BEFORE FOUNDING Soccer America in 1971, Clay Berling helped get boys and girls soccer off the ground in Northern California. We caught up with Clay, a National Soccer Hall of Fame member, after he attended his fourth Women's World Cup.
Your reaction to the U.S. women's semifinal loss …
We can't be at the top forever. What's important is we made a sacrifice for the good of the cause, hosting this tournament on short notice, at an inconvenient time of year, and making it a fantastic event.
What can we learn from the WUSA's collapse?
To learn. I don't know if the WUSA investors educated themselves from the past. The old NASL provided plenty of examples of good and bad ways to do it. Sometimes people don't learn.
Now that we have so many more examples of failure and success, I hope people are learning from them.
Where do you see the good news?
We have major people putting major money in building sports complexes for MLS teams. They wouldn't invest major money in the sport if they weren't intending to build the sport. That's really good news.
What bothers you?
People who say they don't go to MLS games because they aren't good enough. I don't agree with their assessment. MLS is a very good league. Most of its critics haven't really looked at it.
Secondly, the way to get this league to be even better is to support it. The more support it gets, the faster it will grow.
That's how the traditional American sports grew. They didn't arrive out of thin air at the level they are now. They received support over the years that translated into more professionalism and higher quality.
And the soccer community has to support MLS. So many people tell me they're involved because of their children, whom they'd like to see get a college scholarship or even play pro.
If that's what you care about, you need to support college and pro soccer by attending their games.
by Soccer America Founder Clay Berling