Soccer.... in the US?

I was amazed, and I think I wasn't alone. This is for sure for me the first World Cup I've watched, mostly as my interest in soccer has grown from my trips to Europe, and you can't follow German news without following the Bundesliega. Plus as followed my interest in all things German, you couldn't without hearing about the then-impending World Cup.

I did ended up watching most of the games on Univision (the American commentators absolutely suck in comparison), and my Spanish soccer vocabulary has improved immensely. But today, I think everyone came out of their respective closets in support of their teams, and gathered en masse in bars, in parks, even in the streets, wearing their respective shirts, jerseys, even with painted faces and flags. Part of it is there's a huge Italian American population in San Francisco. Part of it is that everyone here is from somewhere. A couple British coworkers followed the England team. Several coworkers from all over Latin America watched their respective teams. I myself rooted of course at first for the US, and then Germany. (I even learned a German idiom, "Drück uns die daumen", literally "press the thumbs for us"... physically do it and you'll realize it means "root for us".) Like the games themselves, it was a fascinating insight into the nations themselves. At one of the Mexico games, the crowds were so raucous, with yelling and drums and trumpets, you couldn't hear anything. But we also saw the England-Sweden game at the Royal Exchange (itself a British pub), and British expats lined in and politely cheered for their home team, and ended with a genteel applause.

I recall a story from a week ago Friday when after Germany played Argentina, I wore my FC Bayern jersey to work. I had to drop off my bike south of Market and walked up to Market to catch a bus downtown a few blocks to get to work. I walked to the back and sat down. Two guys across the aisle looked at me with this huge smile, then looked at each other. I took my headphones off, and the one looks at me and says... "Sind Sie Deutscher?" (Are you German?) I laughed. "Nein, ich bin Amerikaner." "Aber du sprechst Deutsch!" "Ja, ich bisschen." And then we got interrupted by someone asking about the world cup, and then I had to get off. It was very cute. Actually the second time that's happened to me here in the US wearing the jersey. :-)

But perhaps it's a generational thing. Kids all across America are learning the sport, even coining the term "Soccer Mom". Yes, the US team sucked ass this time. But give them a few years. Wait for those kids to grow up, and ya never know. Maybe then the US will be playing Italy (or Germany or Brazil) in a final game (or semi-final, or quarter final... give them time!), instead of just the first round. And then we don't have to root for our ancestoral country. We can root for the US. Just maybe. :-)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/10/WORLDCUPWATCH.TMP