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U.S. Soccer team dominates, but US fans can't outmatch Honduras at RFK
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In 1961, the Washington Redskins played their first game at D.C. Stadium, as it was called at that time. It .jpg)
was against the New York Giants, and was witnessed by 36,767 fans. The Giants won, 24-21, but the game had a deeper meaning than one loss in a season. It was the beginning of an era for the city and its football team.[1] The team abandoned RFK stadium after the 1996 season, when the once-modern facility was a rickety, clanking legend – and the home of the best fans in the NFL. But during last night’s Gold Cup[2] soccer match-up between the US and Honduras, it was Honduras’ fans who shook the metal bleachers even while their team lost 2-0. One would think that the two-time defending Gold Cup champion US team, now ranked twelfth in the world[3], could, if not fill up RFK stadium for the one night only appearance, at least keep it even.
was against the New York Giants, and was witnessed by 36,767 fans. The Giants won, 24-21, but the game had a deeper meaning than one loss in a season. It was the beginning of an era for the city and its football team.[1] The team abandoned RFK stadium after the 1996 season, when the once-modern facility was a rickety, clanking legend – and the home of the best fans in the NFL. But during last night’s Gold Cup[2] soccer match-up between the US and Honduras, it was Honduras’ fans who shook the metal bleachers even while their team lost 2-0. One would think that the two-time defending Gold Cup champion US team, now ranked twelfth in the world[3], could, if not fill up RFK stadium for the one night only appearance, at least keep it even. .jpg)
According to the President of US Soccer, the recent victory against Spain was one of three landmark moments in US soccer history (along with the 1994 own-goal victory against Columbia and making the quarter-finals of the 2002 Cup). http://blogcritics.org/sports/article/soccer-will-never-be-popular-in/. Even if three major moments in fifteen years is slow progress, the fact that the US team also seriously scared number one ranked Brazil this summer should be enough to persuade people that this team is for real. So that's not the problem. The problem is plainly that soccer is still not football, basketball, or even hockey. According to ESPN and other surveys, the probable ranking of sports league's popularity in the US is presently:
1. National Football League
2. National Basketball Association
3. Major League Baseball
4. NCAA Football
5. NCAA Baskateball
6. NASCAR
7. National Hockey League
8. Arena Football League
9. Women's National Basketball Association
10. Major League Soccer
While the US fans who did show for the game matched Honduras in intensity, including painted chests, bass drums, and at least one Captain America outfit, the fan imbalance caused one American supporter to remark, when is this going to catch on?
Photo top right: Honduras National Team fans at RFK/CL; Photo Top Left: US fan among sea of Blue and White; Photos Bottom Right: US fans James Murtagh of Belfast, Ireland and Jim and Kyle Kerr of Philadelphia waving American flag amid Honduras' supporters at RFK/CL.
[2] Gold Cup is a soccer tournament for the national teams of North and Central America and the Caribbean. Games are played throughout those regions.
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