It’s okay to like things, even soccer

The USMNT were thoroughly embarrassed by Belgium on Monday night. No amount of politicking or presidential appeals will erase the sting of a 4-1 loss that ended what to this point had been a magical, multiple-week run for soccer in the United States.

One could forgive a bandwagon fan for being relieved that they didn’t have to watch a similarly dreadful brand of ball from a side clearly over its head against top-tier competition. But oh well, life moves on and so does the World Cup as the final two participants in the quarterfinals will be decided today while Americans are still licking their wounds.

Lionel Messi and Argentina are playing bright and early in the morning so a good amount of people are going to watch that instead of doing actual work. Honestly, there’s only a handful of matches remaining until a champion is crowned and the stakes alone mean that the hard sell is not needed. An overwhelming amount of Fox’s record-smashing audience that was watching the non-USMNT matches is going to stick around.

John Strong’s comments

Late in Team USA’s humiliating defeat, lead play-by-play voice John Strong offered up an impassioned plea for others to like his sport.

“If you’ve enjoyed what you’re seeing, well, support your local team,” he said. “This doesn’t have to be the last soccer you watch for the next four years. It’s a beautiful sport.”

As predicted, Strong’s commentary has been roundly mocked as desperate. Some think it couldn’t possibly be earnest and he, for some reason, is worried about Fox now losing money as viewers lose interest.

If you give the public an inch of vulnerability, they’re going to dance for a mile at your expense.

Now, to be completely honest, I felt personally offended by the effort my national team put out there on the biggest stage last night. It was gross. As soon as Belgium retook the lead after USMNT’s sole bright spot off the foot of Malik Tillman, gallows humor took over and it was comical how poorly Mauricio Pochettino’s team played. It was as though the Monstars had sapped all their talent.

Why to keep watching

Am I psyched to watch more soccer today, knowing it will be at least four more years until the Americans have a chance to change their World Cup narrative? Not really. Will that change if Messi does something exciting or Argentina finds itself on the ropes again? Sure.

Strong likes soccer. He likes it so much he claimed he and others give their lives to the game. It’s okay to like things.

Perhaps I’m just getting old and soft. But I thought it was a rather nice moment to invite people into the tent. And yes, capitalism will be at play. It’s in his and Fox’s best interest for you, the bandwagon fan, to watch more games. Forgive me if I direct my cynicism to more cynical endeavors—like the totally made-up hydration breaks that allow us to watch Timothee Chalamet shill for Kalshi. Or the the twisted marriage between FIFA and whatever seems most unethical at a given time.

Ten years ago I would have bristled at the mild annoyance of Like My Sport. Now I’m just happy these people have something they enjoy and are being positive instead of negative.

It’s probably worth considering just how little impact Strong’s messaging will have on, well, anyone. No one was convinced by it and, deep down, no one is going to use it as a reason to not watch future World Cup matches. It’s just something that happened.