AJC.com > Sports > Soccer blog > Archives > 2005 > November > 01 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USOh, the indignance!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The occasional neighborhood visits to the American soccer village by big-time media have been rendering this verdict every since Freddy Adu signed with MLS: If you don’t play him, we won’t care.
Now, after D.C. United crashed spectacularly out of the MLS playoffs in a 4-0 thumping by Chicago Sunday, Tony Kornheiser is screaming out the same chorus. Even if he turns out to be right, that Adu goes someplace else and turns the league, and American soccer on its head, this piece of petulance is amazing.
Not Freddy’s. He’s 16 and it’s to be expected. It’s that of media stars who can’t be bothered with actually keeping up with the game on a regular basis swooping down and bawling because not enough is being done to make them pay attention. Wilbon ripped MLS for overhyping Freddy upon his arrival, only to see him stew on the bench. Kornheiser’s hyperbole: the league is “committing consumer fraud.”
Oh, please. Ask the Madrilenos about the value of David Beckham, and I’d venture to say they believe they’re getting scammed big time. The Adu fiasco positively pales in comparison.
I’m still of two minds about the whole mess: It is a team sport, as Nowak keeps pointing out. But heavens, he’s a truly stubborn individual. Adu does have a lot yet to learn about being a professional and improving his game, but is he being reined in too much? Bob Wagman has an astute, even-handed take.
The point may be moot if Adu does move on to another team. If it’s in MLS, he’s bound to find the same constrictions. Very few MLS players get the long rope he’s demanding, and the one who deserves the longest, Landon Donovan, is a true team player.
Anyhoo, the Fire looked terrific, despite their losses, including another heartbreaking loss of Chris Armas. Jeesh, this guy has the worst timing for injuries. The semi with New England should be intriguing.
Galaxy vs. Rapids? Wasn’t expecting either team to get through before it all started. Flip a coin with either game. The ever-crabby Paul Gardner doesn’t think the MLS playoff format is worth a flip. He does make good points about the regular season not being worth much, and that it’s hard to get worked up about the post-season as a result. But what decent alternatives are there? Then again, you can say this about a lot of sports.
Maradawga fears a Chicago-Colorado final. Can you say White Sox-Astros? Worst World Series ratings ever.
I’ve been vindicated for the grief I took sometime back for blogging about soccer movies! Excellent British/Dutch soccer scribe Simon Kuper has a lovely piece on the genre in Financial Times (via: duNord). His book, “Football Against the Enemy,” is the best about explaining the global culture of the sport, in my estimation. It’s so good I’ve got two copies.
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By Rob Turnipseed
November 3, 2005 7:55 AM | Link to this
WOW… has it really been 35 years or so since i sat in Atlanta stadium with 30,000 friends and watched the Atlanta Chiefs play Man U and BEAT them? At the same place watched the incomparable Pele as he toyed with the same Chiefs in front of 40,000 or so in a 7-1 rout if memory serves… and watched, at that time, Atlanta’s first Champions win the NASL, a league led at that time by Phil Woosnam.. also in front of 28,000…. WILL WE EVER SEE PRO SOCCER IN ATLANTA AGAIN!!!! ARGHHHHH!!!
By bruce
November 3, 2005 12:31 PM | Link to this
note to rob turnipseed - you have a pro team in atlanta, and they are called the silverbacks. go support em. someday they might grow into a mighty oak. but with out your support they have no chance. too many soccer fans in america support the euro leagues first and then the usa national team, and lastly an mls team in their town (if they are lucky enough to have one). but to my way of thinking this is like building a pyramid upside down. we need to change our attitude and build it from the base (and make it massive) to a fine point at the top. i am not from atlanta so i dont know all the ins and outs of local soccer, but us fans in minneapolis are doing everything we can to attempt this.
keep up the great work wendy and thanks for pimping my weblog du nord.
By Rob Turnipseed
November 4, 2005 8:43 AM | Link to this
no, we have a semi-pro team in Atlanta pal… If you call the Silverbacks a professional team then you also think a Pinto is the pace car for the Daytona 500…. LOL get serious
By Rey Phillips
November 4, 2005 10:24 AM | Link to this
While the Silverbacks are a USL Division 1 team, I agree with bruce that it is important to support them, especially if you want MLS to come to Atlanta someday. For an MLS team to come, an investor needs to pony up the dough to buy into the league. Investors are far more likely to come if they see an established soccer community, and that means supporting the highest division local teams—USL Div-1, PDL, and college. Note also that this is how it is done throughout the world. Look at Nottingham Forest or Wolverhampton—both have dropped way down the tables, and it is the loyalty of their local fan base which helps them go back up. Wolverhampton was a charter member of the top division in England, dropped to third division, and began to work its way back up, finally getting into the Premiership two years ago (a very short stay). Alas, they seem to be stuck in what is now the Coca-Cola Championship. The point is, they still get fans—and no one is saying that they are anywhere close to ManU in quality. Those soccer fans support their team through thick and thin, even when there is better soccer a short train ride away.
Incidentally, my co-captain and co-season ticket purchaser (Chicago Fire) just moved to Atlanta. He says the kids’ soccer community is great. He does plan on attending Silverbacks games. I’ll try to make it down for Silverbacks-Islanders games. Good luck on getting the stadium built!
By Drew Moser
November 4, 2005 9:33 PM | Link to this
I don’t understand what the commotion is about claims that Adu isn’t playing. He started 16 of the 26 matches he played in this year and played an average of 60 minutes a game, which is 2/3 of every game. Last year he was second only to Brian Carroll on DC in having played in 31 out of the 32 games. He’s getting his time and he is clearly developing. Soccer isn’t basketball, where a Michael Jordan type with precocious gifts will make his presence known immediately with spectacular play. Adu is 5-6 or something and only 130 lbs, he is on the short side for a 16-year-old, do you really think he would hold his own so easily in a league where the average size is 5-10, with most defenders being atleast 5-10 or bigger? I think the only people who bought into MLS’ hype about Freddy dominating right off the bat where the soccer illiterates like Wilbon who never looked at Adu’s situation realistically. If MLS committed fraud by hyping its most marketable player, then Wilbon et al committed equally reprehensible stupidity by believing it.
By Chris
November 6, 2005 9:55 PM | Link to this
Rey, Nottingham Forest football club was established in 1866 Wolverhampton football club was established in 1879 and they have played at the same ground since 1889. The MLS was established 10 years ago. Expecting American soccer fans to have comparable loyalty as fans of European football clubs is a bit silly. There is not a person alive in England that was born prior to Wolverhampton FC and Nottingham Forest FC existing and that might tend to help with brand loyalty.
The fan following of soccer in this country has grown and will continue to grow along with the level of play.
By Chris
November 8, 2005 12:03 PM | Link to this
Another reason brand loyalty is hard to maintain in US Sports. Try explaining to your 5 year old why his favorite soccer team is going, bye-bye:
The uncertainty over the Earthquakes’ future in San Jose should be over by next week, according to the president of AEG, the soccer team’s Los Angeles-based owner.
Tim Leiweke said he was still unsure as to the final result, but indicated to the San Jose Mercury News that one thing is certain, “At the end of the day, we can’t be the owner. We’re going to sell San Jose, one way or the other.”
Leiweke said the odds that the team will play in San Jose next season are “50-50.” The Earthquakes are one of only two teams in Major League Soccer not yet selling season tickets. The other, the Kansas City Wizards, is also a relocation candidate. If the Earthquakes move, their likely destination would be Houston.