Why Soccer Will Fail

“Sometimes football is a funny thing.”
Tim Howard after the US victory against Spain

Like a niggling injury that just won't go away soccer kept popping up in the headlines this summer. Proceedings kicked off with a bang as the US national team shocked everyone by defeating Spain by two goals and then leading Brazil by the same score at halftime of the Confederations Cup final. While they couldn't hold out against a rampant Brazil in the second half and pick up their first FIFA trophy, the US had managed to defeat the champions of Europe and Africa after everyone had written them off. Ordinary Americans were talking about the result and the mainstream press was discussing the team's Confederations Cup performances as a turning point for the sport in the US.

No sooner had the final whistle blown in Johannesburg when attention turned to the sport's perennial figure as David Beckham made his return to the MLS and the LA Galaxy. The disappointment and frustration of US heroes Alexi Lalas and Landon Donovan in Grant Wahl's book “The Beckham Experiment”, published four days before his first match against DC United, set the stage for what would prove a turbulent return for the former England captain. There were the booing crowds, his bizarre altercations with individual fans and the early sending off against the Seattle Sounders for a foul on former teammate Peter Vagenas. For conspiracy theorists it highlighted another unsavory aspect of Wahl's book: the dubious influence of Beckham's handlers at 19 Entertainment. The book, the angry fans, and a hot tempered Beckham all coincided nicely with his decision to begin wearing short sleeves, thus revealing his tattoos. While he might have traded the role of savior for Judas Beckham was still making headlines – which after all is, in Beckham-world, the most important thing. Curiously none of the headlines involved what happened on the pitch.

Capping off the summer was the now routine tour of Europe's elite clubs around the country – with both players and owners doing their best to convince this was more than just about filling the ever growing coffers. Still its hard to deny the impact of Barcelona drawing over 200,000 in crowds to three matches on their brief west coast tour. Just as interesting was the subtle, but shocking, decision to name the exhibition tournament involving Inter Milan, AC Milan, Chelsea and Club America the World Football Challenge.

Amidst all these stories, the question on the lips of fans and journalists alike was the same, “Is soccer breaking into the mainstream?” Did the victory over Spain signal a watershed moment for the sport in the US? Did the venom showed at Beckham's Galaxy return show MLS fans actually cared? Did the decision of Europe's top clubs to tour the country reveal their brands had finally broken into a much coveted market?

Looking beyond the typical American bullishness of onwards and upwards, the superficial headlines and (anti) Beckham-mania it's not difficult to compile a few observations to answer these questions. So in a five part series that absolutely no one will care about or read we'll try to find out what's really in store for the beautiful game in the United States.