country was caught up in their run to the final.
Fans no longer have to head to a pub at 7 a.m. to see a game as Fox Soccer Channel has become a staple of cable television and even ESPN has begun to broadcast EPL and Champions League games along with their MLS coverage..
On a typical weekend, soccer fans in the states have viewing access from home to about 5-6 EPL games, 2-3 La Liga and Serie A games, the occasional Bundesliga, Eredivisie and Ligue 1 match as well as Mexican league games and some South American games.
This year's Champions League final was broadcast on Fox, yes national network coverage of the European championship in the U.S.

Fergie in New Jersey
2 things I never thought
would go together

This year's MLS All Star Game with Manchester United at Red Bull Arena was a sell out with tickets being scalped for as much as $300.
Each summer more international superstar filled teams continue to come to the U.S. for exhibition matches (and of course to sell merchandise) and play to large crowds. This summer's World Football Challenge featuring teams such as Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid includes 14 matches in cities across the U.S. and Canada.

Which leads to the match that I attended this past Tuesday at Citi Field, the home of baseball's New York Mets. Club America of Mexico met Juventus of Italy as part of the World Football Challenge in conjunction with MLS.

While in my past life (when money was falling off of trees in the years prior to 2008) I used to get press passes and backstage credentials all the time, in my new recession life these type of perks have been much rarer. Thus, I was thrilled when I was approved for a media credential for the match. Along with the free food, following a sporting event from the press box is the way to go. The stats are distributed the key plays are announced and of course you're protected from the elements (in this case there was a torrential downpour and lightning storm).

Holy crap, Buffon on the same field
where the Mets play? Wow.

The atmosphere inside the stadium was fantastic and despite not being a sellout, supporters of both teams made so much noise with fans decked out in team jerseys, carrying banners and even some vuvuzelas left over from South Africa.

When speaking with groups of fans for my game coverage, every single one of them was from the New York and New Jersey area and were thrilled to be able to see the team that they follow in their own backyard. I truly felt vindicated and saw real proof that the know it all sports radio talking heads are missing the boat on the most popular sport in the world. Yes, it's true...regular people, citizens of our very own country, in our very own city and surrounding areas are interested in soccer!!!!!!!!!!!!

As for the article, if you're interested, here it is.