About 20 years ago, I was refereeing a game in which an 8-year-old boy tried to intercept a cross with a diving header and instead rifled it into his own goal.
He remained on the ground and proceeded to wail in such heart-rending fashion, I felt obliged to offer consolation. So after I pointed to the center mark, I approached the fallen boy.
I grabbed his shoulder and he pulled his tearful face out of the dirt. “Franz Beckenbauer once scored own goals two games in a row,” I said.
He didn’t know Franz Beckenbauer from Adam and continued sobbing.
I can’t remember what I did then, but I recall the situation because now, time and time again, I encounter American youngsters who do have a connection to star soccer players.
That’s thanks to the proliferation of televised soccer, the 5-year-old MLS, and the United States’ hosting of the men’s World Cup in 1994 and the Women’s World Cup last year.
The players who followed the initial youth boom of the 1970s and matured after the NASL’s demise in 1984 had few opportunities to witness high-level soccer.
It strikes me as amazing that the United States still managed to produce a decent number of adequately talented players who came of age during that period.
Credit goes to those who knew a thing or two about the sport and worked at the grassroots level – the coaches who could inspire a love for the game and the immigrant parents who passed down their passion for the sport.
But the optimal scenario is one in which children can see a variety of elite soccer and choose on their own whom they wish to emulate.
With World Cup qualifying, the Olympic tournaments and MLS all over TV, the United States is at that point. It will make a difference years from now.