EA FIFA Attracts Inner-City Youth, Accelerates Soccer’s March Towards Mainstream

Every day, there is a reason to think soccer is getting a bit closer to being called a 'Mainstream Sport' in the U.S.  Indicators pop up in all corners of the country.  It feels like a movement.  Fans are displaying passion for soccer and MLS in powerful, indescribable ways. Soccer has passed being a phenomenon in the U.S.; it is beyond anyone's imagination, the level in which it has become part of the culture.  People are attending matches, playing on teams and buying merchandise like never before in this country.   Articles and blogs are documenting this massive, yet subtle turn in consumer tastes with unprecedented coverage.  The Internet, more importantly, technology, has made a major difference on all of it.  Ironically, it might be faux soccer that ultimately tips the scale over for real soccer becoming a mainstream spectator sport.  Video games are now infiltrating a part of society that Soccer has failed to reach in the past, the inner-city.  Without a doubt, soccer video games are present in middle and upper classes of families throughout the U.S.  But not until recently, did soccer become a video game fad for the underclass.  EA Sports, the same video game company that designed the super ...

MLS Team Colors Lack Uniformity

Watching Toronto FC vs. FC Dallas for two nights (first night got cancelled because of lightning strikes close to the stadium) compete in CONCACAF Champions League took some time to get used to.  Usually, FC Dallas plays in red, but for these two nights, they were dressed in blue.  Toronto's main theme color is red.  They were the home team, so they got the privilege of wearing red over FC Dallas, which they did the first night—a deep red.  The second night, they wore a sort of red/orange.  The confusion among team colors merits a review of whether MLS teams are doing a good or bad job in selecting their colors and uniforms.  Overall, there are too many teams with similar color schemes, too many reds and blues. Compounding this problem, teams don't wear their team names anywhere on the uniforms, giving the space to advertisers. Advertising on the uniforms is fine.  It's one more way to generate revenue.  But, team names should always be visible and easy to spot for sports fans.  For example, if D.C. United has Volkswagen on the front of their uniforms, there's room right below the VW insignia to put their team name. Also, there does ...

Sports Talk Radio’s Impact on MLS Can’t Be Overlooked

Sports talk’s impact thus far on pro soccer is everything and nothing at the same time for U.S. sports fans. It means everything because sports talk is the main vein of contact among sports fans. The impact is nothing because that’s about how much relevance U.S. pro soccer gets from sports talk. The national radio airwaves are dominated by the Big Three: football, basketball and baseball. This is simply a fact that cannot be denied. If it is not pro football, pro basketball or pro baseball, the next most popular subjects to be covered by sports talk are college football, college basketball, pro hockey and NASCAR.At some point in the near future, pro soccer must infiltrate the bandwidths in order to become a mainstream product. The idolizing of football, basketball and baseball has become monotonous. By having soccer in the mix, there are more actual sports to talk about.  For MLS to make a lasting impression and bring change to radio talk show formats, it will take massive doses of communication with the hosts of the shows. The eyes of these hosts must become lit by the passion of pro soccer in the U.S.For this to happen, though, sports fans ...

The Royal Wedding’s Influence on Soccer

At first glance, Soccer appears to be quite distant from anything related to the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.  But there's more to it than meets the eye. The English Premier League is, of course, one of the greatest club Soccer leagues in the world and has been for many years.  England is a powerful entity in the world of Soccer for its incredible, rich history of club Soccer at various division levels, its venerable stadiums and its performance in multiple World Cups, including winning one.Possibly, England's greatest contribution has been it link to Soccer's beginnings.  Most sports historians will tell you that the origins of Soccer as an organized sport began in 19th century England.  It was cultivated there and streamlined there over generations to how we recognize it today in its most modern version.  England's impact and continuing influence on the game is indistinguishable from any other country in the world.As the Royal Wedding went under the microscope, so did the Constitutional Monarchy.  The modern world is finding less and less understanding for a monarchy's purpose.  There's greatness in foundations and human rights issues represented by monarchies, but does the end justify the means?  Any monarchy ...

For MLS, No Overtime Means No Chicken Wings

Getting to see extra time due to a tie in a sporting contest is what sports fans live to see.  It's the driving force to watching sometimes.  Fans want to see how long a game can go. The longer it goes, the more dramatic and more memorable it becomes. Remember your first game?  Weren't you rooting for overtime or extra innings?  It's past nail biting, call it cuticle biting time.An added dose of game time provides more entertainment and more opportunity away from your real problems.Buffalo Wild Wings has captured this essence in spectating and capitalized on it in its commercials.  They've done it with a comical edge.  Each of them takes the extra time to the extreme. Their marketing group so far has done multiple spots for basketball, football and baseball.  One for hockey hasn't been spotted yet, though it might be in production.  As for Soccer, doing a spot may be tough to do. There is extra time in Soccer's World Cup and other FIFA-sponsored regional cups, but only in the knockout rounds. The extra time does not always end the game because penalty kicks are used if teams can't win in extra time.   Using PKs to end a game is a ...