I am writing this column to warn you, American sports fan, of what is about to happen in this country.
Hopefully, you will read this and get on board before you get blindsided.
You may have noticed a change in sports programming across the major networks and cable channels. There have been more and more instances of an 11 vs.11 game that uses a round ball instead of a brown, egg-shaped one. In an act of pure defiance to American sports ideals, the players' hands are rarely used. The clock counts up instead of down.
I know this sport may seem foreign to you. That's completely understandable because up until the last few decades, the sport we know here in North America as soccer was a completely foreign game.
But times have changed. Soccer is now spreading like wildfire in the United States. Seattle's Century Link Field was filled to capacity for a regular season match in a league that is less than two decades old.
American fans now have more television access to the world-famous English Premier League than people who actually live in England.
The movement is showing no signs of slowing down, either.
What was once considered a fad for "hipster sports fans" is now, according to research compiled by ESPN, the second most popular sport in the United States for people ages 12-25.
So what should you do in light of all this change, American sports fan?
Embrace it. Give the sport a chance.
It's no surprise the Southeast, the stronghold of college football, is behind the rest of the country when it comes to soccer. So, if are from this area, you might not have had much access to the game growing up.
But the game is growing rapidly, and we have more access to it than ever before.
So why not do what so many people in the South are doing and start paying soccer some attention?
Do you hate the constant commercials of football or the slow pace of baseball?
Soccer is constant, commercial-free action for two 45-minute stretches -- it only takes about two hours to watch a match on television.
Get upset when your favorite sport is in its offseason?
There is always top-level soccer on. The world's best leagues run from August to May, and the summer is filled with international and MLS competition for American fans.
Love college sports?
Soccer is the closest thing the rest of the world has to the passion and tradition of college football and basketball.
I could go on and on about why you should start watching soccer, but there is probably not enough space in this entire paper for all of what I want to say.
If you love sports, turn to NBC Sports on Saturday morning --before college football begins, of course -- and start watching a couple of Premier League matches.
You can move on later in the week to some Champions League action, where the best clubs in the world go toe-to-toe.
You may be surprised with how much you enjoy watching a sport that has been ignored in America for so long.
But if you try it out and you don't enjoy it, that's fine. On behalf of all American soccer fans, we would like to thank you for giving "The Beautiful Game" a chance. Like every other sport on the planet, it's not for everyone.
But don't knock it until you try it.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
