 "Photo: Photo Illustration by Israel Gutierrez | Valley Star")
When nay-sayers preach that soccer will never become a mainstream sport in the United States, fans of the sport need not look any further than Saturday night to see why.
When the U.S. Mens National Team played Honduras at the Stadio Olimpico in San Pedro Sula this weekend in a game that decided the American's entrance into the world's largest sporting event, The World Cup, most U.S. fans did not see the match. Until Americans can see all these games at home, the sport will continue to struggle for recognition, especially against competition, like the NFL, who seem to have it all figured out.
American viewers were left in the dark because the Honduran Soccer Federation sold the game's television rights to a company that only offers closed circuit broadcasts in the United States. In other words, the only places Americans could go to see the game were a handful of restaurants and bars, which are not conducive to a large audience.
This plight comes just when soccer lovers thought the game was starting to turn the corner in the states. A culture on the heels of America's second place showing at the Confederations Cup in South Africa, a warm up tournament for the World Cup.
Sports media couldn't get enough of the underdog Americans beating the number one team in the World, Spain, in the semi-finals of the tournament. The win boosted the Americans to their first appearance in the final of a tournament comprised of teams outside of the North and Central American/Caribbean region (CONCACAF).
The excitement spurred by the team's efforts helped fuel astronomical attendance figures for several European club teams' tours of the United States and the Gold Cup, the CONCACAF regional tournament, this summer.
Just as the sleeping giant awoke, it was laid back to rest.
FIFA, soccer's international governing body, has always allowed the home team's federation to control the television rights for World Cup qualifiers in order to assure an extra infusion of cash to poorer federations.
However, this system has become insufficient, as the U.S. was not the only country that couldn't see it's team's qualifier. England, arguably the world's most passionate soccer country, was also blacked out this weekend when their team played the Ukraine.
FIFA needs to find a system in which qualifiers and other international matches can be shown around both of the participating countries, not just because of national pride, but also because of earning potential. If they need a model, they should look towards the U.S.'s most popular sport, the NFL, for guidance.
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