Thought it will never be mistaken for the World Cup by the initiated, Andrew Dixon argues the importance of the Olympics as a public statement on US soccer's quality for the average American sports fan.
By Andrew Dixon
MIAMI, FL (Aug 6, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- The first soccer game this Grown Man ever attended was during the 1984 Olympics. Chile - Norway at Harvard Stadium. I remember pulling for Chile that day because their fans had better cheers than the Norwegians, and being disappointed when one of their goals was waived off.
I also recall feeling that subdued sense of patriotism when I realized the United States weren't expected to do anything. They didn't, at least in the minds of those of us associating Olympics with medal performances, exiting at the group stage. I turned my attention for the remainder of the Olympics to the exploits of Carl Lewis, gymnastics, and pre-Dream Team basketball. A lot like everybody else.
Fast forward to 2008, and you can add soccer to that list for an increasing segment of the American audience. The Women's tournament is taking for granted as a medal winner. The Men's side carries with it the expectations of improving on that 4th-place finish eight years ago. Unlike the Olympic qualifiers most of us snoozed through in the spring, this will be a real challenge.
If the Men's team takes it to the medal rounds, they have an opportunity at picking up at least a portion of that mainstream appeal the senior squad got in 2006. Another tournament seen live in the early hours of the morning. NBC even has an all-soccer channel for the Games, to go along with the all-basketball version.
With all of this potential for media attention and drawing support from those interested in the US medal count and pulling for the home team, are we expecting too much? Are we building this team up once again only to be disappointed if they don’t get out of the group stage or match their run of 2000? What exactly is success for this team?
This is a team with talent that could do some things.
Six players from the 2007 U-20 World Cup team that reached the quarterfinals (beating Brazil along the way) are on the Olympic side as well. Players who had starring roles such as Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore, Danny Szetela and Michael Bradley are all back.
The US added solid overage selections at both ends of the field. Brian McBride especially should free up Adu to be more in his game, running at defenders at will and trying to string service to one of the best aerial players in US history. Maurice Edu has already seen time with the senior side and I’m looking for a breakout tournament for Sacha Kljestan who has turned me into a fan.
I don’t think it’s a stretch that this team comes in with some legitimate expectations and certainly with more of a profile than the 2000 team did. That said, 'high profile' is relative to scale.
The CONMEBOL representatives are loaded. As many have already pointed out, too much for many full National Teams to handle. The draw also puts things into perspective, with the US facing a tougher than first glance group with Japan, Holland, and 1996 gold medalists Nigeria.
The US hasn’t exactly been scaring anyone with their offense in the Olympic qualifying tournament, Toulon, or the two ING games that served as the warm-up for the full Olympic squad. Though I think the US can get some results out of this tournament, they still can’t be considered medal favorites.
So I began to wonder whether the increased attention the is going to create some kind of false hope among casual soccer observers. If the US doesn’t put on a show, will people use that as the basis for their opinion on US soccer in general? After all, even the team sports that take two hours to play end up becoming a few highlight minutes on the prime time broadcasts.
You can't expect the average Olympic fan to understand that this is still basically an Under-23 competition, even if it draws the highest attendance of any sport in the Games.
Now I don't think an uninspired display from the US is going to have casual viewers talking cynically about that Freddy Adu kid, shrugging their shoulders if we speak about the potential of a Jozy Altidore and say, “Yeah but he didn’t do anything in the Olympics did he?”
Instead, they won't be saying anything one way or the other. That as much as fashionable neck wear is on the line for the US program, an opportunity to get itself into the broader conversation.
Me, I just want us to play well. Whether or not it's enough to get to the medal stage, I want to feel like I did during the Under-20 tournament last summer in Canada. No, the US didn't make the semifinals, but they did put on a show.
Set up something similar here, and it's a much larger audience talking about it the next day. From a promotional standpoint outside of the already converted soccer fans, only the World Cup is bigger.
For the rest of us, we know that the World Cup Qualifiers take precedent. Like a lot of you, I'm watching these games with that in mind. The continuing development of the Adu-Altidore relationship, steady play from Edu, Sztela and Bradley in the middle, a commanding presence in the box by Guzan and few mistakes from Michael Parkhurst. If that gets the US in position for a medal, we all win.
Then again, all this is just the opinion of One Grown Man hoping for a reason to wake up the neighbors.
Andrew Dixon is a soccer writer based in Miami and a weekly columnist for USSoccerPlayers. Contact him at: golnoir@golnoir.net
