America & Soccer: It's Complicated

I posted recently about soccer and some potential changes to the games, at least for Americans. That piece was a much longer article originally crafted around the time of the 2014 World Cup. I've recently revised and edited the piece for my column in The Villager. Here's the new version:

America will probably never love soccer the way the rest of the world does. Now that the Euro Cup is over, and once the Olympics begin to fade in our memories, most Americans will go back to basically ignoring futbol until the 2022 World Cup sparks interest again. Americans develop regular crushes on the “Beautiful Game” during events like the Euro Cup, the World Cup, and the Olympics. However, while thousands of American fans watch the early games, interest tends to wane once the national team is eliminated. In a country with so many different forms of entertainment, soccer will simply never be the favorite sport.

That said, soccer has made incredible strides in popularity since I first laced up my cleats in the mid-1970s. The early days of American soccer held great promise when international phenom Pele played in the now defunct North American Soccer League. Many young soccer players and fans of the show “Soccer Made in Germany” waited for soccer’s popularity to spread. Yet, after Pele’s career, national interest cratered. In the past twenty years, however, the sport has finally come into its own, and Major League Soccer is by some metrics as popular as the NHL. Of course, more American kids play soccer than any other sport. The problem is that only a small percentage of those youth soccer players stick with the game or become soccer fans into adulthood.

Of the many reasons Americans have never taken to the game en masse, some aspects of soccer simply inhibit widespread spectator interest in the United States. It’s not simply, as many non-fans argue, that soccer is boring or low scoring. There is arguably more continuous action in a soccer game than either football or baseball, and many Americans enjoy watching slow-paced games like golf. Baseball fans are as excited about a pitchers’ duel leading to a shutout, no-hitter, or perfect game as they are in a game that resembles the Home Run Derby. Thus, as a former futbol player and long-time fan, I’ve considered some ways the sport might appeal to a broader audience. Here are a few simple changes that could alter America's feelings about soccer:

No off-sides penalty: Off-sides is the most useless penalty in soccer, and it’s a primary reason games are low scoring and boring to non-aficionados of soccer. Watching goals waved off because of this frivolous rule is truly disheartening. Ending off-sides would lead to many more goals, not to mention exciting breakaways and one-on-one match-ups with the goalkeeper. Removing the off-sides threat would also require much more strategy on the part of defenses and coaches.

Injury Box: There is nothing more annoying to soccer fans than “flopping” as players writhe on the ground after supposedly being injured from phantom fouls. It’s become such a part of the culture that players will even give up an opportunity to advance the ball simply to “take a dive” in hopes of a penalty shot. Thus, if a player goes down with an injury and stays down long enough for a stoppage in play, he should be forced to leave the field – and be subbed for – for a period of five minutes. The “injury box” would allow for better evaluation of players with potential concussions and serious injuries. In fact, it would mandate prudent medical practice. Players would never risk five minutes off the field just to “flop” in hopes of a penalty kick. Referees could also stop play and send a player to the box to avoid injured players from worsening a true injury.

Continuous Subbing: Soccer’s limit on substitution – a total of three in a full professional game – is another useless rule that doesn’t enhance the game. It’s not conducive with the game so many kids grow up playing where substitutions are quite regular. Intentionally tiring players out is boring and does nothing to elevate the quality of the game being played. Soccer needs regularly fresh players like hockey to keep the action at a higher level. Frequent subbing would lead to greater emphasis on strategy from coaches, and it would increase the energy “on the pitch.”

Of course, soccer doesn’t really need to change, and I tend to be a traditionalist and opposed to most changes in sports. Yet, sports and organizations tend to evolve with the times, and if a few rules tweaks could bring more excitement and fans, I could be convinced.

Yips, Twistees, & the Psychology of Sports

When I was growing up and playing little league baseball, my dad used to say, "The only difference between a major league ballplayer and a triple-A player is right here," pointing to his gut, "and all in here," tapping his temple on the side of his head. The mental game is a huge aspect of sport, and that is nowhere more true than at the highest levels where the competition and the pressure is beyond intense.

