The World Cup is mere days away, and I fear much of Santa Cruz County is not ready. We’re here to fix that.
Why should you care? Because if you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness global superstars playing on US soil. Stars like Lionel Messi, the Argentine GOAT, Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo and the Norse viking Erling Haaland.
We’ve got 48 teams and 104 matches across the US, Mexico and Canada. The first match is June 11; the final, July 19.
A prediction: it’s going to be overwhelming.
And, wait, did I mention Christian Pulisic? Remember that name. He’s the great hope of the US team, a forward from Hershey, Penn., who now plays for AC Milan, a European giant. If he does well and drags the US deep into the knockout round, you’ll want to go along on the ride. It’ll be the talk of the summer.
Pulisic’s size is as good a place as any to explain the beauty of soccer.
He’s listed at 5’8,” more or less average. Messi, the Argentine magician widely considered the game’s greatest player, is 5’7” and 148 pounds. Soccer rewards skill, speed, teamwork and intelligence. It’s a game for everyone.
Now look at the NBA finals this week. The players are well north of 6 feet and Victor Wembanyama, the star center of the San Antonio Spurs, is listed at 7’4.” (There’s speculation he’s actually taller!) Jalen Brunson, the Knicks talisman, is an aberration at a mere 6’2”. Extraordinary and unusual height is a basic requirement to play professional basketball.
Then there’s football. The overall average height and weight of an NFL player is 6’2” and 245 pounds. It varies by position, of course, and offensive linemen are routinely above 300 pounds.
Football and basketball reward extreme height and extreme size. Soccer is for everyone else.
If you’ve idle time before the first match next week (that would be Mexico vs South Africa in Mexico City) search for Messi YouTube highlights. His gifts are astonishing, dribbling through hapless defenders and firing shots past panicking goalkeepers. His play seems akin to magic, something that looks borrowed from a video game.
Pulisic’s highlights, too, are dazzling, though of course a notch below Messi’s. Yet, again, you’re watching an average-size man at play. That could be you!
Another reason to adopt soccer, at least for this summer, is that it’s the world’s game. We’re a bit parochial here with our sports diet. The month-long tournament draws an estimated 5 billion viewers, basically the planet, with the France-Argentina final alone, in 2022, drawing an estimated 1.4 billion viewers for at least a portion of the match, per Statista. The last Super Bowl drew 123 million in the US and another 62 million internationally. It’s small potatoes.
Soccer (“football” to the rest of the world) is popular in large part because it’s played everywhere. The requirements are minimal – a field and a round ball. Most of the world’s most iconic players – Pele, Maradona, Messi, Ronaldo, come from exceedingly modest backgrounds. Messi’s father worked in a steel factory and his mother in a magnet-manufacturing workshop. Pele, the late Brazilian great, practiced in the streets by kicking socks stuffed with newspaper or grapefruits.
So, yes, soccer is democratic, accepting players of any size and, yes, it’s played in countries rich and poor. It’s a common language across every continent.
But the game’s greatest attribute is its beauty and the enthusiasm it generates. My conversion occurred decades ago, watching an England match in a London pub. I’d never encountered such manic zeal. Later, I organized European trips around the World Cup and Euro championships, watching matches in crowded pubs. I attended matches in England, Germany and dozens in Seattle, one of the first US markets to have caught the fever.
If soccer had a slogan, it would be “O Jogo Bonito,” Portuguese for “the beautiful game,” a phrase popularized by Pele.
Soccer is a global sport and the World Cup is its signature event. And this time, we’re hosting, along with our neighbors. The final, on July 19, will be in MetLife Stadium.
The world will be watching. Get on board now. Time is short.
