Gold Cup Final!

I spent the weekend in Chicago and went to the Gold Cup Final at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon. It was USA v. Panama and it was such a blast. There were a lot of USA fans, a lot of Panama fans, and some fans who thought Mexico would be there instead and were there just to be at a Final. If the US hadn't made the Final, that's how it would have been for me. I would still have gone, but it was so much more fun being able to root for my own team. It was my first professional soccer game and the seats were fantastic, the crowd was fun, and the US Men's National Team won the game and the trophy (WOOOOT!)! I got to see Landon Donovan on his comeback run to try to make the World Cup team next year (I think he's probably a shoe-in at this point), and see some of the younger guys who are trying to prove they should be on the WC team, also. It was exciting to be a part of it and it was such a wonderful time!

Soccer isn't really a big deal in the US. It's been slowly gaining momentum over the last decade or so, especially with the broadening of the Major League Soccer organization in the US. I remember the 1994 World Cup that the US hosted and what a big deal that was. 69,000 people on average attended the world cup games that year, which (surprisingly) is still the record of average attendance at World Cup matches. So far, no other World Cup has brought so many people consistently into the seats to watch soccer as the one hosted by the US nearly 20 years ago. 

So, that stat would seem to show that USA loves soccer, yes? Except, they sorta don't. A lot of people around the globe love it, and a lot of people in the US love it, but it's hard, as a fan, to get others excited about it in the USA if they can't watch it on tv each week. They didn't grow up watching it and dreaming of being a pro soccer player because they weren't able to watch the games on tv each week of the season like they could with football, baseball or basketball. I think it could catch on and I think there are several networks that are finally figuring out the market for soccer fans. We don't have to be satisfied to only watch the English Premier League games once in a blue moon, or wait every four years to be able to see some of the World Cup games.

I am still waiting for the day when St. Louis gets an MLS team (c'mon, fools!) and the day when I can watch soccer on tv as regularly as I can see a football game, basketball game, or (ugh) golf during their seasons.  MLS is slowly taking off and I've even caught a few of the Sporting KC games on my tv, and I don't have cable. It's a good thing for soccer and for those of us who have been patiently trying to watch it for years in the US. Also good is that a lot of the guys who just won the Gold Cup play in the MLS, not on the European teams. They had a great showing, which is good for MLS and US soccer in general. 

Even though it isn't easy to be a soccer fan and stay up to date on what's up with the team, going to see the US play in the Gold Cup Final was awesome. I'll try to upload some pictures later if I can because we had fantastic seats just 16 rows from the field and the crowd was excited and upbeat for the Final. Being a part of that was wonderful and definitely something to remember.