US Soccer on PTI, Around the Horn: Good or Bad?
Just got done watching a segment of ESPN’s “Around the Horn.”
The three sports writers (one had already been eliminated) discussed the United States’s 1-0 loss to Ecuador on Tuesday. The host, Tony Reali, seems to know a bit about the sport. He asked the writers how patient we should be with the team.
So how did they do?
Woody Paige: Said he wants results—of course. But he never actually said anything useful. He clearly knows nothing about soccer. Grade: D-minus
Bomani Jones: Actually recognized that World Cup qualifying starts in June. He told us to wait but didn’t say anything about why there’s hope for the future. Grade: C-plus
Kevin Blackistone: Name-dropped Sunil Gulati and said something about how Jurgen Klinsmann is trying to change the culture of the sport in America. He even said we need to get away from the pay-for-play setup that dominates soccer here (read: travel clubs). Alas, he didn’t quite answer the question and said nothing about players or current personnel. Grade: B
With all that said, I have a question.
When programs like “Around the Horn” and “Pardon the Interruption” talk about US soccer, is it a good thing? They rarely get past the cursory talking points and they often dumb down the sport to a degree that infuriates real fans.
So is the tradeoff of increased exposure worth it?
I’ve thought about this a lot since last summer, when the World Cup dominated ESPN’s family of networks. The wall-to-wall coverage was a dream for soccer fans, but it was an unwelcome distraction for soccer haters.
I live in a state where soccer is considered a “communist sport” or a sport for kids and girls. The people who think these things hate seeing soccer on TV, and their attitudes probably aren’t going to change anytime soon.
But exposure is never bad. That’s especially true for a sport that’s still trying to find a foothold in the mainstream American sports landscape. And soccer has come a long way in American since the 1994 World Cup. That event rekindled interest in a sport that had been ignored since the heyday of the New York Cosmos and the NASL in the 1970s. Today it’s not uncommon to see soccer highlights on SportCenter, live matches on multiple channels and high-profile fans throughout the country.
To me, the sport’s development can be traced at least in part to its continued presence on big, mainstream networks like ESPN. It doesn’t matter how much they dumb it down—it’s still soccer, and it’s getting out to millions of people.
For now, I think it’s a good thing. What do you think?
Update: The guys on PTI just gave their verdict.
In a word: Poopies.
Kornheiser gave the Klinsmann era a grade of F. He recited the stats about how the US has scored twice in five matches.
Wilbon said the slow start has lowered expectations and has shut up soccer fans. He gave the Klinsmann era so far an F-minus.
