CHANGE MY LOCATION
Local
California News
Multimedia News
Superstars not needed for family sports fun
SEE THE LATEST ON THIS STORY
Related Topics: BALTIMORE
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - I wasn’t that enthused when I learned that Baltimore’s Crystal Palace soccer team and the New York Red Bulls were playing at Broadneck High School in Arnold.
I like the idea of suburb soccer, a little variety in the summer spectator entertainment selections. I know parents are looking for ways to connect with their Wii-playing, texting and Facebooking children, and summer picnics don’t always cut it. But the $16 single-game tickets for the Crystal Palace-Red Bulls game — plus $5 parking fee — add up to a lot for a family of four or more. I could have taken my family to the Orioles-Royals game on Tuesday and enjoyed the $8 bargain-night tickets. I could have driven to Bowie for the Baysox-Harrisburg Senators game and paid $9 for adults and $6 for kids.
So I was ready to expect a modest crowd to watch a bunch of reserves on a Major League Soccer team outdistance a team currently in third place in the United Soccer League’s Second Division. I didn’t buy into the pregame David vs. Goliath hype and figured the young minor league club would play well for a while, then fade against the faster, stronger Major League Soccer talent.
The event — and Crystal Palace — proved me wrong.
A crowd of 1,654 jersey-wearing, flag-waving spectators filled the high school stands, including an outnumbered but never drowned-out section of singing, smoke-bombing and vocabulary-enhancing Bulls fans. The Palace played its first season at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis but moved to UMBC’s Stadium for 2008. A scheduling conflict sent the game to the high school field.
The game gave Baltimore fans plenty to enjoy as well. Palace defender Andrew Marshall headed in a corner kick in the 17th minute, and then the team maintained its composure while playing a man down for the last 56 minutes of the game. Forward Gary Brooks volleyed a shot past goalkeeper and Edgewood native Zach Thornton for an insurance goal in the 75th minute, advancing the Palace into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup soccer tournament.
No, this wasn’t World Cup soccer. David Beckham was nowhere in sight. Former national team captain Claudio Renya and most of the other Red Bulls starters were taking a rest after facing the Chivas USA at home on Saturday and preparing for the Colorado Rapids on the road tonight.
Still, the U.S. Open Cup third-round match provided excellent competition for this soccer-crazy region. The tournament, first launched in 1914, gives teams like Crystal Palace the chance to test its competitive muscle. Clubs of all levels have opportunities to qualify for the tournament and a chance to face a higher-level team in the later rounds. Less well-known than national cups in Europe and South America, the U.S. Open Cup is recognized as the oldest American soccer competition, and, since 1992, the winner has advanced to the CONCACAF Cup against other North and Central America Cup winner.
Of course, Crystal Palace is no pickup soccer team. The team was founded in 2007 as a feeder program to the acclaimed south London soccer team of the same name. It plays in the USL, a 20-year-old program that most around here never heard of before the Baltimore team arrived. But the league, which includes developmental teams from U-13 through professional levels, has steadily developed grassroots support and corporate sponsorship. For Crystal Palace, ties to its English team and the USL gave it immediate credibility, and its 9-6-5 record in 2007 established it as a solid competitor.
Palace’s next U.S. Open Cup game is a quarterfinal match Tuesday against the MLS New England Revolution in Connecticut.
Whether or not it advances, Palace has already demonstrated that athletes don’t have to be multimillion-dollar draft picks with Hummer limousines and fawning entourages. There are great athletes and good competition at a variety of levels. With teams like Crystal Palace, the Bowie Baysox and Frederick Keys, we can enjoy pure athletic competition without the superstar component.
The novelty of Tuesday’s soccer game — the mismatch and the upset — contributed to the value of the event. But even without the gimmicks and despite the New York fans’ X-rated cheers, it was a pleasant family outing. It was probably enough to lure a few from the Broadneck neighborhoods north to a future game.
Brooks’ reaction to his late-game goal captured the mood of the evening. “That was a beautiful finish,” he said in a gentle Jamaican lilt. “I’m telling the truth.”
