soccer

For those of you who always wondered why soccer never established itself as one of the dominant sports in America,this is your explanation.

This is an excellent book for soccer fans, sports fans in general, and even social scientists (but you don't have to be a political sociologist to get tremendous insight out of this book).

There are chapters on:

Sports as Culture in Industrial Societies

The concept of "sport space" and how both baseball and football have made it very difficult for soccer to becomone one of the "big 3" sports.

A tantalizing set of missed opportunities in the 1920s when soccer could have established a much stronger presence. Not to mention the destructive role that college soccer, and particularly the NCAA has had from the beginning on the development of soccer.

The modification of American "sport space" in the 2nd half of the 20th century when pro football displaced college football as the dominant form of that sport, as well as the development of the NBA and the spread of the NHL. All of these inhibited development of soccer in that era.

The ambiguous role of the NASL and its positive and negative impact on MLS.

The impact of the 1994 World Cup; and

The coverage of the 1998 World Cup by the American media.

The authors examine the American sporting structural foundations that have inhibited soccer from taking its place as a dominant pastime -- such as baseball or American football. But rather than asserting that these dominant positions of team sports "invented here" will remain for the forseeable future -- at soccer's expense -- the authors are wise to mention such factors as globalization and and latino influence in the US that may make the 21st century a more vibrant "sport space" for soccer than was the 20th.

In short, this is an exceptional piece of sports analysis that all serious soccer fans should devour.

A great read - and not just for sports fans. Markovits and Hellerman use their topic (the lack of a real soccer culture in the US) to explicate and explore the relationship between America and the rest of the world. For those interested in the development and history of the United State's various sports leagues, OFFSIDE has plenty of accurate facts, references, and resources. For those interested in the more theoretical & sociological aspects of the work, OFFSIDE has a strong and clear outline and plenty of well written, interesting analysis and argument. If you want to understand the social and political role sports play in human culture, OR you want to learn more about American exceptionalism, (and have fun doing it), OR both, read this book!

Books on American soccer (and, good grief, there aren't many to choose from, folks) tend to consist of little more than statistical abstracts or how-to-play coaching guides. Narratives tracing the game's development are few and far between, and for that reason alone we should be grateful for this book. The history of the American game is in the hands of too few people, and the story of its development (or the lack of it) is often unfamiliar to even the most devoted fan.

If I understand Markovits's premise correctly, the reason why there is no soccer in America is because it cannot find room in America's crowded three-and-one-half sport "space." This I find hard to accept. Almost certainly, there are many reasons why soccer has never been embraced by America, "sport space" amongst them. Patriotism and xenophobia, ignorance, incompetence and lack of vision, conflicting interests, and just plain bad timing have surely made significant contributions, too. One only has to read much of what Markovits and Hellerman have written to see this.

I really enjoyed reading this book, particularly its attempt to compare the development of soccer with that of America's other major team sports. It may be an academic work, but it's hardly excruciating to read, and its truly international perspective (rare in American sports books) makes it essential reading for anyone curious as to the game's failure to take hold in the U.S. The painstaking research and careful annotation is also worthy of mention and will be useful to future writers.