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Yes, it can be difficult to get past Keith Olbermann’s “Holier Than Thou” delivery and self-important aura. However, if one can overlook that, Olbermann’s suggestions for making soccer more popular in the US makes some sense.
In short, his solution is to make soccer more American.
1. Stop imitating English soccer jargon. This goes for “futball”, “nil”, “pitch” and “schedjewel”.
2. Get a great play-by-play man. Ideally, he won’t sound like Keith Olbermann.
3. Lay off the soccer elitism. Yeah, this one for sure.
4. Soccer is not sacred, it’s a game. This. Please don’t treat it like the soccer is a spiritual journey.
5. Change the MLS team names. Admittedly, MLS team names sound like minor-league team names.
6. Stay away from FIFA. Please.
7. Take advantage of the sport’s rising popularity among the youth. FIFA (the game, not the organization) will be the key to soccer’s success in America. Yes, a video game could be pivotal towards a sport’s success in the US. Is there anything more American than that?
I’d say 1, 2 and 5 would be the most important.
As for one, nothing can ruin the fun of something like a guy who’s trying to needlessly “correct” your vocabulary when everyone understands what’s being said already.
In regards to changing team names to something more palatable, the New York Soccer Yankees, while derivative, is a much more graspable brand than “NYCFC” which sounds like a New York fireman’s private club.
Lastly, the play-by-play experience can not be emphasized enough. Watching the World Cup on Univision is so much better than ESPN simply for the announcing alone. Sure, one wants to learn about the game while watching it but that added emotion makes the game so much more enjoyable. This is coming from someone who doesn’t even speak Spanish.
The chances of anyone acting on this is remote but for all of Olbermann’s theatrics, there are some good ideas here. Remember, it’s soccer, not “futball”.
