A Brief History of Soccer in America

How the 2014 World Cup shows how far the USA has come, and what it can do to take it to the next level.

The USA soccer team gave signs of progression during the 2014 World Cup. In a pre-World Cup power ranking by Bleacher Report, USA found themselves ranked #20. Ghana was #18, Portugal was #10, and Germany #4. ESPN had Germany #3 and Portugal #6, Ghana #17 and USA #19. There will be those that say USA’s advancement to the knockout round came with a great deal of luck, especially after Portugal got blasted by Germany 4-0 (which ultimately did make the difference for the Americans). While luck had a bit to do with it, I do not think anyone who knows the game would say that USA should have gone home after the group stage. Many Americans may be disappointed to only make it to the round of 16, but I am not sure they understand exactly how big this finish is for a nation that is not absorbed with soccer. The majority of nations in this tournament have soccer as their top sport priority. This finish was huge for a country built around football, baseball, and basketball.

Why is soccer not the top sport in the United States? One explanation is that many of the nation’s top athletes go into other sports. Imagine what American soccer would look like if players like Michael Vick played it over football. Could you imagine a team with Calvin Johnson and LeBron James? Detroit’s defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh grew up playing soccer; his father played for a semi-pro team in Germany and his sister on the U.S. Women’s national team. He would have continued playing soccer had his body not grown as much as it did (a 6'4, 307 lbs frame is not exactly the soccer ideal). It makes sense that America would be better, and more interested, in soccer if the top athletes grew up with it over baseball, football, and basketball. Why did these athletes choose other sports over soccer to begin with?

People like to talk about how American football is a cheap knockoff of the international sport, but the two sports were founded roughly at the same time. Sheffield, F.C. is the oldest soccer club in the world, founded in 1857. The rules of soccer were not even developed until 1863 (the first World Cup was held in 1930) . Exactly ten years later, in 1873, a group of individuals gathered in New York City to create the first intercollegiate football rules. While England and the rest of the world were developing soccer, Americans were creating the sport of football.

Looking at the turn of the Twentieth Century, the sport of football became a sport of national pride for Americans. It became popularly televised, especially during holidays. Americans would swarm around their T.V. sets to watch the Thanksgiving game, a tradition that holds up today. Football developed as the nation developed. Soccer, however, simply did not develop at an ideal time. An upswing of soccer game in the 1930's, only to have the Depression force all but eight clubs to call it quits. The perception of soccer also did not help the sport to rise in popularity. The majority of Americans viewed soccer as a sport for immigrants and the working-class, while football was being played by Ivy League schools and military institutions.

American soccer took a major shift forward in 1975. The New York Cosmos signed the world’s greatest player, Pele. The United States qualified for the 1990 World Cup, its first since 1950. America’s Major League Soccer has been a landing spot for aging international stars, which give the league a bit of coverage and a small bump in interest. ESPN currently has a deal with MLS, but it primarily airs the matches on ESPN Deportes. Make no doubt that Americans are more interested in soccer than they have ever been. The USA match against Portugal produced over 18 million viewers through ESPN’s broadcast. Even the USA/Germany match produced 16 million viewers.

There are a few things that the United States can do to increase both popularity and its competitive level:

• Push the MLS into the spotlight — Keep the sport relevant on an on-going basis, and not just every four years.
• Change NCAA soccer rules — Currently, NCAA soccer rules are completely different than international league rules. It allows multiple substitutions throughout the game, which does not discipline players on how to play against other nations.
• More international play — Playing in more friendlies and hosting as many international games as possible will help the sport’s exposure while also giving American athletes the experience of competitive play.

If you enjoyed this article, visit this post of mine that talks more about this year’s World Cup.