TERRE HAUTE — Throughout the Euro 2008 soccer tournament, the Tribune-Star has tried its best to let you know all of the goings on in Switzerland and Austria in what has been a thrilling tournament. That alone shows how far soccer has come, but it really hit home for me during a conversation earlier this week.
One of our younger staffers suggested we put one of the Euro quarterfinals (Italy-Spain?) on the cover of the section. I was so taken aback, I had to step out of my skin for a moment and reflect on it.
I don’t think general interest in the community warranted front page Euro 2008 “play” as we call it (perhaps it does for Sunday’s Germany-Spain championship match), but being a longtime soccer fan myself, the very idea that someone (not a soccer fan) thought it was that newsworthy floored me.
It just goes to show how far soccer has come in a country that sometimes wears its supposed hatred of the sport like a badge of honor.
To know how far its come, you have to know where it was. I’m 36 and began following international soccer in the early 1980s. To say I “followed” international soccer is a bit of a misnomer since it was almost impossible to follow it with any kind of depth in those days on this side of the pond.
I can remember frantically working the rabbit ears and the rooftop antennae at my grandmother’s TV in Elkhorn, Wis. in an effort to tune in Spanish-language replays from the old SIN network (one of the predecessors of Univision) out of Chicago of World Cup 1982.
That was the only option available to me, though PBS and then-new ESPN did carry some matches in other markets. ABC carried for the championship match live for the first time ever with commercials. That was a veritable revolution at the time, considering there was no American TV coverage at all in 1974 and 1978.
It wasn’t much better in 1986, though as I recall, NBC clumsily carried some of the weekend matches. There were commercials and I seem to recall Budweiser sponsoring the telecasts by putting a big red ribbon around the screen. The World Cup still wasn’t ready for primetime in 1990 when then-fledgling net TNT carried most, but not all, of the matches.
The amount of televised matches was finally increased to include every match in 1994, if only because the U.S. hosted it, but it was a landmark moment.
TV ratings for World Cup ’94 were better than expected, crowds came in droves, and the vastness of the tournament captured the mainstream media’s attention. It carried into 1998. I was floored when France’s victory that year was front page news in USA Today, the New York Times, etc. That’s when you knew the worm turned.
Since then, its been an article of faith that all World Cup matches are televised. XM Satellite Radio even carried radio broadcasts of each match in 2006.
The European Championships — played in even calendar years that aren’t World Cup years — ascended into the television consciousness in 1996. I’ll never forget my shock when the Germany-Czech Republic championship match was one of the lead items on SportsCenter (back when it was good). The Euro’s were a popular pay-per-view selection in 2000 and 2004 before they reached near-World Cup status this year when ESPN elected to televise each match.
By cable standards the ratings have been pretty good. For example, the Germany-Portugal quarterfinal was watched by 1.1 million viewers. That number would be cause for panic in NFL or NBA offices — but by the standards of a sport that gets little mainstream media attention during its club seasons and whose players are anonymous to all but soccer fans — that’s an excellent pull. It would be fascinating if the numbers justified coverage of other continental championships, notably the African Nations Cup and Copa America, both of which boast quality players and teams.
Why has televised soccer made strides? First of all, the charged atmosphere of an international match is without peer in any sport.
The Internet is a massive engine for soccer interest. Before the Internet, there was no way any American could keep up on qualifications for the World Cup, the continental tournaments, or the elite European leagues with anything but cursory, out-of-date information from the imported soccer monthlies.
Now, I can look up how well (or poorly) my club, Leeds United, is faring in an instant.
Finally, those who are roughly my age and younger have lived with major international soccer in some form for our whole lives. Unlike Baby Boomers, under 40s never had to be sold on whether the sport is legit or not. That doesn’t mean everyone under 40 likes soccer, far from it, but few in that age group would argue that the World Cup and the continental tournaments aren’t a big deal. They’ve been a big deal our whole lives.
Soccer’s come a long way from those frustrating days of working the rabbit ears in my grandma’s house. It’s great to see.
Todd Golden is sports editor of the Tribune-Star. He can be reached at (812) 231-4272 or todd.golden@tribstar.com.
From the Press Box
From The Press Box: Soccer has come a long way
- From the Press Box
-
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Peyton’s place belongs to Eli
The good people of Indianapolis justifiably puffed out their chests throughout Super Bowl week as the city received deserved rave reviews for the job it did as hosts of Super Bowl XLVI.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Teammates, colleagues express their loyalty to Weatherford
Sometimes you worry whether someone is stopping to smell the roses when they smell rosiest.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Does melted ice reveal Belichick's heart of gold?
If you’re into Youtube — and who isn’t these days? — there’s a vintage television profile of then-Cleveland Browns coach Bill Belichick posted on the popular site.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Indiana State men caught between expectation, reality
The Missouri Valley Conference is hush-hush on how it puts together its matchups for the annual conference schedule.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Accentuating the positive with ISU's Odum
There’s something to be said for being your own worst critic, especially when it comes to sports.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Loss hurts, but national exposure is ... priceless
Trying to advance the philosophy that any publicity is good publicity is probably an effort wasted on a losing team less than 10 minutes removed from a disappointing defeat where victory had been oh so close to fruition.
