1/18/2014

Room for Four: The Establishment of the MLS

When it comes to the sporting world America has already chosen its big three, while some may consider the NHL to be the fourth sport to really become ingrained in mainstream American sports, it has yet to gain the same level of recognition that the MLB, NBA, and NFL have maintained throughout recent years. While soccer may be one of the world’s most popular sports, it has yet to gain the same level of popularity and devotion here in the United States. From its inception the MLS has been fighting an uphill battle to squeeze soccer into the hierarchy of American sports. The creation of the MLS looked to challenge the notion that soccer could not garner the same level of respect as other mainstream sports, and while there are still obstacles to overcome the MLS has made great strides towards solidifying soccer within the American sporting world. Continue reading →

http://www.mlssoccer.com/sideline/news/article/2013/12/11/video-mike-petke-once-headbutted-jason-kreis-and-now-theyre-new-york-derby-c 

After the reading I found this link and though I would post it simply because of the headbutt. However it is still an interesting article that discusses the continued success of former MLS players turned coaches and relates back to the new expansion team that will be situated in New York. This article basically just talks about how rivalries throughout the MLS are still becoming a thing, which I think may be a good thing because it adds a little extra excitement to the league.

Stages of the global: Media, sport, racialization and the last temptation of Zinedine Zidane PCQ

This article discusses the presence of racism within the sporting world and how sport and competition can lead to racism playing an unnecessary role in sporting matches. It is true that as sports continue to grow and reach a global audience certain preconceived notions or beliefs about players of different races will become a bigger issue. An example I can think of that relates back to a class I took last semester is when we discussed the career of boxer Jack Johnson who for a certain point in his career wasn’t allowed to fight against white boxers. In reality there had been a black boxing champion before Jack Johnson but his efforts remained unnoticed due to his inability to secure a fight against a white opponent. Continue reading →

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/soccerusa/id/4076?cc=5901

I wanted to post this link that discusses the MLS drat that takes place every year that places some of the best college soccer stars on MLS teams. I thought this post would be relevant because we were talking about the farm system to the MLS that was in place now and how they could continue to improve it down the road. the MLS draft may be the last stop for college athletes hoping to make it.

Imagined communities in the global game: soccer and the development of Dutch national identity

This article discusses the sociology of sport and the relationship between sports, nations, and nationalism in the Dutch soccer community. It acknowledges that nations are in fact imagined communities that come together through a shared experience and pride in the actions of one’s nation. National traditions and reactions to sports lead to this belief that different nations have a certain style to the way they approach the game. This idea however doesn’t seem to be true as many different countries can lay claim to the same style being their own, yet it is impossible to deny that soccer and sporting competitions in generally do not lead to some sort of national cohesion. Because there can only be one outcome in a sporting match a win or a loss when nations cheer on their teams they are experiencing an event as a nation all rooting for the end goal  to be their nations team celebrating a victory.

Soccer style as national self-definition

“While the club achievements stirred the passions of soccer fans, the World cup, televised live, produced a truly national emotional outpouring, an ‘orange transformation’ subsequently considered ‘typical’ of the Netherlands. The losers of 1974 were treated to an unprecedented welcome upon their return, receiving the adulation of huge crowds.” (218)

I pulled this passage out because it made me think about the level of popularity soccer has within the US and how it may be linked to the men’s team up until this point not truly accomplishing something of note. While there may be fans that root for the team, they cannot celebrate losses. The achievements of their club and national teams is what spurred passion among fans in the Netherlands, maybe an increase in solid victories for the US could lead to the beginning of a larger fan base. While the 1974 team was still met with praise when they arrived home I feel like this is different in the states because we are not expected to do that well in the first place, therefore when the team gets back there is no reason to celebrate they did just as well as they were expected to.

“The media keep the memory of past achievement alive. In the run-up to any major tournament comparisons with teams past are inevitable, complete with repeat showings of key episodes on television. The Dutch soccer record is now virtually available, a shared ‘memory’ even to those too young to witness the actual games of old.” (219)

Maybe it’s just me because I am not fully aware of the victories of our national teams but I couldn’t help but pull this quote out and think about how the media attempts to bring excitement to international soccer matches. For the Dutch this process is easy they have past experiences that everyone likes to relive that show their dominance within the sport. It only helps strengthen the argument that over time soccer will in fact have a larger impact within the US because we will have more moments to look back on that reinvigorate casual soccer fans to get excited. These moments can also help establish more loyalty towards soccer for a kid which seems to be lacking within our current soccer programs.

