U.S. finally joins the world’s party
By Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports Sunday, Jul 11, 2010
Follow Martin Rogers on Twitter at @mrogersyahoo
(Yves Logghe/AP)
JOHANNESBURG – It is the one event in sports that truly justifies the cliché. The Greatest Show on Earth leaves us for another four years having lived up to its billing once more, and somehow this edition packed a lifetime worth of soccer, style and storylines into one short month.
And at long last America is waking up to the magic, the majesty and, most importantly, the permanence of the World Cup. About time, too.
This tournament has not changed the soccer landscape in the United States to any great degree, but it has served as another reminder why this event is one that transcends space in time, not just its own sport.
The idea that the World Cup is about more than just a game is one that has penetrated more than ever this year, brought starkly and wonderfully into focus by the spell of vibrancy and passion South Africa has cast. Record viewing figures tell only part of the story.
Tens of thousands of Americans, more than any other country, made their way to a wild and distant land that they could barely comprehend, all in the name of a gift that gave more than just 64 soccer matches. In the end, the American public got into the World Cup and will do so even more in the future – because it ran out of reasons not to.
Because this is a tournament that sends the world into seven shades of crazy. Because it brings the sort of drama you couldn’t script. Because it can compel a college student to produce a YouTube montage and bring a soccer star to tears. And for what else would the snacking habits of an oblivious octopus half a world away be seen to have prophetic meaning worth intense analysis?
The increased American interest has led many a casual, first-time World Cup follower to wonder if the big party can land on his or her doorstep sometime soon. They’ll be pleased to discover that the news, on that front, is pretty positive.
By December, we will know whether the USA gets to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. The chances of 2018 are mightily slim – that tournament is already earmarked for Europe – but 2022 is a realistic chance because the U.S. is likely to face serious opposition from only Australia.
When the World Cup came to America in 1994, it was primarily to spark growth in a nation that had very little soccer infrastructure and to tap into the world’s biggest economic market. If it came again, the reason would have much to do with finance again. The South African World Cup, and the next one in Brazil, will not be nearly as profitable as one based in the USA.
But what America can now offer goes far deeper than fiscal matters.
The U.S. can provide a fan base that cares, if not deeply, about the sport of soccer and about this tournament. There would be just as much spirit, devotion and drive for a World Cup in the States as in a soccer hotbed, albeit one with an American twist.
A USA World Cup would gleam and sparkle and be packed with a mass of humanity. The relative simplicity of traveling to America would guarantee a huge influx of visitors from every corner of the globe, and with stadiums of enormous capacity, ticket sales would make it the best-attended World Cup before a ball had even been kicked.
To make internal travel easier for fans, the country would likely be divided into four sectors to keep cross-country trips to a minimum. The final would likely be held in Los Angeles or New York, making New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford a serious contender. Yet who knows how many lavish new venues will have been built by 2022, as the financial phenomenon that is the NFL continues to build bigger and bolder stadiums?
What is certain is that while the visit of the soccer world was greeted with great interest in 1994, the World Cup would generate a genuine sense of fervor in 12 years time.
In some ways, the World Cup and its increasing popularity is a sign of the increasing worldliness of American society. Internationalism can be celebrated and enjoyed without any loss of patriotism. New countries can be discovered and their differences celebrated. Who knew much about Slovenia or Algeria or Ghana before this past month?
Another World Cup in the U.S. would give the world the chance to get a deeper insight into the country, not just one learned from Hollywood or MTV. And it would carry a message of diversity and pride – one which says that, while America’s love of the World Cup might be new, it is strong.