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Overview
Intended to ride the growing wave of popularity for soccer in America and to enhance it, Kolesky:
• Looks at the history of the sport through its significant mileposts in the development of the game in America
• Includes his personal experiences as a fan as well as those of other fans
• Provides information about the basics of the game of soccer
• Shares misconceptions about the sport in and out of America
• Offers insight into the continued quest for the World Cup
With anecdotes included, When America Wins the World Cup illustrates that Americans can be passionate about the global game. Soccer is building again in America, and the rest of the world is slowly starting to realize the United States is taking soccer seriously at the national level.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781491736968 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | iUniverse, Incorporated |
| Publication date: | 10/31/2014 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 170 |
| File size: | 305 KB |
Read an Excerpt
When America Wins the World Cup
Shifting the Sports Culture
By Matthew Kolesky
iUniverse LLC
Copyright © 2014 Matthew KoleskyAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4917-3694-4
CHAPTER 1
Where We Were: An Abridged History of Soccer in America
I am not a soccer historian, but the devolution and subsequent modern evolution of the sport in America intrigues me. I am highlighting significant milestones that ultimately elevated the game into a stable and growing position in American society and helped shift the mind-set of American soccer around the world. The wreckage of teams and leagues, some from a bygone era, with rich history to modern disasters, litter the landscape.
I've engaged with many folks across the pond and around Europe. The response I get from Brits and Europeans is predictably the same, particularly when I mention the history of the sport in America.
"You're writing a book about American soccer?"
"That won't take long."
Knee slapping and chuckling follows. Sadly, our soccer history is forgotten at home and abroad, lost to the annals of time. While researching this book, I ran across glimpses of the sport in early America, Boston, New York, and New Orleans as immigrants brought the game with them. As America tried to distance itself from the British and European countries, we set off on new cultural courses.
That being said, we can find the game being played in America well over 150 years ago, and it has a rich, partially buried history. Bit by bit, researchers, historians, fans, and modern MLS teams looking to connect with and honor the past are digging it up.
Going back a bit farther, there are reports about Native Americans playing a game, and the US Soccer website has a great timeline with the first entry from 1620.
American folklore asserts that Pilgrim Fathers, upon settling at Plymouth Rock found American Indians along the Massachusetts coast playing a form of soccer. The Indians called it "Pasuckquakkohowog," which means "they gather to play football."
Next, we travel to the mid-nineteenth century. It was a turbulent time in America with the Civil War raging. Soccer was being played, and the game's popularity grew as immigrants from Britain and Ireland continued to arrive, bringing a type of early soccer with them. The first official football club in the United States was the Oneida Club, formed in Boston in 1862. They never allowed a goal in the four seasons of playing. On the monument in Boston commemorating the team, it reads, "On this field the Oneida Club of Boston, the first organized football club in the United States, played against all comers from 1862 to 1865 - The Oneida goal was never crossed."
Although they get credit, these guys didn't play soccer as we know it today. Similar to the early English game, there were no formal, standardized rules for playing. It was violent, and grudges were often carried out on the field.
This early game, including the style played by Oneida, looked more like rugby than modern soccer. So how can they hold claim to the first official club in the States? Like anything standing the test of time, it was well documented. They kept a roster as well as records detailing the matches played. Not so well documented are other glimpses of the sport surfacing in New Orleans around the same time. While the game was being played in the United States in the late 1800s, we have to go to England in 1863 to find the origins of the modern game.
Roots of Modern Football
Rugby and soccer have the same ancestry, split from the same game once the "I want to use my hands" folks were separated from the "We want to kick the ball" folks in 1863 across the pond by a group of English teams. Trying to establish a system of rules to govern sport, a group of representatives from local FCs met on October 26, 1863, "for the purpose of forming an Association with the object of establishing a definite code of rules for the regulation of the game."
This is considered to be the defining moment in the development of the modern game and sent it on firm footing to expand around the world with the British Empire as well as to other parts of the globe, including Brazil and Spain. It's good to see rule of law works well when applied to sports. It's uniform, standardized, and consistent. Did they come up with Big Macs and the Model T as well?
Using 1863 as a starting point, the game began to evolve. Reading about the first real football, you can see that things certainly have changed. My notes have been included in the brackets.
"Football," they thought, would be a blend of handling and dribbling. [Maybe the FA should be credited with starting basketball as well.] Players would be able to handle the ball: a fair catch accompanied by "a mark with the heel" would win a free kick. [I have no idea what this means. Perhaps something was lost from the original translation from Middle English: Whan that playen wel cathe and handl'd the ball, to take in tyme a foot into the groond.]
