China Syndrome

Courtesy Dan Loney USSoccerPlayers

LOS ANGELES, CA (Jan 3, 3007) — For me, the number one story in soccer last year was the US Women’s National Team. It was one of the two things in the game that penetrated mainstream American reporting, the other of course being…oh, what’s his name again. Galaxy midfielder. Foreign dude. Kevin Harmse? It’ll come to me.

Both were portrayed as huge pratfalls for their teams and the powers that be. They’re wrong about Whatshisface – actual sports fans are pretty forgiving of injuries, by and large, and significant numbers of fans turned out to see him not play. If all of American soccer’s failures had similar consequences, MLS would be bigger than ExxonMobil. Besides, the guy won’t have flopped until he takes the field at full strength, and then proves he can’t do the job.

Like, say, the Women’s National Team did. Those same actual sports fans are much, much less forgiving of losing when the cause is pure self-destructive ego followed by finger-pointing. This is even true for fans that follow entire leagues filled with such behavior. Women’s soccer fans are a different breed entirely. That’s because the US Women’s National Team represented and cultivated certain ideals.

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