Yesterday marked the beginning of the UEFA Champions League semifinals, and perhaps the beginning of the most exciting summer for soccer fans in the US. Only the 1994 World Cup could rival this summer, but soccer coverage in this country was in it's infancy, and probably did not grasp the magnitude of that event. Back in 1994 soccer fans were given maybe a dozen or so games on TV leading up to the World Cup. Now fans can watch a dozen games a day if you have the right channels. What makes this summer so exciting, is the possibility for the United States' National Teams to really take charge on the world stage. It begins in Late May when the US mens take on England at Wembley Stadium, and continues with two other friendly's against Aregentina and Spain. Then the real fun begins. The men start the path to South Africa, with the 2010 World Cup qualifying in a set of matches against Barbados, the first of which is on June 15th.
Then in August the attention will shift to a group of youngsters half a world away, trying to prove their worth on a world stage as the U-23 team goes for a gold medal at the Olympics in China. These guys have perhaps some of the most skilled, and athletic soccer players this country has ever seen, and they are poised to make it big on a national stage. Most sports fans know one of their names, Freddie Adu, but there are a group of other players are about to explode on the world scene. Jozy Altidore, and Maurice Edu are the two names that'll pop up alot during the course of the Olympic games, and even leading up to the event. Their action begins on August 7th with a match against Japan, followed up by an Auguast 10th game against the Netherlands, and wrapping up group play is Nigeria on August 13th. This group is winnable for the US, as they should have the most athletic team overall.
So sit back and enjoy this summer. In the meantime check out an MLS game or two. The quality of play in the league has picked up over the past couple of years, and in some markets the MLS franchise is outdrawing competing NBA and NHL teams.
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3 comments:
Allright brother, if you are going to write a story on soccer at least spell peoples names correctly. Jozy? Not even close. You have nothing else to do but research this stuff. Get it right or dont write anything at all. And there is no way in hell I will be watching the MLS. I'd rather watch the MISL
Some MSL teams outdraw their NBA or NHL counterpart? Is that per game attendance or overall attendance? Please enlighten us with which teams this is for and what stat you are using. At which sport do the most burritos get bought?
I must have real idiots reading this blog. Jozy is spelled Jozy. Don't believe everything you see on TV. I do agree the MISL is kind of exciting, but I get to tailgate before Wizards games, so the MLS is better in my book. I think there would be more burritos sold at MLS games, but that's just a hunch. THe MLS averaged just under 16,000 fans a game. While the NBA and NHL averaged around 18,000. Obviously MLS is catching up to the other pro sports. I don't write this stuff on a whim folks. I put in the time to make sure my posts are accurate.
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