Star-Spangled Soccer charts America’s 25-year journey to becoming a soccer nation, the key business, decisions, personalities, and events that shaped its growth, and the developing perfect soccer storm that will propel its unstoppable march forward. The book takes its lead from a single premise that the granting of the 1994 World Cup to the United States set in motion a chain of events that has redefined soccer in America forever, good and bad, up and down, but ultimately positioned to become a major force in the rapidly changing American sports landscape. Drawn from a 20-year career as a senior executive in the American soccer market and supported by first person interviews and insights with all the key personalities and decision makers, Star Spangled Soccer is a must read for anyone wanting to understand the American soccer market, where it has come from, and why it is positioned for tremendous growth over the next 10 years.
Author(s): Gary Hopkins
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 345
Tags: Физическая культура и спорт;Футбол;
Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 6
List of Figures and Tables......Page 11
Acknowledgments......Page 14
Star-Spangled Soccer......Page 16
1 You're Playing the World Cup Where?......Page 21
Trinaaadad … we want a goal!......Page 30
Italia 90: nine men, no goalie......Page 32
A very Swiss coup......Page 34
Just like a camera......Page 39
2 Selling Soccer to America, the World Cup Years!......Page 42
Does anyone care?......Page 45
America goes to war......Page 52
The Russians are coming......Page 53
A foreign coach: are you kidding?......Page 55
Build it and they will come: the World Series of Soccer......Page 57
The gringos to the north......Page 59
Never go up against Michael Jordan…......Page 62
The Boston soccer party......Page 63
No home advantage......Page 67
Paying the bills......Page 71
3 World Cup 1994: Everyone's a Fan......Page 74
Kill the lawyers......Page 75
$1,000 a ticket......Page 76
Make Brazil travel......Page 79
No hooligans – no terrorists......Page 80
Live long enough to collect your pension......Page 82
The World Cup arrives......Page 83
4 Soccer goes Professional: The Launch of Major League Soccer......Page 89
A clean sheet of paper......Page 91
Thanks for the tickets and goodbye......Page 93
Two tickets and a bit of food – that will be $300m please......Page 95
Who else is in?......Page 96
How do we make money?......Page 98
The marketers step in......Page 100
What's in a name?......Page 101
What the hell is a Cyber Bat?......Page 106
Finding players: anybody want a game?......Page 108
Transfer fees: the Americans still lag......Page 110
Transfer policy: make them an offer they can't refuse, literally......Page 111
Stadium strategy: "Is anyone out there?"......Page 113
The sponsors return......Page 114
It all kicks off: the season begins (6 April 1996)......Page 115
1997–1998: where did they all go?......Page 117
If not D.C. United, then who?......Page 118
Stadiums: the Achilles heel......Page 119
Why should we cancel practice?......Page 121
Losing Hispanics, where's Raul?......Page 122
The ex-pats – back down the pub......Page 123
Not another museum......Page 124
Television: is anyone watching?......Page 126
Hemorrhaging cash: "the patient is dying"......Page 129
The players' revolt with help from the NFL......Page 130
First leg: battered and bruised......Page 135
5 Back from the Brink......Page 136
The patient is getting worse......Page 137
Tampa Bay or Manchester United?......Page 142
Miami Beach or the Miami Fusion?......Page 143
Bricks and mortar – back to basics......Page 145
Owning not renting......Page 157
The new boys......Page 161
Not good enough......Page 162
Morning Joe......Page 165
Beckham (or "goldenballs" as Posh quaintly refers to him)......Page 169
It's "soccer" on the phone......Page 170
Mexico: the best supported team in America......Page 172
The Concacaf Gold Cup: help thy neighbor......Page 173
Every kid a fan......Page 174
Man United get booed......Page 175
Multiple touch points......Page 176
11 Young Americans: Transfers and Lost Dollars......Page 261
Nevan Subotic: let's play Botswana......Page 267
Giuseppe Rossi: the New Jersey "traitor"......Page 268
Was Freddy much "adu" about nothing?......Page 270
12 Soccer on American Television … It's Bigger than American Idol!......Page 271
Is anyone actually watching?......Page 274
Univision: the network that soccer built......Page 280
ABC/ESPN......Page 286
World Cup South Africa 2010: the tipping point?......Page 290
13 The Making of a Soccer Nation......Page 300
MLS 2022: a snap shot......Page 310
Move over Italy, move over France......Page 313
Cashing out......Page 315
50 million soccer- mad Hispanics: let's do the math......Page 318
Every team needs a Beckham?......Page 319
Flash forward!......Page 323
The end of the beginning......Page 326
The Future of Soccer in the USA......Page 329
Appendix 1: soccer in the USA "Organizational Chart"......Page 332
Appendix 2: USA World Cup television ratings, English and spanish language 1990–2006......Page 333
Appendix 3: Grass-roots participation statistics for five major professional sports in the USA......Page 336
Glossary......Page 338
Index......Page 341
