UNLIKE SO MANY enthusiastic soccer fans in the San Francisco area, I stayed out of the bars during the World Cup. It wouldn't have been practical. But near the end of the tournament, after a long night and morning of work, I settled onto a bar stool and ordered an Irish coffee, which seemed an appropriate drink for a soccer insomniac.
A replay of Brazil-Turkey was on the television, and a 69-year-old woman looked up and said, ''They ought to shoot the man who invented that game.''
I took it upon myself to inquire as to the source of her animosity toward the sport.
''It makes my head hurt watching them bounce the ball off their heads,'' she said.
''That's fair,'' I said, ''but you'll notice the Brazilians tend to keep the ball on the ground. Besides, no one's forcing you to watch.''
''He's right,'' said her male companion of a similar age. ''You don't have to watch. … You know, my grandson plays for a championship team in Castro Valley. … Soccer's going to be real popular here some day, isn't it?''
Ronaldo scored, and I went home to nap. Then I logged online to read scores of stories from around the country about this sport that wasn't yet popular. I came across Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski's article, ''Soccer is for the young.'' He had joined 1,700 people who watched the USA-Germany game on big screens outside of Arrowhead Stadium.
''These were kids watching,'' Posnanski wrote. ''Real kids. The kinds of kids you don't see at baseball games anymore. The kinds of kids you never see at Chiefs games. … And it hit me. The soccer-rippers are old. Has-beens. They are the same age group who, 50 years ago, said rock 'n' roll would never catch on.''
It's true. Young Americans like soccer. But, as potential sports fans, they're swamped by the traditional sports. It takes a World Cup to remind us that, yes, this sport already is popular in the United States.
By Soccer America Executive Editor Mike Woitalla