At this year's Olympics, sports fans have been introduced to a new bit jargon in reference to Simone Biles' withdrawal from the team competition. She was suffering from "the twistees." Basically, she is experiencing an inability to find herself in the air while doing the twists and flips integral to gymnastics routines. While this seems sort of abstract, it's easier to understand for anyone who has ever done a flip, a gainer, or a one-and-a-half from a diving board. Now imagine multiplying that weird displaced feeling by about a hundred. 

The twistees are also not hard to understand for baseball fans, for the stories about "the yips" are legendary on the diamond, as are the sad stories of careers derailed by psychological struggles on the field. Of course, while a pitcher facing the yips is a heartbreaking situation, it's nothing like a gymnast with the twistees. One is sad and frustrating, the other could be incredibly dangerous. Losing your sense of spatial orientation while flipping eight feet in the air risks serious injury or even paralysis and death. And, it's simply not something an athlete can just "tough it out" or "get over it." We are long past the days where we shrug off the mental health burdens that come with athletics.

Empty Porches

A little nostalgia, and perhaps some hope, in this week's column for The Villager. The front porch is meant to be a gathering place, yet for most people in most houses, it's simply ornamental. 

My dad was a walker and a talker. For decades, he and his friend Tom walked our subdivision each morning. They kept an active pace in both their steps and their conversations, and they’d often wake the neighborhood as they chatted and argued about everything on their minds from family stuff and local news to international business and politics. A conservative Roman Catholic Republican sparring with a liberal Protestant Democrat, they never resolved much of anything, but both men knew they were better off for the walk and the talk.

I’ve thought of them often over the years as I’ve picked up the habit of walking various routes near my home. Beginning last February, the pandemic and quarantine led many people to begin strolling their neighborhoods and seeing their communities in new ways for the first time. The numerous paseos and pathways throughout neighborhoods in southeast Denver allow great views, not only of open space and the natural world, but also cozy front porches and comfortable back patios. Yet, many of the walkers also notice something else. The porches and patios are all empty. Where are all the people?

In 2000, political science professor Robert Puntman published a book called Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. His research exposed the changing nature of American communities at the turn of the millennium that were, sadly, no longer communities. They were just a collection of houses. Over the past fifty years, America has seen a noticeable and documented reduction in nearly all forms of in-person social interaction and discourse. Putnam believes that the loss of the human connection -- the kind which comes from neighbors walking together and meeting on front porches -- undermines and weakens the necessary personal engagement that is fundamental to a democratic republic. The current political climate in the United States seems to validate his concerns.

When I was growing up in southern Illinois just outside of St. Louis, my subdivision was a cross-section of our community. In the houses on the street where I lived with my journalist mother and personnel director father, we had two doctors, two engineers, a police officer, a university administrator, some teachers, a phone company worker, small business owners, contractors, carpenters, and numerous skilled laborers including factory workers. All lived in the same subdivision of roughly two-thousand square foot houses. Their kids all swam in the same community pool, attended the same local schools, and played numerous sports in the same rec leagues. Their parents were in community organizations like Rotary together, and they participated in the same PTCO.

I grew up attending regular, sometimes weekly, porch parties at my grandmother’s house, where the adults sat and chatted while listening to Cardinals games on the radio, as the kids ran around the neighborhood, catching lightning bugs as the evening settled in. I recall hours of sitting on our front porch in the summer, looking to the southwest as Mississippi River Valley thunderstorms moved in. Watching the lightning, listening to thunder, we’d occasionally have some neighbors join us on the porch if they were on our street when the skies unleashed a gully washer. The front porch offered refuge from the storm in more ways than simple shelter.

Granted, these memories are viewed through the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia. Clearly that type of living arrangement is long gone and never coming back. Yet the loss of interconnectedness is unhealthy for any society. The social fabric that connected people to each other for so many centuries is fading in contemporary America. While critics and pundits talk about the spectre of socialism or facism, the real crisis in America slips by unnoticed as few people know their neighbors anymore.

When Alexis de Tocqueville explored the magic of America, he coined a phrase social capital to describe the civic engagement that was the essence of community. When we don’t know our neighbors, and when our neighbors are only people who have the same lived experience, something important is lost. In 2020 Robert Putnam and Shaylen Romney Garrett published a second book called The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago, and How We Can Do it Again. Perhaps one way we could come together is to be out on our front porches again, connecting with neighbors and building communities.