The sticking point was "hacking," or kicking an opponent on the leg, which Blackheath FC wanted to keep. [Yes, kicking and hacking others! What a glorious sport. Why did this take so long to catch on in America? We have professional wrestling.] The laws originally drafted by Morley were finally approved at the sixth meeting, on 8 December, and there would be no hacking. They were published by John Lillywhite of Seymour Street in a booklet that cost a shilling and sixpence. [The FA began down that treacherous, money-grubbing road very early.] The FA was keen to see its laws in action [read as ordered by Queen Victoria], and a match was played between Barnes and Richmond at Limes Field in Barnes on 19 December. It was a 0–0 draw. [How appropriate some in America might say!]
I found myself connected to the history more than I realized. My younger son plays for a local club team in Richmond called the Kew Park Rangers, and on Saturday, October 26, 2013, he had practice like every other Saturday. However, one particular coach that morning remembered the significant day 150 years earlier when the FA was established. He went on and mentioned the first official game of "football" played in the world under the new rules took place just down the road from where we had been practicing.
While the American colonialists may have moved on culturally in some aspects from Mother England, commonwealth sports initially took hold. Soccer, as the game was played back then, dominated American sports in the mid- to late 1800s along with rowing. It was a different age. Gradually, we invented new sports and shunned tea. Baseball, basketball, and American football rose to take over the consciousness of the 1900s, and we imported ice hockey from Canada.
American football traces its roots back to soccer and rugby as well. Walter Camp amended rugby's rules to include the downs as we know them today. He is credited with being the father of American football. Still, the connection to rugby can be seen most clearly in the term "touchdown." In rugby, a try is scored when the players cross the goal line and then touches the ball down to the ground, hence "touchdown". Both modern soccer and American football have eleven players on the field at any given time. Some modern American soccer fans take issue with the term "football" used to describe a game in which most plays the foot doesn't touch the ball. Even the author uses "football" and "soccer" interchangeably in this book.
In 1913, the United States of America Foot Ball Association was established in New York. This organization is today the governing body in the United States for soccer, and it is now called the US Soccer Federation that just celebrated it centenary.
The US Open Cup
With the establishment of a national governing body to provide structure and support to the sport, the United States of America Foot Ball Association also held the first US Open Cup. In 1914, the Brooklyn Field Club won in the final over Brooklyn Celtic in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
At long last the moment had arrived, the crowning of first ever National Challenge Cup champion. On October 12, 1913, the list of 40 participating teams was announced, and on November 1 the first games were played. Almost six months later, Brooklyn Celtic and Brooklyn Field Club emerged the sole survivors of the elimination contests, convening at Coats Field in Pawtucket, Rhode Island to decide who would reign supreme and lift the Dewar Challenge Trophy. The Pawtucket Times described the scene at Coats Field that afternoon: "Long before the captains had met in the center of the field ... every vantage point within the spacious enclosure was peawed with humanity. The grandstand and bleachers filled like magic; around the field the spectators thronged seven and eight deep. Every automobile was filled to its capacity and even the baseballs scoreboard in left field provided a precious foothold for groups of hardy souls. Thomas Bagnall, president of the New York Amateur Association Football League, USFA President Dr. Rudolph G. Manning, and USFA Secretary Thomas Cahill were all on hand for this historic occasion, the crowning of the first true soccer champion of the United States. After both teams were photographed and a "moving picture machine" was set up in the grandstand to film the action, Celtic forward Thomas Campion kicked off at 3:21 pm.
The competition has grown over the past 10 years. Now, MLS teams can compete for the US Open Cup, as can just about any other team. It is in the same spirit as an open golf or tennis tournament, that is, amateur teams can gain access.
Bethlehem Steel FC
Soccer began to take hold around the country in the early 1900s, and no team was as successful as Bethlehem Steel FC. Again, I found myself connected to the American soccer past through my grandfather. It all goes back to driving around the dilapidated steel mills in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with him. I saw the old blast furnaces, the cooling areas, and the history. He talked about working at Bethlehem Steel with guys with named Stuffy, Reds, and Chico. They all worked and smoked together. I saw images of red-faced workers with cigarettes dangling from the mouths and each with strong jaw lines. It was back when working for a living meant rolling up your sleeves and making something tangible, components to a high-rise or a navy warship.
Now, the old derelict buildings of Bethlehem Steel seem to go on for miles. He'd point and say things like, "See that building with the hole in the roof? That was where they cooled the steel. They'd spray chemicals on them, and most of the guys in that job didn't last very long."
He worked in the steel mills, and he played soccer. When my grandfather was in junior high in Bethlehem, they won the city football championship, and the team decided to repeat the grade so they could win it again. And they did. The game was important to them. Reflecting on my time with my grandfather before his passing made me realize that he was a connection to the past for me, to my family, my history, and football in America.
From 1912–1930, Bethlehem Steel FC dominated the American soccer landscape. This team represented the iconic American company. Bethlehem Steel FC is one of the most storied soccer teams in American history, winning multiple league trophies and cups, including the American Cup (now called the US Open Cup). And they even toured Europe.
