I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait until the United States soccer team starts up World Cup action on Monday against the Czech Republic. Not only will the NBA Finals be nearly over with the Mavericks taking a
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait until the United States soccer team starts up World Cup action on Monday against the Czech Republic.
Not only will the NBA Finals be nearly over with the Mavericks taking a commanding 2-0 over the Heat today, but did you know the U.S. is ranked 5th heading into its match tomorrow?
I was never a soccer fan growing up. I really didn’t care for any sports not requiring the use of hands.
But ever since I’ve been at The Garden Island, I’ve taken a liking to the legs-only sport.
Watching stars like Chad “Mighty Mouse” Thompson, Micah Ohlen, Agu Garcia, Ka‘ala Leong, Cayla Kitabayashi and Skye Shimabukuro kick around during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation season increased my awareness of the game.
I always thought soccer was boring, but then again, I never took the time to sit down and actually take in a contest.
The World Cup has a heavy list of stars, but I’ll definitely keep an eye on our only local player, Brian Ching of Honolulu.
Another participant, Ronaldinho of Brazil, also catches my eye.
He’s the one on the Nike soccer commercials, exhibiting a dazzling array of moves and tearing up the field as a youngster.
When I got up on Friday morning, I did the usual by turning on my television, which is almost always set to ESPN. Fishing was on, so I switched to my other favorite, ESPN2, which where I found the World Cup opener between Ecuador and Poland, so I put the remote down to take in a few minutes of the action.
With Ecuador up 1-0 over the favored Poland, I found myself glued to the TV.
The World Cup’s coverage in the United States has come a long way.
However, I don’t think soccer will ever be as popular in America as it is in other countries like Brazil, England or Germany.
And it’s mostly because we’re not a powerhouse like the Brazils, Englands and Germanys.
Interestingly though, when it comes to youth soccer, it’s the biggest sport in the U.S.
But for some reason, we’re still behind when it comes to the professional ranks.
Maybe it’s because youths branch off into other things or they realize how other sports like football, baseball and basketball bring in more popularity.
Even with the women’s national team dominating, it still doesn’t make a difference to any of us. I guess we’re all concerned with the men’s side of the sport.
But if they win the World Cup this year, I still don’t think anyone will make a big fuss about it.
Instead, it’s going to take a few World Cups to move soccer into the same category as football, baseball and basketball.
U.S. soccer is definitely moving in the right direction and if winning world titles means more popularity, then maybe we should take brownie points away from other sports if they fail at the world level.
For instance, U.S. baseball in the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
We failed to even reach the final of our own national past time.
Our country should stand behind any sport, as long as we have someone participating in it.
We don’t have to be the best in everything. Instead, we just have to prove we can provide avenues for everyone to have fun and compete at the world-class level.
So on that note — let’s go U.S. soccer!
• Duane Shimogawa Jr., sports editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 257) or kauaisports@kauaipubco.com.
