“THEY’LL LOVE US SOMEDAY, GUYS.” Prognosticators have been saying soccer is on
the verge of mainstream American success for a long time – maybe even since
the very first U.S. national team took the field in 1916.

One recent Sunday afternoon while at the grocery store, I caught a sight that piqued my interest: a guy wearing the jersey of an English Premier League soccer team. Not just any jersey – or, in the proper soccer parlance, “shirt” – but one in a shade of claret with light blue sleeves and the telltale EPL number and name font on the back. This particularly nabbed my attention since my fave team – Aston Villa – sports that same look. Dare I say, a fellow Villian in Eau Claire? Alas, a longer look showed the characteristic lapel of the similarly dressed Premier League squad West Ham United. Bollocks.

The real story here is that soccer is growing across the United States, and in places not thought to be hotbeds of the sport. Ratings for the EPL were up significantly during the just-completed season, while Major League Soccer continues its expansion across North America; the expectation is that the Twin Cities will be home to the next MLS franchise, likely in the under-construction Vikings stadium. Demographics are also a factor, as more folks from out of the country – hailing from nations where soccer is a top sport – make their way to our shores, bringing with them this “futbol” fandom. A couple of decades from now I would not be surprised if soccer rises to become the second- or third-most popular U.S. sport behind American football.

Many in ’Merica see soccer as some sissy Euro sport in which no one scores and everyone fakes injuries.

Of course, such speculation has been around for quite some time. Soccer was “the sport of the future” when Pelé and company came to the much-hyped original NASL in the 1970s. Crowds were large in some places – especially with the somewhat legendary New York Cosmos – and if you have been around here awhile, the Minnesota Kicks may ring a bell. However, like other upstarts of the era – the WFL, USFL, ABA, and WHL – finances got out of proportion for the league’s environment, and it soon rotted away. Even after the men’s World Cup was hosted by the U.S. in 1994, the MLS was formed in 1996, and the American women won the ’99 Cup, promises that soccer was on the verge of mass popularity never came to fruition.

I recall soccer being played at Memorial High School in the 1990s; the sport has been played on a prep/youth level for a good long time. Sure, many in ’Merica see it as some sissy Euro sport in which no one scores and everyone fakes injuries. That reputation, as well as the unique place our kind of football has in our nation, is the largest obstacle to soccer gaining American popularity. Despite plenty of youth soccer leagues and the well-known “soccer mom” political demo from the ’90s, there was the question of professional translation. Would the soccer moms’ kids ever grow up to play the sport as a career?

Eau Claire United has been helping cultivate more children to make a future of soccer, operating youth soccer since 1995. They feature divisions for multiple age ranges and plenty of competition; depending on when you read this, you may be able to attend their June 13-15 annual tournament matches on the fields near the Indoor Sports Center. Think of it as our Chippewa Valley version of the simultaneous World Cup down in Rio.

Soccer has multiple levels of competition based on the level of talent, so one wonders if something like a soccer version of the Eau Claire Express could come to our area. Unlike basketball or hockey, we do not need a new facility constructed to support such a franchise; some extra bleachers and a sizeable scoreboard at the Eau Claire Soccer Park would likely do the trick. The biggest challenge is having a league with a strong foundation akin to the Northwoods League, and that may have to be established. However, if the matches I oftentimes see while driving along Hamilton Avenue are any indication, there does exist a base of local talent and interest.

By the World Cup’s conclusion in July, you may find yourself like the 2010 version of me, deciding to pick your own favorite Premier League team and join the soccer wave – a wave hopefully strong enough to bring more “goooaaallls!” to the Chippewa Valley in the years to come.