The Philadelphia Union paid tribute to Bethlehem Steel FC (BSFC), remembering those great teams from the early 1900s. In 2013, the Union unveiled a third kit further honoring the BSFC. The Union's website hits the nail on the head.
"Professional soccer has a dormant but rich history in the Greater Philadelphia region dating back over 100 years," said Sakiewicz. "Our vision with this concept is to revive the history and recognize the past. As the Philadelphia Union now leads professional soccer into the 21st century it is our duty and responsibility to remember, honor and pay tribute to those teams that came before us and laid the groundwork for the growth of the game in the region."
It is a great legacy for the Philadelphia Union to associate with and can help drive their brand while telling a great American soccer story. The connections to the past are there, and they go back farther than the NBA and NFL. We just have to do a little digging.
Early American History in the World Cup
The USMNT played in the inaugural 1930 World Cup hosted by eventual winner Uruguay. It was a competition devoid of several of the European powers, but the United States nonetheless finished third, which included a 3–0 win over Paraguay and saw the first ever World Cup hat trick, scored by American Bert Patenaude. Aside from Paraguay, Belgium was in our group, and we dispatched them 3–0 as well, making it to the knockout stage but only to get lambasted by Argentina 6-1.
In 1950, the American team played in the World Cup in Brazil. We lost to Spain 3–1 in our opening game, although the score line wasn't indicative of the match. We scored in the seventeenth minute and tried to hang on, only to have Spain score three times after the eightieth minute. Our next match was the shocker, 1–0 over England. This is still considered one of the biggest upsets in American soccer history. A group of ragtag American laborers who happened to play football took on the established professionals of England and won. However, Chile dispatched the United States from the World Cup in the final group game by 5–2, sending the United States into a long soccer winter. We wouldn't qualify for another World Cup for forty years.
The Goal that brought us back.
While soccer languished domestically, the international game continued to evolve and advance, and it would take thirty-nine years for our national team to make waves on the international scene. This barren, uncompetitive era helped foster skepticism, home and abroad, of American soccer. Some of it was deserved, as Americans focused on the national pastime and American football. The rise of the NFL captured the hearts and souls of Americans, even if the game never caught on outside North America.
The United States finally qualified for the 1990 World Cup hosted by Italy as we slogged through formidable regional competition and barely emerged. It wasn't without controversy though. Mexico had a very talented team and had been harshly disqualified for fielding ineligible players on their U-20 team, and as a result, CONCACAF and FIFA suspended all Mexican teams from all international competition for two years which helped ease the road for the USMNT.
Conspiracy theories abound that FIFA played a hand. Mexico was quite strong, and if they had been included in the qualifying group stages, it would have made our road in 1990 extremely difficult.
FIFA's website talks about the game that ended the forty-year drought. Going into the last WCQ, "soccer was of only nominal concern to most Americans in 1989." We were away to Trididad and Tabago who only needed a draw to secure a World Cup birth and knock out the USMNT. T&T were ready to join the party.
But there was far more at stake for the USMNT than just qualifying for a FIFA World Cup for the first time in 40 years. The US Soccer Federation was deeply in the red and nearing bankruptcy. The biggest concern spreading was that the U.S. might lose the hosting rights for FIFA World Cup 1994, mainly because Americans lacked interest in soccer and the possibility that the U.S. wouldn't qualify for Italia 1990. This was a heavy burden for the young and inexperienced US team. On November 19, 1989, the last of all global world cup qualifiers would take place in the Caribbean, and the world was anxiously waiting to see which team would earn the 24th and final spot for the Coppa del Mondo FIFA Italia '90. Trinidad and Tobago intentionally scheduled the game for a midday kickoff. It was very hot and humid and they believed that would give them the advantage over the American side. On this day, the USMNT would change the course of American soccer forever. The US would go on to upset the highly favored home team 1-0. This day in the sun opened a gateway for unprecedented soccer growth and the game has prospered at every level since, including opportunities for TV, corporations, and investors to tap into the last and greatest football frontier, the United States.
Paul Caligiuri was an unlikely starter and defender. He was assigned to the center midfield duty and had explicit instructions to mark out Russell Latapy, Trinidad's playmaker, and not to go forward to risk counter attacks. In the 29th minute, that would all change. Caligiuri pushed the ball forward to initiate an attack, he then beat the on rushing defender, and shot a 35 yard left footed volley with top spin that dipped into the far left corner of the goal, scoring what has been deemed by Sports Illustrated "the most significant goal in U.S soccer history". This victory not only put us back in the World Cup but solidified the US hosting rights for the 1994 FIFA World Cup and paved the way for modern success.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from When America Wins the World Cup by Matthew Kolesky. Copyright © 2014 Matthew Kolesky. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse LLC.
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