THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 26, 1995 TAG: 9506260137
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
One year later, you must look very closely to notice the impact the World Cup has had on American soccer.
The World Cup turned out to be surprising fun. America was a good, enthusiastic host. But our indifference toward soccer returned before the last plane load of Brazilians could leave the ground.
This accounts for most adults. But what of the children?
Since last summer, half a million new players, most of them kids, have signed on with soccer teams. This is more than twice the yearly average.
You want impact, there it is.
Soccer continues to flourish as a recreational sport. In Virginia, from Richmond to the sea, more than 20,000 kids play the game.
Because girls are active in the sport, more kids participate in soccer than play organized baseball, football and basketball combined.
What's the problem then? The same as always: Not enough spectators, not enough national exposure.
Complains Tab Ramos, a member of the U.S. team: ``It seems like soccer has disappeared again, just like it was before the World Cup was here. I think we have lost momentum, there's no doubt about that.''
Ramos is dwelling on lost commercial opportunities. On a pro loop - Major League Soccer - that was supposed to start this year, but is scheduled to begin next March to uncertain prospects.
Under the circumstances, soccer's image can't help but take a beating. America measures a sport's popularity by the number of eyes watching, not by how many people actually participate in the playing.
By this sedentary standard, soccer doesn't have much of an identity in the U.S. Ask the Hampton Roads Mariners, who are still trying to find their audience.
A year after the glow of the World Cup, people who care about such things lament soccer's inability to capture the imagination of mainstream America.
But does this mean that soccer has disappeared? Has it really lost momentum?
Depends on what you mean by momentum. Or what standard you use. World Cup fallout may not be felt in corporate boardrooms, but it has reignited an explosion of interest on the grass-roots level.
Maybe today's players will become the fans of tomorrow. Soccer's hope has a familiar ring to it. But in 20 years, it hasn't exactly turned out that way. It may never.
For starters, American soccer needs to develop national heroes to attract mainstream attention. This won't be easy in a world where the Michael Jordans and Larry Birds of soccer are Italian, Brazilian and German.
Let's not forget, either, that the '94 World Cup was the first heavy exposure most Americans ever had to world-class soccer. The international flavor of the event was unique and compelling. For the Mariners and Major League Soccer, it is a tough act to follow.
But enough about soccer's problems in America, which get plenty of exposure already. In its own way, the sport is putting down roots.
Americans who recognize the resiliency of soccer are apt to be parents. We see the children outside, blessedly away from the computer and TV screens. They are learning new skills. They are stretching their legs and lungs. So be it if they are not sitting on a couch watching the U.S. play Columbia in a rematch of a World Cup game. Or out at a Mariners game.
Soccer officials, team owners and network executives have their agendas.
A parent has his own. by CNB