My porch is small, but my wife and I are out there often, and all are always welcome to stop and sit for a chat.

A la carte Journalism

In an age of struggle for print journalism, newspapers are trying to survive by implementing pay walls to their content -- and they’re doing it all wrong. That’s not surprising for an industry tasked with covering the news while somehow missing how drastically the rise of online advertising was going to subvert their revenue streams.

The problem with paywalls is the all or nothing access points. As a resident of Denver, I subscribe yearly to the Denver Post, The Villager, and occasionally 5280 Magazine where I receive the bulk of my news. However, I am a regular reader of numerous national and international news sources like the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian.

Sometimes a friends posts or emails an article I would like to read, such as a column from Jason Gay of the WSJ. And while I really want to read the article and might even be willing to pay for it, that doesn’t mean I want or need a $200 yearly subscription to a publication that I don’t read daily. That said, I’d be happy to pay $.50 - $2.00 for articles, or for a package of 10. The Guardian has a model that I like and respect for its flexibility and concept of individual contributions. Once or twice a year, I will send ten or twenty dollars to The Guardian because I value the content I read there.

Many bloggers and freelance sites offer that voluntary payment as a way of offsetting the costs of production -- Wikipedia and Maria Popova’s Brainpickings are a couple of good examples of the patronage concept. Additionally, currently news magazines and newspapers should be developing apps and web delivery software that inhibits media sites like Facebook from connecting with their content without delivery some sort of ad revenue sharing agreement

Corita Kent & Learning by Heart

As a novice art fan and beginning artist, I can't believe I had never heard of Corita Kent and her book with Jan Steward Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit. But until I ran across a tweet and blog post from writer and ideas curator Austin Kleon, I just didn't know a thing about this incredible woman, art teacher, and artist. As an educator, I am constantly thinking about my practice and how I engage students in learning, and I like to incorporate ideas of art and views of artists in lessons when I can. So, I am currently reading Learning By Heart in preparation for the new year. And it's making me want to both teach English and create art with a renewed passion.

For both educators and artists, Sister Mary Corita is a subject worth learning more about. Corita was an innovative teacher and artist at the historic Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles, where she taught art and pushed students to challenge themselves personally and artistically. In the stories I've heard, her true gift is her legacy in creating a new generation of art teachers through her unique approach to art and education. We could all benefit from the wisdom and guidance of Sister Mary.

The Keystone to Summer Fun

There's nothing better than summer days in Summit County, Colorado.

When the summer heat arrives in Denver, it's time to head to the High Country, and the Resort at Keystone is the perfect way to ride out July. Located right along the Snake River and offering easy access to all the best that Summit County has to offer, Keystone Resort has provided our family with a nearly perfect, relaxing summer holiday for years. It is our happy place, and the year would not be complete without our time spent there. For lodging we prefer to stay in a beautiful condo near Keystone Lake at the Keystone Lodge and Spa. This location provides us all the access and amenities we need. The Lodge and Spa provides a huge outdoor, heated pool and two hot tubs that provide endless hours of relaxing fun. Whether we're swimming laps or playing beach ball baseball or simply lounging around with the pool noodles, the spa is a perfectly relaxing scene surrounded by great mountain views. We go back and forth between the pool, the two hot tubs, the scented steam, and the dry sauna, and we always finish the day showering in the large locker room before heading out for a walk around town, if not out to dinner.

The Keystone Lodge and Spa is directly along the Snake River which provides immediate and easy access to fishing or simply sitting in the shallows watching the water roll by on its way to Lake Dillon. There is plenty of action for fly fishers up and down the river - and even a novice like me can pull out the occasional rainbow trout with a rod and reel. The river is bordered by a beautiful biking and walking trail that heads up to River Run or all the way down to Dillion. You could even head up and over Swan Mountain Road and into Breckenridge or Frisco. A great way to spend the evening - after a day on the river or at the pool - is to stroll over to Keystone Lake for dinner at Pizza on the Plaza. The kids will enjoy feeding the plentiful fish and ducks at the lake, or even taking a quick spin on the paddleboats. It's only bested by the calzones - which are certainly worth staying for dinner. - make sure to ask for a slice of orange. Basking on the plaza and watching the sun go down over the beautiful Keystone Valley is the perfect end to a perfect mountain day.

