Gold Cup 2009! I repeat, Gold Cup 2009! Ok, ok, even with the lack of sports topics in the middle of the summer here in Arizona, this is something that got very little publicity and coverage here in Phoenix. If you’re still wondering what the Gold Cup is, its a soccer tournament that the Confederation of North, Central, America & Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) has for soccer teams in the America’s with the first couple of rounds having the teams travel around to different US cities. This past Sunday, Glendale was the holder of the short straw.
Before I continue, I’d like to offer up a disclaimer, I am a fan of soccer. I played the game in high school and was also a season ticket holder for the Chicago Sting in the now defunct NASL. Now that I got that out of the way, attendance at Sunday’s games in Glendale was once again a major embarrassment for Valley soccer fans and media. The never-ending battle cries of soccer being the “up and coming sport” and the thought that Phoenix could support a Major League Soccer (MSL) franchise are a joke.
Sunday’s schedule had Panama facing Nicaragua and Mexico taking on Guadeloupe. The first game, and not unexpectedly, drew roughly 5-10,000 fans, maybe? And in a stadium that holds 63,000, the number of empty seats looked pathetic. The second game, which featured the Mexican national team, had an announced attendance of almost 24,000. Still, an anemic crowd, especially with the high Hispanic population in the Valley. And this coming on the heels of a “wear your teams colors and get 2 for 1 tickets” for advance purchase.
But these numbers don’t surprise me. Let’s go back two years to July 2007 for the Copa Panamerica soccer tournament held in Glendale. Not familiar with it? No surprise, because with the #3 ranked club team in the world (Boca Juniors) playing, the attendance couldn’t even break 15,000.
Enough fan bashing, now let’s go after the media. From the time I entered the stadium, I literally felt as though I was in another country. At any given point I expected to be asked for my passport. There was no local television presence and only hispanic radio reporters, and with the exception of the Arizona Republic and the AP news service representatives, I didn’t recognize anyone in the press box. In which, by the way, cheering for your team was encouraged. For those not in the know, cheering is a no-no in U.S. press boxes. Once the games ended, the post-game press conferences were an adventure. With three of the teams speaking Spanish and one French, my attendance and any relevant sound I could gather was for the lack of any better words, worthless. Although watching the translation from Spanish to English, English to French and then reversed for the Guadeloupe coach was worth price of admission.