-
TODD GOLDEN: The great playoff race is on for Indiana State football
The great race is on.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Fans owe ISU seniors 10,000
I have covered Indiana State football since the 2004 season.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Indiana State has used up its playoff mulligan
It’s been a glass half-full kind of season for the Indiana State football team, so it was easy — and exciting — to get caught up in looking ahead to scenarios that placed ISU in the FCS playoffs, even if ISU didn’t win out.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Not a coulda, shoulda for Sycamores
Indiana State's football team is getting tired of being graded on the curve of its own past futility.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Supernatural Shakir was a sight to behold
I’ve often heard it said when a player has a big statistical day that he’s racking up “video game numbers.”
-
TODD GOLDEN: Sycamore defense absorbs lesson
A win is a win, they say. And for Indiana State, none of the Sycamores are going to take back or put an asterisk next to their 48-34 victory over Butler on Saturday.
-
TODD GOLDEN: And now on to the normal part of the schedule
The Steve Miller Band would’ve appreciated Indiana State’s trip to Penn State.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Sabermetrics has changed love of baseball
I turned 40 this summer. No problem.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: No debate about quality of Vigo baseball
It’s standard practice for losing high school coaches — especially coaches who led teams on a deep postseason run — to heap praise on their seniors one last time. It’s even more so when one of those seniors was the rock of a given team for a four-year period.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Season dies down, but ISU’s plate not empty
With coaching changes having mostly sorted themselves out and with recruiting having just entered its quiet period today, college basketball has settled into its more relaxed offseason mode.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Winning spring more important than winning the spring game
Indiana State football coach Trent Miles has been involved in collegiate coaching since 1987. He knows better than anyone that there’s no one-size-fits-all way to approach the annual spring football game.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Friday wait was worth it for Indiana State
Many have seen the famous Salvador Dali painting, “Persistence of Memory.” The most memorable images in the surreal painting are unquestionably the pocket watches that are drooped over a ledge, a tree branch, etc.
-
Many Sycamores, past and present, to remember
The minute it became apparent Indiana State had punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 60-56 victory over Missouri State on Sunday, I reflected on all of the moments in the previous seven years of covering the Sycamores that led to this.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Sycamore AD Ron Prettyman explains Cal Poly interest
Editor’s note: Indiana State Director of Athletics Ron Prettyman interviewed and participated in a public open forum for the same position at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo last week.
-
Paradigm shifts for Sycamores after UNI win
In many respects, it’s been an Indiana State men’s basketball season like no other in its recent history.
-
Odum shouldn’t be overlooked as MVC’s Freshman of Year
The cliché would state that Creighton forward Doug McDermott has taken the Missouri Valley Conference by storm from day one. The truth is that McDermott had the attention of MVC observers long before day one.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Late turnover doesn’t define excellence from Jake Odum
You know what’s one of the best tests of how a player has gained respect? Listen to the way the road crowd reacts when that player has the ball in his hands.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Tempo changes for worse on both ends for Sycamores
When Indiana State was on its six-game early January winning streak that saw it rise to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference, team chemistry was seemingly the biggest reason for the success.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ‘Yeah, but’ … maybe ISU is for real
I had an eighth-grade reunion in Milwaukee last summer, the highlight of 2010 for me. Among the memories we re-lived, I had totally forgotten that my seventh-grade teacher nicknamed me “Yeah But.” As in, “Yeah, but …” I always seemed to have an argument for the answer he sought in class, whether my argument was right or not.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU’s place in pecking order hasn’t changed
The nonconference portion of the college basketball season serves several purposes.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Thompson’s latest honor stands apart from the rest
Anthony Thompson has won his share of trophies and awards.
-
From The Press Box: Waltman reception highlights ISU reunion
It seems like every time I’m around Royce Waltman, I have to brace myself.
-
From The Press Box: At its worst moment, Indiana State showed a lot
Everyone knows life is unfair … you just hate it when life proves it.
So it went for Indiana State’s football team on Saturday as it faced perennial power Northern Iowa. -
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Don’t get too worked up about preseason polls
The Indiana State men were picked where in the MVC Preseason poll? The Sycamores tied for fifth last year and have seven players back from a postseason team. Terre Haute is so excited about this team. They had to be picked in the top half of the league, right?
- More From the Press Box Headlines
-
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Snow Strands Italian Towns
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Raw Video: Rough Seas Stop Oil Removal
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Video of M.I.A's Obscene Halftime Gesture
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
The Pits: Israelis Spit Olives for Glory
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
ShowBiz Minute: Madonna, Beresford-Redman, Pawsc
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Absolute Lin-sanity
Hate to be Rude: Bubba Watson
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
Funeral to be held for Powell boys
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow
Halle Wants to Leave the Country
Northern Lights shine above earth
Plane makes perfect belly landing
