Cup fever hits Superior

I am new to Mineral County so for those of you who don’t know me yet I am your new reporter and I love soccer. So for me, around this time every four years is a magical experience. It is the time of the most popular sporting event in the world. More people watch the World Cup than watch the Olympics and the Super Bowl. But not so much in the states.

So when I went to a local restaurant in Superior to watch the games, I received a few strange looks when I asked if anyone would mind if the television could be tuned to the latest game.

No one objected as the people around here are extremely amiable but there were, again, a few looks that said, “why would anyone waste an hour and a half of their time watching something that often ends in a 0-0 tie.”

That’s a valid point. Sometimes I think any logical person would rather be playing the game than watching one. Until you really start to pay attention. And this is what happened in Superior over the last few weeks. You guys started to get into it and it was awesome to see.

The first time I saw this happen was during a quarterfinal match. There were a few people sitting near me and at first, no one paid any attention.

But then something interesting happened. People began to look up from their plates and beverages and started to ask me questions about the game.

You guys began to notice what the players do on the field, how far they run during a game (sometimes the equivalent of a marathon), how physical the play is, the dynamics of the game and how dramatic it is when you see a team start to make a run or break toward the goal during a set piece.

Now, I have no illusions that when the World Cup is over, we will all return to appreciating “normal” football, baseball, basketball and hockey. And I will join you because I love those sports almost as much as I love what is widely referred to around the world as “the beautiful game.”

Of course I share the same disdain about the “flopping.” It is annoying to watch a grown man fall to the ground, writhing in pain as if his leg was just amputated without anesthesia and then look up at the replay and the other guy never even touched him.

The only thing I will say is it demonstrates the value of possession in the game and also how dangerous some players can be even 25 yards out on a free kick.

When you watch Lionel Messi, generally considered the greatest player on the planet, bend the ball and put it in the upper corner of the goal you will understand why they know those kicks can mean the difference between a win and a loss and that’s why they flop.

At both semifinal games and the final, the phenomenon I saw at the quarterfinal match repeated itself. Mouths agape and hollers of delight filled the place when Germany scored the winning goal in the final in overtime. People could be heard saying, “how do they do that” and “that’s incredible” and on and on.

The entire experience of watching my favorite sport with the people of Superior put a huge smile on my face. Not just because it’s fun to watch people appreciate incredible athletes. It’s also fun for me as a journalist to watch people discover some new things and appreciate it even if it’s just for a short while.

Soccer will probably never catch on in this country and that makes me sad. The big networks won’t cover games because without commercials every five minutes, they can’t make money on the sport so subsequently, there is not a well developed youth program in this country that fosters the sport. Why would an athlete concentrate on a sport that doesn’t carry the potential (albeit rare) financial payoff as a professional? If Lebron James knew he could have a lucrative career in soccer and focused on that sport instead of basketball, who knows how good he might have been?

While soccer may not catch on in the U.S. despite the respectable showing the American team had at the World Cup, it did catch on for a moment in Superior, Mont. It was good to see. It made me feel welcome and for that, I say thanks guys. Maybe I will see you in four years and we will do it again. This time though, make sure to bring your flares, air horns, trumpets and attitude because that’s how they do it in the rest of the world and I know Montana has it in her to get a little rowdy.