Soccer

Soccer in America is in a strangely paradoxical position. It is the world's most popular sport, yet it has never managed to gain much of a spectator footing in the United States. It may be virtually ignored on television as a spectator sport, but it has become one of the biggest participatory forms of leisure activity in America by the late 1990s. Nonetheless, many Americans are still ignorant not only of the rules of the world's biggest game, but also of their country's own soccer history.

The origins of soccer in America are obscure. Folklore suggests that the Pilgrim Fathers discovered the American Indians playing a form of the game along the Massachusetts coastline. British immigrants, however, imported the game that developed into association football (soccer) around the world in the nineteenth century, into America in the seventeenth century; there is documentation of the game as early as 1609. The game was an early folk pastime played mainly in the streets and open squares, and it remained so until the nineteenth century. By the 1820s, soccer was a violent, unorganized, and casual game almost exclusively played on college campuses. The first intercollegiate soccer match took place in 1869 between Princeton and Rutgers. Schoolboys established the first organized soccer club, the Oneidas of Boston, in 1862. They played on Boston common and were undefeated for several years.

At this point it looked as if soccer would develop in the United States. British expatriates had exported soccer around the world and many immigrants from the British Isles arrived in America bringing the game with them. Harvard, however, had other ideas. In an attempt to distinguish itself from the other Ivy League colleges, Harvard adopted rules similar to those developed by rugby football. Since Harvard was the leader in physical education during the nineteenth century and other colleges did not want to lose such prestigious competition, they adopted rugby rules. This set of rules subsequently became the basis for the innovation of American football. Football was then highlighted as a uniquely American sport while soccer was relegated in significance as the game of immigrants, particularly as it was played by the new arrivals from Southern Europe.

Nonetheless, soccer did not die out in America. In 1884 the American Football Association was organized in Newark, New Jersey. And in 1885 the United States played its first "international" against Canada, one of the first soccer games to be played outside the British Isles. The United States soccer team participated in the 1904 Olympic games in St. Louis and in 1914 the United States Football Association (USFA) was granted full membership in FIFA, the governing body of world soccer. In 1916 the USFA team traveled to Sweden and Norway. It played its first international match on foreign soil on August 20, defeating Sweden 3-0. When the first World Cup competition was organized in 1930, America was one of 13 nations to compete and its Bert Patenaude was the first player to score three goals in a single World Cup game. The highlight of the USFA's international games, however, was in the 1950 World Cup when it defeated England 1-0. This has been considered the biggest upset ever in international soccer.

Soccer in America has since undergone many incarnations during the twentieth century. In 1923, the world's first indoor soccer league was organized in Boston. In 1958, the International Soccer League was set up. It was composed of top teams from Europe, South America, and the United States, holding its first championship tournament in 1959. The league survived for a decade as a testing ground for soccer as a spectator sport in America. In 1967 two more soccer leagues were established: the United Soccer Association (USA) and the National Professional Soccer League. At the end of the year, these leagues were merged at the request of FIFA, forming the North American Soccer League (NASL). This newly established professional league had 18 teams by 1974 and it achieved a major success by signing the world's greatest footballer, Pelé, in 1975. Professional soccer as a spectator sport finally appeared to have taken root in America when a seven game contract was signed with national television in 1977. The NASL eventually collapsed, however, due to a combination of highly paid foreign stars, a failure to develop the game at grassroots level, the withdrawal of its sponsors, and falling gate receipts.

Soccer was revitalized once again during the early 1990s. In 1994 the United States hosted the World Cup for the first time. Three and a half million fans filled the stadia and broke all previous attendance records. For the first time in 64 years the USA progressed beyond the first round, eventually losing a creditable 1-0 to the team from Brazil. On the back of the World Cup the United States Soccer Federation set up Major League Soccer, promising a blend of home-grown talent, imported foreign stars, and audiences of 14,000 per game. The World Cup had proven that Americans could both play and watch soccer. Major investment in the sport, from companies such as Nike, has also boosted the popularity of soccer amongst Americans. In America, soccer is now played by both sexes and is a major participatory activity. Indeed, the USA's women's team is currently an Olympic champion. The men's team, however, has not fared so well. At the 1998 World Cup in France, they went out during the first round. The lowest point came when they were defeated 3-1 by Iran, a team who had never previously appeared in the World Cup Finals.

Despite the formation of domestic soccer leagues and international successes, soccer is somehow still not recognized as an American sport. Unlike football and baseball, it is not considered an American invention, but rather as the sport of immigrants. Undoubtedly, soccer has suffered from its lack of prime-time television coverage. Television sport schedules are virtually monopolized by the "big three": football, baseball, and basketball. This lack of exposure has continued to hinder soccer's development at the professional level, while overshadowing its thriving grassroots existence at a participatory level. Until soccer's television and earning power match that of the big three it will continue to remain in their shadows.

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