For other great recreational opportunities, consider scheduling some hikes such as the easy and accessible climbs on the Tenderfoot Trail or up to Lily Pad Lake. These hikes are doable for even families with young kids, and the views are truly breathtaking. On Fridays, it's worth taking a free gondola ride up to Keystone Summit - though prepare to stay a while if the summer monsoon storms move in. Nothing like enjoying a beverage while watching the fire on the mountain. Fridays offer live music and plenty of lawn games, and it's always fun watching the hard-core mountain bikers take off down through Keystone's bike park adventure. One of these days I will challenge myself on one of the green runs - and anyone can ride down on the dirt roads that wind around the mountain. Of course, simply strolling around the resort on the trails is great fun as well. The views of the valley are worth the time - and my time in Keystone is literally my most relaxing week of the year.

The Keystone Lodge and Spa is also a popular place for conferences, and we see plenty of people on working vacations each year. I know if I had to attend a conference in the middle of the summer, Keystone Conference Center is one place I'd like to do it.

Dabbling or Commitment in a time of browsing

All my life I’ve been a novice of many things -- at this point, I’m kind of like a master novice.

That statement, while actually quite true, was simply a quip I posted on social media recently. And the amusing thing about my thought was that while I was acknowledging and commenting on the pinball-like nature of my interests over the years I was, at the same time, reading a book about the contrary idea of commitment and dedication.

Pete Davis is a civic advocate who recently published with Simon & Schuster his first book Dedicated: the Case for Commitment in an age of Infinite Browsing. Davis has researched and is now commenting on the flitty nature of contemporary society which has been channel surfing for a few decades, and now spends endless hours scrolling. And, full disclosure, I sort of skimmed Pete's book .... because I had about three other books I was reading concurrently. 

I know. I know.

Pete may be onto something with his case for being more dedicated to fewer things with our attention spans. I know that I would like to commit more to my goals of playing the piano proficiently, drawing and painting adequately, re-learning my high school French competently, and a cultivating a few other lifestyle-oriented activities. So far my commitment to these activities has been a bit thin. But there's always tomorrow.

Indie Folk and Country Music

What is the difference between Indie Folk music and Country?

Other than the classic and easily understood "I-know-it-when-I-see-it" response, it's tough to distinguish the key factor that separates a song or an artist into one of these genres. I enjoy listening to both genres, but I instinctively know what each is, which I want to hear, and where to find it. And, I guess I should really acknowledge that this is a discussion of folk vs country, as opposed to simply indie folk, which technically came about in the early 90s, I believe, with the rise of bands like Uncle Tupelo.

So, here's a question:  is it the twang?

The twang is the distinctive factor for my daughter, who is sixteen and has a broad musical interest range, but doesn't listen to country. But when I'm listening to indie folk, I hear her singing along to people like Gregory Allen Isakov or Whitley or Lord Huron. She doesn't have the same response to when I'm listening to Luke Coombs or Brett Eldridge or Scotty McCreery. And, regarding the twang, I think she is on to something with that descriptor. The twang is present not just in the lyrics, but also in how the chords of the songs are played.

I think storytelling has a lot to do with it as well, and in this regard, Luke Coombs is a great example. Country has always thrived with the art of the narrative, and there is always a literalness to the plots and characters. Indie folk and folk, from my experience, is going to be a bit more driven by imagery and metaphor with the lyrics being somewhat more poetic than they are a story.

I don't know if there is a definitive historical and stylistic distinction between the two genres, and the question is not meant to diminish either. It's just a curiosity for me, kind of like my other questions such as:  Why is Nirvana grunge as opposed to punk?

But that's for another day.

Andrew Carnegie & the Art of Giving

With all the hype and the gripe about billionaires heading into space on their own privately funded rockets, I'm thinking about Andrew Carnegie. 

