Nathan McClallenNov. 15, 2010P.J. O’RourkeJournalism Seminar

Soccer’s Statistics of Success

As any true American soccer fan will tell you, the worldwide popularity of the

“the beautiful game” is exploding into America. In 2010, World Cup viewership in the

States was up 90 percent over 2002 numbers, and in the aftermath of the U.S. success,

international superstar Thierry Henry signed a multi-year contract with the New York

Red Bulls. All the signs point to one conclusion, or so they say.

So I forget — who is playing in the Major League Soccer Cup this week? Or

wait, I never knew, and neither did you. Soccer in America is going the same place it has

been for a long time — nowhere.

There is a monumental difference between month-long popularity of an endearing

U.S. Men’s National Team and a real establishment of the sport. We cheered for our team

in the World Cup because we’re Americans, not because soccer is growing on us. Our

team succeeded in an environment where we traditionally fail — what’s not to be proud

of? Those 2002 viewing numbers were abysmal to begin with (the games were taped and

replayed in the US), making it easy for soccer advocates to find highly favorable

statistics. Everyone knows the only thing more pathetic than watching a soccer game live

is watching a soccer game being replayed.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hater. On the contrary, I played soccer in high

school, watched far more of the World Cup this year than I ever have before, and I

actually enjoyed it. That doesn’t mean I knew FC Dallas, one of the original 10 MLS

teams, is making their first MLS Cup appearance Saturday in Toronto against the

Colorado Rapids.

There may be legitimate reasons to believe soccer can eventually be successful in

America, but there have been arguments floating around for decades and nothing has

come of it. In 1977, the New York Cosmos had Pelé and hosted a capacity crowd of over

77,000 in Giants Stadium (if you are among the ignorant, it wouldn't be inaccurate to call

Michael Jordan the Pelé of basketball). Every time we start paying attention to soccer, the

interest subsequently tails off, and sportswriters across the nation crank out theories that

have been restated over and over again. We hate ties. There isn’t enough scoring. There’s

too much flopping. Those things may be true, but they are not what will ultimately keep

soccer nearly obsolete in America. Instead, the most important detraction may be the

most unsolvable.

The real explanation became clear to me this summer as I observed ESPN’s

painful attempt to package World Cup games into video clips and bottom line updates.

There are no statistics in soccer. That is, not nearly enough to hold the interest of the

average American sports fan. It basically breaks down into goals and assists, and okay,

we can count saves for goalies. The media attempted to come up with other details, but

they were decidedly forced. Yellow cards are not statistics. Nobody hangs out by the

water cooler and discusses how many yellow cards their favorite player averages per

game.

Not only is there a shortage of statistics to obsess over, those precious statistics

are few and far between. A truly gifted offensive player can’t even score one goal per

game. Chris Wondolowski of the San Jose Earthquakes won the Golden Boot award in

the MLS this season for scoring 18 goals in 28 games.

Over recent years, there has been a notable shift towards sports with more

numbers. The more numbers available to memorize, compare and discuss for an hour on

SportsCenter, the more popular the sport. This trend does not merely explain soccer’s

woes, but can be linked to the demise of hockey or the dismal future of lacrosse.

To enjoy soccer in it’s highest form, fans must be able to appreciate the game’s

elusive beauty. The entire match builds to a handful of moments that are undeniably

breathtaking. For each goal, there are dozens of intercepted passes, penalties, missed

headers and other thwarted attacks. Over the course of 90 minutes the crowd’s suspense

grows and intensifies until that one shot that curls into the corner of the net releases every

iota of pent-up emotion. In the World Cup, entire nations live and die by a single goal.

We glimpse the excitement every four years, but it fades quickly for us. We prefer to live

or die by 42.065 points per game — the average points scored in an NFL game this

season. Because of the close correlation between available statistics and mainstream

popularity, soccer in American is simply never going to be what American soccer pundits

are forever hoping it will be.