Thoughts on Euro 08, Soccer, and America

There's something amazing about the way that the world responds to soccer. Almost everyone has a story about a personal visit or friend's visit to Europe or South America during a major soccer event, and the way in which the streets were empty, bars were packed, and people were all-consumed by the experience. As much as Americans love our Super Bowl - and as much as we claim that it's a truly global event - we simply cannot approach the level of intensity and pride that so many nations have for international soccer.

Why can't Americans feel the same way? I'm sure there are a number of reasons, one of the most important being that we tend to like the sports in which we excel, and we simply don't compete with the rest of the world on the same level. Watching the Euro 08 Final today, however, I have another theory - maybe the sports we enjoy so much say something larger about our culture.

Watching this game - Spain leads Germany 1-0 at the half, having narrowly missed on two scoring opportunities, but having converted on a race to the ball to flip in a quick goal that may well be the difference - I can't help but think that it speaks so well to the German style of precision and intense attention to detail. The game is technically fought in the midfield, with defensive breakdowns carrying the potential for catastrophe, and offensive brilliance neutralized in large part by defensive organization. Or, more simply put, in a low-scoring affair, one ill-timed defensive mistake could be the entire game.

Contrast that with baseball, basketball or football, in which Americans thrive on the comeback - the two-minute drill, the buzzer beater, the 9th inning rally. Could it be that Americans thrive on the ability for the underdog to strike it lucky, and the opportunity for redemption? We're a nation of second chances - most of our ancestors arrived here for that very reason - and one that has succeeded based on individual ingenuity and innovation more so than collective efficiency and sacrifice.

Soccer seems innately European - more socialist and collective - while American sports seem to fit the culture by being more individualistic and based on opportunity. I remember reading as a child a novel in which baseball is used as an analogy for American ideology - "the game isn't over until the last man has had his opportunity in the 9th inning" - and that struck me as I watched this soccer championship. Americans love offense, scoring, and a dramatic, Hollywood ending where the tides can turn on a dime. Soccer doesn't seem to offer those opportunities as readily as our other favorites.