Reflection on Soccer Game

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the DC United soccer game despite their loss and the goalie's horrible mistake that cost them the game. The first thing I noticed was simply the low attendance at the game. There must have been less than 5,000 people in attendance as opposed to over 50,000 at an NFL game. The few people that were there were very energetic and excited for the team. There was a lot of flag waving, songs, and chants that I found really interesting. I have grown up with a love for soccer because it, along with little league baseball, was one of the hallmarks of my childhood. This explains my feeling for the game. However, many people in America do not share my love for the game.

In some communities I feel that it is not even offered and when they see it on television it is something foreign. As America increasingly diversifies, sports that are dominant in other countries like soccer, are becoming ever more popular. For some people this represents a threat to the national identity of the United States. Others do not like it for the fact that it is foreign. We as a country have never really had a passion for it and only recently has it become commonly played by children in numbers like that of basketball or baseball. Therefore we are not energetic about it because we as a nation do not feel it represents us. We have tried to ignore it and do our own thing out of some sort of nationalistic/xenophobic feeling.

I myself, am deeply nationalistic and have a passion for advancing the American identity as something whole and united. However, this does not mean I exclude soccer. In fact I see it as a chance for us to project ourselves into the international community in a new and stronger way. If we could only unite. Instead of going to soccer games in America and waving flags of other countries as was done at the D.C. United game, we wave the American flag and back our teams all the way. If we could project this nationalism on the field of soccer, the world will see us in a new light. Not divided, but strong under one flag. Instead of being isolated and trying to project our strength by turning inward, we should look at soccer as an opportunity to project our power and solidarity through a respected venue. Soccer is an international sport and how we decide to treat it will show the world who we are as a nation.