There are many mysteries during an individual’s lifetime that can leave him/her constantly searching for answers. For example: Do really twisted films like Silence of the Lambs come from the minds of truly sane human beings? Or, what ever happened to hyper-color t-shirts? And why did they take grape Swedish Fish off the market?
Obviously Robert Stack would be the first to tell you that some of life’s greatest mysteries must go unsolved. However, there are other mysteries for which I’m now demanding some answers. The largest current mystery in my own mind is, in the words of Bugs Bunny, “What’s with all the hub-bub, Bub?” In other words, when did the United States suddenly become one unified soccer fan? It isn’t that I mind at all the rallied support behind the red, white and blue in the 2010 World Cup. Quite the contrary, I happen to be an enormous fan of the country, the sport and the combination of the two. That question more stems from the concern surrounding the disappearance of that same support for “the world’s most beautiful game” during the other 47 months in this 4-year cycle.
For the large portion of my just over quarter-century existence, I’ve spent my television perusing moments very hard-pressed to find even a scrolling soccer box-score across the bottom of ESPN’s broadcasts. So, forget about catching a full 90-minute match - unless, of course, it’s aired on a channel for which I must pay extra.
Fast forward to a mere three days ago and suddenly Hollywood stars are plastered all over television showing support for the once-in-every-four-year event. Nearly every comment made on Facebook and Twitter surrounds excitement for World Cup action. Half the people I see on the street dote a brand new jersey and I’m pretty sure I can hear all the drunkards from every one of New York City’s boroughs chanting, “USA! USA!” as we speak. Suddenly everyone is a soccer junky and is on a first-name basis with the world’s most brilliant footballers ... Perhaps it helps that some of those footballers only have first names, but I digress.
The point, if I actually do have one, is it seems there is, at the very least, a glimmer of hope that soccer will one day be as mainstream in the U.S. as hotdogs at the ballpark. I still wonder one thing: If 760-some million people watch the World Cup and soccer is the largest youth sport in America, how is this game not already at least a partial fan-favorite sport? ... And then I got my answer. A poll taken by ESPN asked Americans what was more exciting: the USA’s goal against England (ugly as it may be) or watching a clip of a random cliff diver’s 3-second descent from a rock. All votes are in ... America chose the cliff diver. So I take back my demand for answers and replace it with the very simple cliche: Well, the truth is, some things are just better left unsaid.