Comments from Examiner Readers
4:21 AM MST on Mon., Jul. 21, 2008 re: "Jousting: An age-old tradition is alive and well in the land of pleasant living"
Report as inappropriate
7:41 PM MST on Sat., Jul. 19, 2008
re: "Jousting: An age-old tradition is alive and well in the land of pleasant living"
Report as inappropriate
3:21 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 4, 2008
re: "Superstars not needed for family sports fun"
Report as inappropriate
1:27 AM MST on Fri., Jul. 4, 2008
re: "Superstars not needed for family sports fun"
Report as inappropriate
4:37 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 13, 2008
re: "Stressed out? Out of shape? Go for a run"
Report as inappropriate
9:46 AM MST on Mon., Jun. 2, 2008
re: "Baltimore needs to expand its proud lacrosse tradition, advance the sport"
Report as inappropriate
10:24 AM MST on Fri., May. 30, 2008
re: "Baltimore needs to expand its proud lacrosse tradition, advance the sport"
Report as inappropriate
10:51 AM MST on Fri., May. 9, 2008
re: "History vanishes into the night"
Report as inappropriate
11:49 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 23, 2008
re: "Who’s No. 1? We’ll probably never know"
Report as inappropriate
6:42 AM MST on Wed., Mar. 26, 2008
re: "Sometimes life’s lessons are the hardest to learn"
Report as inappropriate
9:02 PM MST on Wed., Feb. 13, 2008
re: "A sad tale everyone should take to Hart"
Report as inappropriate
7:28 AM MST on Tue., Oct. 23, 2007
re: "Let kids be kids first"
Report as inappropriate
5:47 AM MST on Tue., Oct. 23, 2007
re: "Let kids be kids first"
Report as inappropriate
7:51 AM MST on Wed., Oct. 10, 2007
re: "Parents need to be positive or silent"
Report as inappropriate
Examiner Reader said:
Thank you for a wonderful article and capturing the spirit of an equine sport we love. Vicki Betts, President, Maryland Jousting Tournament Association
6 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
Effie- What fun to read- What a great Maryland tradition that is being kept alive-Thanks this was fun to read.
5 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Attila the Hon said:
Please disregard the previous comment. He didn't even explain himself. Pretty gutless, I think. It's great to see a Baltimore-area newspaper columnist finally show some love for Crystal Palace Baltimore. I always look forward to the Examiner's refreshing coverage of this very highly deserving team. Puts to shame The Sun which almost always ignores Palace and deserves its declining readership. Keep up the good work. GO PALACE! UPSET NEW ENGLAND!
12 agree | 9 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
Worst. Column. Ever.
10 agree | 15 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
The Undertaker said:
People in this country are too fat, lazy, and stupid.
11 agree | 11 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
"These days Maryland kids often get their first sticks before their first tricycles. College coaches flock to the state for showcase camps and recruiting tournaments. And lacrosse has deep roots in the business and political communities, where former players maintain connections far stronger than academic degrees." Laugh out loud. This is a paragraph supporting lacrosse? In truth it is an indictment of all that is wrong with the sport. Kids SHOULD get trikes before sticks. Most lacrosse families consist of semi-talented white athletes (who couldn't compete in other sports) pushed hard by parents who live vicariously through them, and hope to achieve greater social status through their "Excellent play". So sad.
11 agree | 11 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
Please don't say the l word around baseball people.
13 agree | 12 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
This Annapolis woman, who has taken Rafael Alvarez spot on page six is BORING. BRING BACK ALVAREZ, he is from Baltimroe, where we who live in BALTIMORE can read about our town.
11 agree | 11 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
Bravo! I totally agree! With a daughter on the John Carroll team, I know they'd welcome a game to determine the mythical "champion"! What a blast that would be.
11 agree | 12 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
A Mother of Boys said:
Thank you for your insights on the life lessons for this young man. He has carved a hard road for himself, and forced the grown ups around him (parents, coaches, authorities) to make hard choices about his future. We, like you, are praying that he gets a second chance, and makes the most of it. That's another life lesson.
12 agree | 11 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
examiner reader said:
This guy should be hillary's running mate
73 agree | 56 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Not...paying attention said:
The writer actually points out the fact that children know the score and are competative. She is correctly trying to make the point that youth sports should be about learning the fundamentals of the game and sportsmanship. For young children, the experience should be FUN. Winning is much less important to most 6-7 year olds than their parents. Most children would much rather play in the game than watch their "team" win. Children who enjoy the experience will be much more likely to develop a passion for the sport and a commitment to self development. This provides a much stronger mental foundation for the player when they hit High School and College when sports are rightly focused on winning and losing. It is a shame that children no longer experience the sand lot version of sports where parents are no where to be found. Yes, we kept score but it was forgotten as soon as we started the next game. We played because it was FUN!
104 agree | 128 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Not said:
"But those wonderful first years of athletic participation are not the time to teach kids that sports are all about winning." They do not have to be taught this. Kids keep score on everything competitive and naturally seek to win. This mamby-pamby false protectiveness of children is precisely the kind of crud that is counter intuitive for chidren.
120 agree | 127 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Don said:
I'm glad I am done with all of that sports stuff, and competition dance is even worse....been there, seen it done it. Its no small wonder why older people have grey hair.
142 agree | 140 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree