Union Brings Soccer to the Forefront in Delco

It took Major League Soccer more than a decade to establish a franchise in the Philadelphia region.

Two years after their birth, the Philadelphia Union are about to make their Chester debut at PPL Park.

The stadium, which sits on Chester’s waterfront, serves as a local metaphor to the emergence of soccer on the national sports landscape.

The progress has been slow and there have been setbacks, but, at last, soccer, the world’s sport, appears to be gaining a stronger foothold among the cluster of American sports.

As the World Cup begins, consider that early season attendance averages had Major League Soccer on pace to finish the campaign with numbers comparable to both the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.

If that’s not convincing enough, follow the money trail.

Television networks ABC/ESPN and UNIVISION jointly paid $425 million for the broadcast rights to all FIFA events between 2007 and 2014, a seven-year span that includes two World Cups.

That deal, announced in November 2005, came just three months after ABC/ESPN balked at purchasing the broadcast rights to the National Hockey League, ending a 21-year relationship.

Despite such contracts, and ESPN’s seemingly endless ad campaign, soccer remains a niche sport. Yet, there’s no denying that niche is growing, and one doesn’t have to look far to recognize that.

The doors to PPL Park swung open for the first time Saturday as season-ticket holders filed into the stadium to watch the United States play England in the teams’ opening World Cup match.

Just days before, the Union announced that the first game at PPL Park, which seats 18,500, was a sellout. Tickets for the June 27 game went in a mere five hours.

That came after the team’s first two matches, held at Lincoln Financial Field, averaged 29,954 fans, leaving the Union second to Seattle in average home attendance.

“It’s been quite amazing to see two straight attendances of 25,000 people,” said Bryan James, president of the Sons of Ben fan group. “I think that bodes well for a team headed into an appropriate-sized building. You don’t want to build a stadium that fits every person that wants to come, because people can’t go to every game.

“It’s the same reason the Flyers play in front of 18,000 to 20,000. I’m very happy with the support the team has had.”

Exactly how much of the team’s attendance resulted from dedicated fans remains to be seen. To be sure, curiosity played some role.

Yet, those among soccer’s faithful insist Philadelphia has long contained some of the country’s most avid soccer fans, but that a lack of proper venues masked it for years.

Indeed, venues were the main reason Philly didn’t have an MLS franchise until the league’s 15th season.

“I think there’s always been a real soccer history in Philly and a recognized soccer market,” said Larry Needle, executive director of the Philadelphia Sports Congress, a division of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The MLS folks will tell you that they wanted to be here for a long time and it was really a question of the stadium piece getting done. Once that happened, thanks to the governor and mayor’s political leadership to move forward, it really helped us officially mark our spot as one of the country’s leading soccer destinations.”

Soccer has landed here and isn’t leaving anytime soon. But how much of an impact can it make?

The site was Quotations Restaurant in Media. It was a Saturday night and a crowd had gathered, mostly to watch Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer mystify another opponent.

Yet, a smaller contingent — co-owner Mike Burke estimated it at 25 percent of the group — was there to watch the Union, which shared the bar’s four televisions with the local nine.

“The majority of those people that came into the bar were sitting to watch the Phillies game,” Burke said. “By the time the game became late, a lot of those eyes were fixated on the Union.”

The scene wasn’t unusual.

Burke said his customers’ appetite for soccer has steadily increased since the last World Cup in 2006. Afterward, customers occasionally requested European soccer games being shown on Direct TV.

Burke wasn’t alone.

Brendan Goggin, the owner of Oakmont National Pub in Havertown, was getting similar requests. Thus, both bars opted to become Pub Partners with the Union, agreeing to televise games in exchange for various forms of publicity.

“I think in doing so, we’re slowly but surely becoming known as a good soccer bar in the area,” Goggin said. “Being with the Union has augmented that. They’ve given us tons of gear that come with being a pub sponsor. We get shirts and apparel and scarves and mugs.

“The city tends to get out more of the die-hard crowds. We’re not necessarily getting that crowd, but we are starting to see movement in that direction. We’re trying to participate in and hone in on that.”

That crowd heavily consists of people in their early 20s, many of whom grew up playing soccer, Burke said.

He’s not surprised.

“They’re done playing, so their interest has gone from playing to watching,” Burke said. “That’s really the biggest thing of soccer. It’s such a participant sport in terms of time commitment that often the kids and parents and families don’t have time to watch soccer on TV because they’re on the soccer field four or five days a week. So, their greatest appreciation is post-playing soccer when they have time to watch it.”

Soccer long has been among the most popular youth sports. The U.S. Youth Soccer Association, the country’s largest youth sports organization, celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2009, boasting 3,094,868 registered participants.

Though participation numbers leveled during the last decade, they spiked during the 1990s, rising from 1.61 million in 1990 to 2.38 million in 1995. By 2000, more than 3 million youths played soccer.

For years, those numbers didn’t translate into greater commercial success. But now, the youths who began playing in the early ’90s are adults with better means of supporting their interests.

“A couple of generations ago, (soccer) certainly wasn’t very popular,” said Cara Joftis, the Union’s vice president of marketing. “There’s a whole generation that has grown up with it, and their parents have grown up with it. Now, this (next) generation, their parents grew up playing.

“The Philly soccer fans keep showing the world how engaged they are, whether it’s our games or the U.S. National games. It’s an exciting time to be in Philadelphia and part of soccer.”

With the Union, local youth finally have the essential connection to the game — players to idolize.

“You look at it from other countries’ perspectives — the teenagers want to go and become professionals and play for that team,” said Ryan O’Neill, the Strath Haven boys soccer coach. “There has to be some sort of higher goal.”

Still, O’Neill, the 1995 Daily Times Soccer Player of the Year who played professionally in Germany, said he’s realistic when it comes to Americans and soccer. Despite the hype it’s received, O’Neill doesn’t think the World Cup audience has changed much.

“The interested parties out there, they’re pretty excited,” O’Neill said. “As far as a wide range, I’d say on average it’s the same. I think that a little bit of that has to do with the U.S. going into the tournament with some missing players and a bit of an under-performance.”

However, a deep run by the Americans could change that, just as the Flyers picked up more attention the deeper they advanced into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“If the games are exciting and the games are very competitive, then that allows non-avid fans to get excited about it,” O’Neill said. “Hopefully, the U.S. does well, so they can root for their own country, which is not something you can do too often on that kind of stage.”

As the world’s soccer fans turn their eyes upon South Africa, the much-celebrated host of the World Cup, some locals envision that same light being cast upon Philadelphia.

The United States has entered bids to return the World Cup to America in either 2018 or 2022. As part of that bid, Philadelphia is one of 18 U.S. cities selected as finalists to host World Cup matches.

The hosts for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be announced Dec. 2.

Exactly, what is the likelihood of the world’s premier sports tournament coming to the area?

“It’s a good question because a lot of people think England has 2018 in the bag,” James said. “I think that would make us the frontrunner for 2022. Some countries have bid for only one of the two years. The United States has thrown their hat into both.”

James also noted that the 1994 World Cup, hosted by the U.S., is generally considered the most commercially successful. Thus, if FIFA followed the almighty dollar, the U.S. is the place to go.

Even if FIFA selects the U.S. as a host, Philly is not assured of being named a site. Needle said FIFA could trim the 18 cities the U.S. submitted to better fit its schedule.

Philadelphia was not one of the nine cities that hosted the 94 World Cup, largely, Needle said, because the Astroturf at Veterans Stadium was not a suitable surface.

Much has changed since, with the addition of the Union and Lincoln Financial Field dramatically altering the area’s soccer resume.

Since the Linc opened in 2003, with a soccer contest nonetheless, numerous international soccer matches have been played there. The latest was a friendly between the U.S. and Turkey last month that drew more than 55,000.

“We’re kind of night and day now with the kind of venue that we’re able to offer,” Needle said. “The events that we’ve hosted, the success that we’ve had, I think we’re in a much better place now than we were in the early ’90s to prove that we’re a viable World Cup city.”

To hype the possibility, the Convention & Visitors Bureau has pushed ‘The Game Is In Philadelphia’ campaign, part of the broader ‘The Game Is In U.S.’ campaign.

Residents of each of the 18 cities on the U.S.’ World Cup bid can sign a petition at.www.gousabid.com, stating their desire to bring the World Cup to their home.

“Right now we’re about fourth or fifth on the list of 18 cities, which is good, but we think we can do even better,” Needle said. “We’d like to win this thing.”

Source:  Kopp, John.  "Union Brings Soccer to the Forefront in Delco"
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/06/13/news/doc4c143f4347ff7434609215.txt
13 June 2010