Discussions about wealth, science, and philanthropy are certainly reasonable and valid topics for commentary, but oversimplification is always a problem. While I understand the comments from critics of Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson spending their billions on vanity thrill rides, I don't agree that these trips and the companies that made them happen are simply a waste of money that should have been spent on any number of other causes. I've been a minor critic of the space race in the past, but I don't consider this advancement of science a waste. 

That said, the vast billions of dollars in the hands of private individuals these days bares scrutiny of these tech and finance titans. The Giving Pledge is an admirable and appropriate decision by people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, among many others, to give away the vast majority of their wealth. While I have my reasons to criticize Bill Gates and even his philanthropy, there is no doubt the Gates Foundation, and many like it, is doing great things. And I firmly believe the world could use a lot more of Mackenzie Scotts. Which leads me to Carnegie:

Arguably the richest man of his era, and by some measures one of the richest still, Andrew Carnegie used his massive wealth to build libraries and museums. By the time he died, he had given away 90% of his fortune. I'm not sure what leads some people to be so generous and others to ... well, not. So many of us, when we fantasize about winning the MegaMillions or PowerBall, talk a big game of how we would do so much good with the money. 

Let's hope a few more people who achieve such fabulous wealth start thinking the same way.

An Elliptical for "on the go"

I'm a runner, and I loathe the treadmill. And for one of my gym workouts, I also use the elliptical machine, though I can use it for about ten minutes because going nowhere just doesn't work for me. My wife loves using the elliptical machine, but at one time tried to become a runner because she wanted to be outside in the summer. Now, we can have the best of both worlds, I think.

On my walk this morning, I happened upon a neighbor who was just taking off for a ride on one of these bad boys:

It's called an ElliptiGO, and it looks like a heckuva lot of fun, as well as a great workout. Now, I haven't used an Elliptigo yet, but I'm definitely going to check it out. My neighbor happens to be a local rep for the company, though he started out just using one for recreation and fitness. He does demos for people and offers a chance to test it out, and the company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

This particular model also offers a kit for an electric motor as well. And the handlebars are all tricked out to hold his phone and other accessories. From what I understand, these new road-ready ellipticals are popular with many different athletes, including Olympic triathletes. They're popular with current runners and bikers, as well former runners and bikers who can't handles the stress on their joints or time in the saddle anymore.

So, just passing on the info. I understand there is also a Facebook Group with owner feedback.

 

Who Knew Badminton was so Awesome?

Wait a minute. So, an Olympic badminton shuttlecock has sixteen goose feathers all from the left wing of the goose? Has anyone noticed some geese out there listing to one side?

The Olympics always brings some exciting sports moments you never knew you'd be interested in, and it also is a source of some of the most unique sports commentary you'll hear all year, or in four years for that matter. Case in point: badminton.

An old friend was commenting on social media about the Olympics and admitted that his interest always outweighs his original expectation. "I always tell myself," he wrote, "that I'm not that interested in the Olympics ... and then I find myself up at two in the morning, glued to the TV and yelling enthusiastically about badminton." 

I couldn't agree more, especially about the badminton excitement. It's a sport everyone has played (badly in the backyard), and it's also a competition we know almost nothing about. Hence, the trivia and snarky comment I opened this piece with. However, as badminton commentary goes, there is truly nothing quite like the bit from NBC's Mary Carillo at the 2004 games. It still might be the "best sports commentary of all time."

Check it out if you haven't seen it before, or even if you have. You won't be disappointed. Also, check out some badminton matches, and watch out for those lopsided geese in the neighborhood.

Leonard Cohen & Marianne Ihlen in Greece

When Leonard Cohen was living on the Greek isle Hydra in the 1960s with his lover Marianne Ihlen, he was bothered by installation of electricity, particularly the telephone pole and power line visible from the window of his little bungalow. As he told Marianne they would need to move to a more rustic place, a bird alighted on the wire. She told him, “If the bird can get used to it, Leonard, so can you.” That’s the story of his well-known song “Bird on a Wire.”

This great story comes from Judy Scott, a writer who spent many summers in Greece in the early 1960s hanging out with an eclectic community of artists which included the iconic Leonard Cohen. Scott recounted those years in a book, Leonard, Marianne, and Me.