Grip on Sports: The great sports divide in America
Friday: Did you ever think you would see the day when the announcement of the U.S. team for the upcoming World Cup would cause a controversy?
If you are under 30, sure; over 50, no way.
• There is a divide in this country and Mark Cuban be darned, it doesn’t have anything to do with hoodies or tattoos. It has to do with soccer.
Those of us who were beget at the end of the Baby Boom are on one side, those born while Bill Clinton was leading the nation are on the other.
It’s about soccer and its place in our sporting world. The news Landon Donovan would not be on the U.S. World Cup roster was met with either total incredulity or with a big yawn, depending on which side of the Grand Canyon you fall.
Donovan is the face of U.S. soccer, or has been for as long as many of us can remember soccer being featured on Sports Center. He scores goals, he celebrates, his hairline has retreated faster than the Iraqi Army. He’s been the best America has had to offer since, well, since forever.
To many of my peers he was about the only U.S. player they could name.
Soccer isn’t important – ”It’s boring.” “Why aren’t there more goals?” “I can’t pronounce that guy’s name.” – though, every four years, it becomes kinda cool to either root for the U.S. team or to ignore it.
Those folks may not know who Julian Green is, but they can still identify with Donovan.
Living next door is soccer guy. He’s hip, young, and, around here, wears his Sounders scarf about once a week. He not only knows who Green is, he can dissect his game. He doesn’t understand why everyone doesn’t love the beautiful game like he does. They must not get it. They, meaning those who have a disdain for soccer, just don’t understand. If they did, they would worship it like him.
It’s a divide that has narrowed somewhat over the years – instead of Spokane-pothole wide these days, it’s only a Cheney-sized one now – but still exists. Some of us have crossed over, dragged to the other side by our children or, God forbid, grandchildren.
We still don’t see soccer as the be-all and end-all, but we understand the allure. And we understand why Jurgen Klinsmann would leave Donovan home.
We lived through the Willie Mays-with-the-Mets days. We saw Ichiro thrown out on a ground ball by that much. We’ve also lived through our own deteriorating skills. Time takes a toll on everyone.
We know Aron Johannsson is the future. We know, with the schedule the United States has been handed in this World Cup, it might not be a bad idea to give some young guys experience for 2018. Sure, we may not be around then, but those who remain will understand why Klinsmann did what he did. And why they have to get more fiber in their diet.
Tuesday: Is there some sort of Inland Northwest vortex that we haven’t heard about? It seems as if everyone in the news today has a connection to the area.
It is odd how I kept finding stories this morning with ties to our area. The biggest one, of course, is Oregon State hiring former Ferris High player and Montana basketball coach Wayne Tinkle.
Tinkle’s roots around here run deep, including the ones planted at Gonzaga, where daughter Elle plays for the Zags.
There was some thought Washington State might turn to Tinkle after Ken Bone was let go recently, but replacing one former Big Sky coach with another might not have gone over too well in Pullman, despite Bill Moos’ connections to Missoula. So the Cougars turned to Ernie Kent, leaving Tinkle there for the Beavers to take.
Montana has produced a few successful coaches – Jud Heathcote, Mike Montgomery and Utah’s Larry Krystkowiak come to mind without any research – for bigger schools, so OSU isn’t taking that big a gamble. Still, there is a bit of a letdown in Corvallis after Ben Howland’s name was bandied around early.
So the Beavers are casting their lot with a hard-working, old-school type of coach who was once named the sexiest college basketball coach in the country. Now that even trumps being the President’s brother-in-law, doesn’t it?