Its great to see the USA has collected all nine points possible in World Cup qualifying so far with a 3-0 win over Trinidad last night. What bothers me is not the quality of play (which my friend Bob Wagman describes well here), its that only 11,452 fans showed up to watch the match in Bridgeview, Illinois - and some were cheering for the Soca Warriors.
Come on folks, we had that many US fans at the USA-Poland match on a wintry night in March 2006 in Kaiserslautern, Germany! We had twice that many cross the ocean to watch the Nats during the last World Cup but in our own country and not to many miles from Soccer House itself, all we get is a paltry crowd which left over 8,000 seats unoccupied.
Its a shame that for years, our US players felt like the visiting team when playing in some stadiums (such as in LA) but this was downright pathetic. If you live in the greater Chicago area (that includes you too Hoosiers from Lake County and those in southern Wisconsin) and call yourself a soccer fan and weren't there, you've got some 'splainin' to do.
We expect much from these players who fight jet lag after jetting in from Europe or the coast to battle for 90 minutes before hopping back on a series of long flights home, only to play for so few (and thanks to those who were there). They deserve better. Its time we started expecting more from ourselves and remember these words; never again.
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2 comments:
you know, I noticed that. I live south of Detroit. I realized I should have been there. I have been to some qualifiers in Columbus, even when I lived about 5 or 6 hours away in Illinois (back then). I just assumed they would all be sold out. Kind of embarrassing. I am sure if I was in Chicago, I would have been there. just 11.5K?
I'm a southern Wisconsinite living in Tampa at the moment...I would have gone for sure if I was still living there...:(
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