Saturday's crowd of 52,033 for the U.S. men's national soccer team's friendly against Nigeria -- its final match before the World Cup -- is "a record for a men’s soccer match in the Southeast and continued Jacksonville’s steady support of the sport," according to Justin Barney of the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION. The U.S. team has made "five appearances in town, dating back" to '94 at the old Wolfson Park, and ticket sales "have increased" by 17% or more each time. The atmosphere Saturday at EverBank Field "felt like a Florida-Georgia game" three hours before kickoff. Fans "began lining up at the entrance of Gate 1 three and a half hours before opening kick" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 6/8). In Jacksonville, Gene Frenette noted the "energetic crowd, half of which city officials said came from outside Northeast Florida, kept its vocal chords going pretty much from start to finish." U.S. F Jozy Altidore said, "To have this type of audience is unbelievable" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 6/8).
PROGRESS REPORT: In DC, Rick Maese noted soccer fandom in the U.S. "has grown to levels large enough to sustain a men’s professional league, command lucrative television contracts and give millions of young boys and girls something to dream about." But the state of soccer in the U.S. is "still a complicated subject." The "so-called sleeping giant has certainly stirred" since the '94 World Cup "catapulted the sport into American consciousness, but its strides have been uneven and at times sluggish." Maese cited a new Washington Post-ABC News poll as showing that 46% of Americans "say they feel the sport will become more popular in the next decade." However, there has "been little change in the number who consider themselves fans of professional soccer over the past two decades." Some 28% "identify themselves as fans" today, compared with 31% on the eve of the '94 World Cup. U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati said, "I’m pretty sure if somebody said to me in ’93 or ’94, this is what it could look like 20 years, I would take where we are in a heartbeat. Now that doesn’t mean I’m satisfied with where we are -- we still have long way to go -- but you look at all that we’ve done and not a lot of countries did that much in 20 years." But Maese cited the poll as showing that Americans "still can’t shake the notion that the sport is dull and boring." Nearly half the public (49%) surveyed "describes the sport that way." Worse news is "the fact that that number is increasing," up from 35% who said that 20 years ago. The poll also showed that "fewer than three in 10 plan to watch" the upcoming World Cup games (WASHINGTON POST, 6/7).
NEED TO BE LESS AMERICAN? U.S. men's national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann is profiled in this week's N.Y. TIMES MAGAZINE, and Sam Borden writes Gulati saw in Klinsmann “what U.S. Soccer needed: a coach European enough to command the players’ respect, but American enough to embrace new advances in training and technology.” He saw “someone who would be able to relate to an ever-growing fan base that was looking for something -- anything -- fresh.” Gulati said, “Part of what we’re trying to do is excite people. And Jurgen’s charm is a piece of that. He’s a crossover. For us, at this point, it’s about selling the game in a way that, frankly, we haven’t had anyone, ever, do before.” But former U.S. coach Bruce Arena said, “I believe an American should be coaching the national team. I think the majority of the national team should come out of Major League Soccer. The people that run our governing body think we need to copy what everyone else does, when in reality, our solutions will ultimately come from our culture. … When we get it right, it’s going to be because the solutions are right here. We have the best sports facilities in the world. Why can’t we trust in that?” (N.Y. TIMES MAGAZINE, 6/8). In N.Y., Filip Bondy wrote Gulati “will take considerable heat … if things go off the rails.” Gulati: "All of my dreams end the same way, with us winning the World Cup. But if we talk about when that will happen, it starts getting a little fuzzy” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/8)
