I’ve taken to watching MLS soccer over the last couple of years, and who ever says that there is not soccer culture in this country needs to wake and see the Red cards flying all over the place. There seems to be a very strong soccer culture in the American west (Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City) where there really shouldn’t be (i.e. the historical heritage of the cities is Anglo and not Spanish) but every time I turn on a MLS game there is a packed stadium with flags waving and people generally going nuts… if you weren’t paying attention you would think it’s a European match of some sort but no it’s American soccer. These scenes give me great hope for soccer in this country as growing sport. You know it’s only taken 30 years of youth soccer to get this far.
Now to figure out a way to start chants at Cardinals games that some how make the other team feel decidedly less at home… Especially those pesky 49ers…