It is wonderful how the fervour for soccer can stir such excessive feelings. Main League Soccer (MLS) is a continuing goal of criticism, not only for on-field efficiency but additionally for the conduct of its followers off the sector. And no doubt, Brazilians prime the listing of the largest haters of the soccer ecosystem in the US. It’s virtually a mortal sin for Brazilians to simply accept that Individuals would possibly choose the NBA, MLB, and NFL over soccer, which they deal with as a faith.
Although soccer has grown significantly in the US over the previous three many years, the criticism hasn’t stopped. For a lot of, MLS won’t ever be adequate. This insistence on belittling American soccer appears, at occasions, extra like an excuse to gas outdated prejudices relatively than a good evaluation of the present scene.
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Speaking to pals and colleagues within the press from different international locations, the story is similar: MLS isn’t taken significantly. However is that this view truthful? Or is there one thing deeper on this judgment?
I get the impression that many foreigners, deep down, root towards MLS groups or the US nationwide staff (USMNT) simply to justify their very own prejudice towards soccer within the USA. It’s virtually as if American failure on this sport is a purpose to rejoice, an opportunity to vent all of the frustration collected on social media.
What many don’t understand is that Individuals have a really wholesome relationship with sports activities. For them, soccer is simply another choice on an enormous sports activities menu. In the US, sports activities are inspired from an early age, built-in into training, remodeling lives, and creating alternatives. Right here, sports activities and training go hand in hand, one thing many international locations, together with Brazil, may study from.
If there’s one factor I like about Individuals, it is the best way they deal with soccer. Going to the stadium is a household exercise, a weekend outing the place pals collect for a barbecue within the parking zone earlier than watching the sport. And if the staff loses? It is a part of the sport. There’s no despair, no violence. It’s a easy but highly effective idea: sports activities are leisure, a type of leisure, not a matter of life or loss of life.
However, in Brazil, the state of affairs could be very totally different. If a staff is in a foul part, it is a purpose for followers to go wild. Violence, threats towards gamers, and extreme calls for are normalized by the press and society. This unbridled ardour usually crosses the bounds of widespread sense. It is extraordinarily harmful for households, youngsters, and the aged to often attend stadiums because of the rampant fan violence primarily based on the match end result.
Think about if Brazilians demanded accountability from their politicians with the identical depth they do from their soccer gamers! Simply suppose! In the event that they handled the improper selections of their leaders with the identical indignation they present when a staff loses a sport, possibly the nation could be in a a lot better state of affairs.
And this obsession with soccer is not unique to Brazilians. In lots of international locations, soccer will get extra consideration than genuinely essential points like well being, security, training, and the economic system. In the meantime, Individuals are criticized for specializing in what actually issues and treating soccer, and even different sports activities, as mere leisure.
The expansion of soccer in the US is simple, and MLS has advanced considerably. Nonetheless, the criticism continues. Possibly it’s time for these critics to rethink their ideas and study from the balanced method Individuals deal with sports activities. In spite of everything, sports activities needs to be enjoyable, a wholesome ardour.
So, subsequent time somebody criticizes soccer in the US, it’s value reflecting on whether or not that opinion is rooted in outdated prejudices and a distorted view of what sports activities ought to characterize.