World Cup 2014 Will Take American Soccer Interest to New Heights

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: September 17, 2013

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At no time in American history has soccer been more popular in the United States. And, with the 2014 World Cup only nine months away, that interest will only continue to grow.

There is the anecdotal evidence—seeing people on the streets wearing jerseys, hats or jackets of their favorite teams, having conversations at work with colleagues who are not “soccer people” about the latest EPL, MLS or USMNT games, or the texts you receive during big games from friends who are not normally fans that tell you they are watching the same game that you are.



And then, there is the “hard” evidence, like the fact that the Twitter tag for the Champions League #UCL is trending as I write this.

However, as crowd sizes and television ratings continue to rise, the great watershed moments for American soccer continue to be from the World Cup.

In 1990, the United States men’s national team qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 40 years. Very few Americans noticed, but that event began the movement to make soccer a major sport in America.

In 1994, the United States hosted the World Cup and the casual American sports fan, as well as millions of Americans who had played or were playing the game as kids, were introduced to the world’s stars and the first generation of American stars. As a 17-year-old that summer who had played the game his entire life, I saw my first game on television. Prior to the 1994 World Cup, Americans lived in the darkness.



Americans got to see the brilliance of players like Hristo Stoichkov, Romario, Jurgen Klinsmann, Roberto Baggio, Bebeto and Dennis Bergkamp that summer. And American players Tony Meola, Alexi Lalas, Earnie Stewart, Tab Ramos and Eric Wynalda became heroes to a new generation of American fans and players alike.

Following the tournament, Major League Soccer launched in 1996, but it struggle...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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