Playing with tension: national charisma and disgrace at Euro 2012

This article focuses on the competitiveness of football and nationalism and how fans choose to react towards members of other countries. It somewhat relates back to some of the discussions we have had in class about how sport became a substitute for war in a sense, while people are no longer being killed the same amount of passion seems to be poured out in these games of sport.

“For official sports ideology football creates a civilizing space for national groups to make contact with and to recognize each other below the level of formal political structures. Since the 1984 European Championship in France, fans of national teams attend the Euros in increased numbers, resulting in generally peaceful contact with each other, although fan hooliganism remained a constant concern for authorities” (3)

I wanted to pull this quote out to argue against this idea that football or sports in generally really lead to a civilized space for different groups of people. I know for a fact that people fight during matches between different clubs and in the US when someone’s team is losing and the wrong person says the wrong thing regardless of the importance of the game there is a presence of violence or at least retaliation. I feel like this is only more prevalent on a international level, using the word hooliganism to describe the actions between rowdy fans greatly downplays some of the situations that occur during events like the Euros.

Questions:

•  Knowing that competition between different nations naturally will cause friction how can competitions such as the Euros expect their fans to remain calm and respect all rules
•  Is there a way to take the war like mentality out of the sporting world
• Can the media be used to help alleviate some of the tension between nations that have negative history together? 

http://www.mlssoccer.com/history/season/2000

This is an article I found online that is basically a recap of the 2000 MLS season, I thought it would be important to share because this was the first time the MLS decided to split into three conferences instead of playing the season with an Eastern vs Western structure. while this idea didn’t work and the MLS was forced to go back to having only two conferences I thought it showed the level of confidence MLS executives had in the league being successful and continuing to grow.

Us and Them U.S. Ambivalence Toward the World Cup and American Nationalism

National Identity and sport

This section of the article discusses the ways in which people feel connected to each other and build and maintain their national identities. The author claims that national identity is built through having similar reactions to different events in their lives, that national communities are strengthened by their past and traditions, as people of the same nation continue to experience similar experiences in life they begin to further identify themselves as part of a nation.

“What binds the representation of teams and fans together is the tendency to present style as a characteristic of that nation more generally. In this sense, collective performance and shared understandings of sport become framed as indicative, or “indexical”. (137)

I pulled this quote out because it makes the reader think about how different groups of people come together to celebrate one goal. I didn’t limit this idea to soccer or different nations either it could be something as simple as a student body coming together in support of a JV basketball team. It’s still a shared experience that unties the fans with their respective team; the fans are still trying to present a certain image of how they believed their school should be perceived. The same could be said on a bigger stage on an international level. Continue reading →

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2014/01/09/throw-michael-bradley-tipping-point-how-our-kids-view-their-soccer-dreams

I am posting this link because it related to some of the topics we were briefly discussing in class. This article talks about the possibility of Michael Bradley coming back to the MLS instead of going to Europe as a possible sign that things are beginning to change for the better in the MLS. Bradley’s decision to play in the MLS could lead to more high profile players choosing to play in the MLS over European teams.

Fascist Football Foundations PCQ

This article discusses the ways Italy wanted to restructure its approach to the game of football. The government sought to use football as a way to unite the nation through the cultural bond of sport, while also recognizing football as a vehicle for political cohesion. Football in Italy after 1926 not only represented physical dominance over other teams, but also was publicly viewed as fascism’s way of displaying its confidence.

Calcio-chaos: The Road to Viareggio

This section talks about some of the difficulties faced when the popularity of football or calico began to rapidly increase. Teams began to see their number of fans steadily increase and also fans began to travel to games just to further support their home teams. Teams made it easy for such devoted teams to travel through travel aids that allowed for larger groups to afford the trip. The popularity of football led to the idea of traveling to see teams play to be a common and widely accepted means of spending leisure time. Continue reading →

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1658394/zlatan-ibrahimovic-rule-future-mls?cc=5901

I thought I would point this article out that I found on ESPN just to continue the theme of my last TIFO. One of the most important parts of growing the brand of the MLS is trying to maintain its better players and attract new ones. Bringing in Zlatan would be a great step towards making the MLS a more attractive place for European players to play.