Approximately 15 minutes after the USA’s valiant and heartbreaking loss to Belgium in the round of 16, former USA defender Jimmy Conrad tweeted thusly:
If you want our national team to be ever better in 2018, then get out and support teams in @MLS. It’s the breeding ground for our next gen.
Now I love Jimmy and generally find him an insightful and often hilarious dude. But after 110 minutes of waiting for inevitable disappointment, then 10 minutes of the possibility of an improbable euphoria and finally exhausted resignation, I was in no mood to to begin the usual American post-World Cup autopsy.
You know the one. It goes like this:
• Does the popularity of this World Cup finally establish soccer as a major sport in the US?
• What impact will the National Team’s success have on MLS?
The answer? No. And nothing. And please, stop asking.
These are the wrong questions.
Ira Glass has a fascinating quote about creative work (inspiration for not one, but two great short video pieces here and here) that describes an experience every developing creative person shares: The Gap.
The Gap, as Ira says, is the difference between your taste level, which has drawn you to pursue this interest in the first place, and your talent, which is still very much in development. And for a while, while your work is still not very good, ‘Your taste is why your work disappoints you.’
It nearly goes without saying that America is developing a taste for soccer, but I’ll say it anyway. With no due respect to Ann Coulter and Jim Rome, American sports fans are being drawn into the soccer experience in record-setting numbers with each successive season and tournament. NBC’s efforts to bring the Premier League to American weekend mornings has been a smashing success. Germany’s Brazilian blitzkreig in the World Cup Semis drew more Tweets than the Super Bowl. Soccer is here to stay.
So why the awkward side-hug between American soccer fans and the MLS? Blame it on the talent part. We’ve developed a taste for the game, but our appetite is dissatisfied with the soccer we’re able to create for ourselves. We crave football at the highest level: The World Cup, The Champions League and Europe’s top domestic leagues.
When you’re watching Bayern Munich or Barcelona on Saturday morning, Seattle Sounders and Sporting KC in the afternoon brings more frustration than satisfaction. And while the USMNT (“MNT”? Really?) evoked pride with its blood and guts pragmatism, we found ourselves casting envious glances at Dutch tactics and Columbian flair. So long as our own ability to perform lags behind our taste level, any success will be laced with insecurity. In footballing measures, we’re still pretenders and we know it.
So what’s the right question to ask after a tournament like that? How about ‘Are Americans learning to appreciate soccer at the highest level?’ And after that, ‘What will it take for us to close the gap between that level and our own?’
These are harder questions to ask, but at least the answers are illuminating. It may take a while for us to bridge the Gap, but the growing legions of true fan don’t care about that. We’re realistic, we’re optimistic, and we just want to be along for the ride. As Ira says:
It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.
World Cup 2014 was indisputable evidence that we are indeed fighting our way through. MLS, USMNT, Jürgen — just keep showing us that, and we promise we’ll #Believe.
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