As we know most Americans don't care too much for the sport that we decided to nickname soccer.  I named my blog for a reason.  Americans love football.  The kind that is played on Sunday in the Fall and Winter.  The kind played with pads and helmets.  Wait a minute don't they play that all over the world and call it Rugby?  I was raised in the South where Friday night is football night and the players are the heros.  I cannot say that I don't like the sport myself.  I enjoy it and rooted for a team growing up and lived and died with them.  However I played what we call soccer.  I was around 4 when I started playing.  It was always fun but as far as being a professional or a hero to many....  Who was a professional and who was a soccer hero?  We didn't have cable TV or satellite so I had no glimpse into the outside world of football.  When the world cup came to America I watched and was impressed but was not hooked.  Baggio missed that penalty and that was that.  A goaless game settled on penalties. I think that was the introduction to a lot of young Americans like myself to the world of football.  I continued to play and by that time it had become more of a job than a sport.  I think this is the first reason why "soccer" in this country hasn't taken off yet.  I mean it has begun and the MLS, Fox Soccer Channel, ESPN's Champions League coverage along with the new inclusion of all World Cup games and the EUFA Euro Cup is bringing the game to the eyes of a lot of young American athletes.  They need the visual representation of football to give them a dream and a vision of what being an adult footballer looks like.  So the next Lebron James or Tyler Hansborough chooses the beautiful game over basketball.  Those athletes are what American football needs.  We aren't getting the cream of the crop.   

When many of us in America who play "soccer" get to the driving age we hit a major wall of growth in the sport.   Those who have grown up in the "travel" soccer routine and have had good coaching and played non-stop have to settle for playing high school soccer and hopefully college.  This is where we are failing our "soccer" players.  The second reason why American football is failing is the development of the footballers we do have.  There is no successful bridge to the professional club level.  Instead of our professional clubs being rooted within the community they are in the bigger cities where the money can support it.  Away from the small towns and suburb communities where football is being played in this country.  Locally we have a team called the Richmond Kickers who put some money into local travel football teams.  It was the start of raising some local talent.  Keep it locally and give the kids a path to club football.  So when the kids get old enough to compete they can give the club a shot.  This is also where we should be building our professional clubs.  The big clubs didn't start out big.  They all grew out of small beginnings.  If we built teams small we could put in place a tier level that could lead to promotion and relegation.  However following the model of the professional American team concept is what direction we are already headed down.  When watching MLS games I always feel that the emotion is so forced and contrived.  We root for the team because we have one.  To me that is okay because we do have them now.  So that is better than nothing.    

This really had me thinking because I found myself really rooting for Fulham these past few weeks.  This is different than the team I usually root for, Arsenal.  It has me really thinking.  I love the brand of football Arsenal play and have much respect for Wenger and the players he has brought in.  Am I a Wenger fan or an Arsenal fan?  I was rooting for Fulham because I think it is important for American football.  Dempsey and McBride are real heros for Americans.  They are genuine, hard working, and important parts to that team.  The emotion I felt after I saw the score line from today; Portsmouth 0-Fulham 1 had me smiling all day long.  I was overjoyed.  So the question is can you root for one of the big four and also have a team on the side?