Lower divisions on the rise?

The US Open Cup resems this evening with four quarterfinal matches, three of which include lower division sides.  This has been an interesting year for the lower divisions.  It is not surprising to have some upsets in round three, but to have this many lower division teams in the quarterfinals may be an unexpectedly good sign for US Soccer.

The future of the US national team in someways is dependent on the strength of the lower divisions.  Soccer in the US is handled very differently then football is throughout the rest of the wold.  For the rest of the world, player development is handled by the club academies.  Good players are identified at a young age and forgo or delay a college education to develop their footballing skills at the clubs.  The better players are at the bigger clubs and end up debuting at a young age (Lionel Messi debut for Barcelona at 17, Wayne Rooney also debut for Everton at 17).  We do things very different here.  Granted, the top 1% (if not less) of our players head overseas to a club academy, but the majority head off to college.  NCAA stringent training rules actually limit the development of our players.  It is here where the lower divisions kick in.

The PDL is where our college players get some training in the summer.  NASL and USL Pro are where those who fall off the radar can still get developed.  The encouraging sign is that perhaps the divide between the divisions is not as great as one would expect.  I know that many MLS teams put our reserve teams in the early stages of the US Open Cup.  However, based on our current system, one should still expect that an MLS reserve team should rank above any of the lower divisions (especially the PDL).  This year, they did not.

Here is where my glass becomes half full.  Instead of looking at this years upsets as a weakness of the MLS, I am encouraged by the strength of the lower divisions.  If the lower divisions are actually stronger then we all thought, then perhaps the player pool of US Soccer is stronger and larger then expected.  If that is the case, the then future of US Soccer is good.  A lager pool means that there can be more teams (in all divisions) and better soccer throughout the country which intern might mean healthier clubs.  A larger pool means that there are more choices for the future of the national team - which can only be a good thing.

I know there needs to be a reality check here for a moment.  The lower divisions are struggling financially.  Most of the teams barely have any fans and are losing money.  But if this year is a sign of things to come, perhaps the lower divisions are getting stronger.  Strong, healthy lower divisions create a structure that will make soccer stronger and healthier at all levels.  Perhaps this year has been an anomaly.  But then again, perhaps this year has been a sign of good things to come.

2012.05.26 Columbus v Fire (2:1)

It's been a while since this blog has seen any activity.  Not sure what to blame it on - I was busy?  I had nothing to say?  I was being lazy (probably that last one!)

This past weekend, we went with the Section 8 supporters to an away match against the Columbus Crew.  For the past two years, the Fire front office has paid for the buses for all the season ticket holders in Section 8, Section 80 and Sector Latino to go - a form of thank you to us for buying the tickets and supporting the team.  This year they even went a bit farther - the first team chipped in and bought a keg for the traveling faithful to share during the pregame tail gate.   Usually, this is a good time for all, but for some reason, this time it was different.

The game was the game.  The Fire lost - the team look asleep the first half and we paid a big price.  It was disappointing, but I have been to away losses before.  Not a lot of fun, but something that you can live with (as another supporter said to me "this is the cost of being a supporter - dealing with losses on away trips").

The reason it was disappointing was the attitude of some during the trip.  We had issues with smoke bombs through out the entire game.  Although I don't condone it, it's one thing to set some off during a time of celebration, but these went off continually during the game.  From what I can tell, they were brought in by some individuals who thought it would be a lot of fun to set them off.  Unfortunately, banners were damaged and destroyed.  Security was in the section so much that they became a distraction.  The smoke was so bad that people actually left the section.  Not only that, but the way things were being done led to concerns for safety for the younger fans in attendance (thanks to Josh for pulling my kids out of the middle of it!)  It really created a confrontational atmosphere within the section.  The singing stopped and became confused (numerous factions fighting with one another for what should be sung).  By the time the game was over, the supporters were frustrated (loss + section issues), security were frustrated (endless smoke bombs) and the home side were agitated (they won, they had to have the last say), and things began to deteriorate.

Curses and bottles get thrown into our section from the Crew supporters, some one gets mad in our side and throws a bottle at a fence, a security guy jumps the fence and all hell breaks loose.  We began walking down the ramp to the buses and crew fans are throwing burning flags, flares and smoke bombs at us (Cindy nearly got hit).  Someone from our side decides to retaliate and runs into the crowd.  Arrests come next and the fun ends (or so we thought).

Rumors began to circulate on the bus (we are on the family bus - no booze, no R movies).  There is a fight between two or three supporter groups on another bus.  People are smoking on buses - irritating the other passengers - but too drunk to care.  So ends the trip - probably the last trip that the Fire front office will ever support again.

On the way down, we watched one of my all time favorite movies - Fever Pitch.  Not the cheeseie American one about the Red Sox, but the British one - the first one (the better one).  In the midst of the movie, the Paul - the lead character (played by Colin Firth) has this voice over thought:

Why is it that adults aren't supposed to go mad about anything? You've got to keep a lid on it.

And if you don't then people are apparently entitled to say what they like: You haven't grown up. You're a moron. Your conversation is trivial and boorish. You can't express your emotional needs, you can't relate to your children and you die lonely and miserable.

But, you know, what the hell.
Every cloud has a silver lining.

It's not easy to become a football fan. It takes years. But if you put in the hours you're welcomed, without question, into a new family.

Except in this family, you care about the same people and hope for the same things.

And what's childish about that?

 People look at you funny (especially in this country) when you say you are a soccer fan.  They don't understand why you go to all the games (to watch a bunch of little guys chase a ball all day - how dull).  But for those of us who love this game, it's very different.  The passion of the game, the tension of the game, the simplicity of the game - it just gets to you.  And the atmosphere of the stadium - there is nothing like it in sports. People ask "Why do you sing and chant and get so excited?  It's just a game."  Yes, it's just a game, but it's more then a game - it's family.  I think the quote above gets this.  There is a sense of community at a soccer match that I have yet to experience anywhere else.  I've often said that if the church could figure out community they way the "hooligans" figured it out, the church would grow and the gospel would spread (I've seen Acts 4:32-37 play out in Section 8 numerous times).  That "family" is what it is all about.  And when we, as supporters, forget about that family, it all falls apart.

That is what happened on Saturday.  We stopped being a family, and started to be a group of individuals.  "If I want to blow off smoke bombs, who is going to stop me".  There was a general disregard for anyone else.  (People's property got damaged and destroyed - but who cares- it wasn't my banner...I'll sing what I want to sing, when I want to sing it...I'll say what I want to say, and if you disagree, I'll vilify you.)  And so, with one big puff of smoke - the family gets blown away.  And that is more disappointing then the loss.  There will always be another game or another season.  But there is only one family.  I wish we could remember that...