‘We need 11 Michael Jordans’

By Scott M. Johnson

Herald Writer

SEATTLE – As Kasey Keller stepped off the escalator at the downtown Sheraton earlier this week, he was greeted by a stranger with arm extended. The man turned out to be a hotel employee who just wanted to meet Keller in person.

Keller, a tall, lanky soccer player who grew up outside of Olympia, will probably never know what it’s like to be Michael Jordan or Ichiro Suzuki. But the act of kindness from his new acquaintance showed that the sport of soccer isn’t as invisible in this country as it once was.

As Keller and his teammates on the U.S. men’s national team prepared for today’s exhibition game at Safeco Field against Honduras, there have been a few small hints that soccer – the No. 1 sport in most countries but still destined to cult status here – might be establishing a respectable following. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN, and officials were pleasantly surprised when ticket sales went over 30,000 a few days ago.

Nationally, the sport is taking baby steps. A women’s professional league began play last summer, and the main men’s professional league, Major League Soccer, reported its first increase in attendance since 1996 last season. Likewise, youth participation is up nationally. The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) currently has about 625,000 participants nationwide, a figure that almost doubles the turnout from 1992. According to records kept by the North County Soccer Club, youth participation in Snohomish County has more than doubled since 1990, rising from 5,613 to nearly 12,000.

But the U.S. hasn’t become a soccer nation yet.

“It’s getting a little bit past cult sport,” Keller said, “but it definitely has some more roads to go for mainstream.”

Games like the one played today at Safeco Field are encouraging signs for aficionados of the sport. The national television exposure means players like Keller might one day be recognized in places outside of their hometowns.

“Every day we need to make a little progress, however you define that,” said Bruce Arena, coach of the U.S. men’s team.

Arena’s theory on why soccer hasn’t become popular in the U.S. is pretty simple. Until this country can start seriously competing with other nations in the sport, soccer will be destined to secondary status.

“We have a very odd sports society,” Arena said. “One thing is that we support winners, clearly. And in my lifetime, we’re not going to be winning a World Cup.”

As far as the World Cup goes, this year’s American team believes it has a shot to make some noise when play begins in June. But Arena admitted that the U.S. team might not even win a single game – something that could still be considered a success as long as the Americans play well.

“When we were in Italy (for a game last month), it was almost like night and day with the U.S.,” said U.S. defenseman Jeff Agoos. “There’s almost nowhere you can go without people knowing about the game, knowing about players. Over there, the players are superstars, rock stars, that kind of thing. Over here, few people recognize us.”

At 33 years old, Agoos is one of the veterans on the team. Like many of his teammates, he has grown frustrated with the media coverage his sport receives. Earlier this week, he was watching SportsCenter on ESPN, when the network aired a story about LeBron James, a high school basketball phenom who hasn’t even turned 18 yet.

“There’s not the media attention to our guys growing up that there are in other sports,” Agoos said.

Asked whether the U.S. team could use a Michael Jordan-like figure to help promote the sport, Agoos responded with a straight face: “We need 11 Michael Jordans.”

Despite the fact that soccer has yet to explode in this country, the players sense a building surge. The team averages about 35,000 fans per game on U.S. soil, as compared to 21,199 in 1995. Those involved with the sport hope that progress will eventually gain momentum.

“Hopefully, 15 or 20 years down the road, I’ll be one of those guys on ESPN Classic going, ‘I remember when we only got 25,000 people at that game,’” Agoos said. “Maybe it will be similar to what the explosion that the NFL and the NBA have had.”