The Professor Reading This Blog?

Does Arsene Wenger read Out Of My Head? Of course he does. A day after I posted about the cons of swooping for Nicholas Anelka, The Professor came to his senses and declared he had no further interest in The Incredible Sulk. Quel coincdence, non?

He is happy with the current squad and touts Msr. Theo Walcott to shine. I'd almost forgot about lil' Theo. Given that he's 18 now, isn't it time for him to start making an impact? Rooney, Messi, Fabregas, they were all bona fide talents by 18. So far, Theo has been the fast guy with potential. This is the season for the young lad to make his bones. Come on, Theo, make the gaffer forgot all foolish thoughts of Nicholas Anelka!

Oh, yeah. And some guy from England is making is debut in the MLS tomorrow in a friendly v. Chelsea. Only time will tell what the true impact of bringing David Beckham over from Real Madrid will be on American soccer and the LA Galaxy.

Every American sports reporter on the beat, who is furiously boning up on soccer, has the same story angle: Will David Beckham finally get Americans to like soccer?

How annoying. First, Americans already love the footy-ball. It's the most popular youth sport in the states. Professional soccer, on the other hand, is an animal of a different stripe. That aspect of the sport hasn't taken off. Yes, the overall quality of players is lower in the US than just about every where else outside of Antarctica (Hey, I personally contribute to that weak broth talent pool!).

And there is some truth to the argument that when you bring in better players, people will come to watch. But you know what, there are a lot of dreary teams in England and elsewhere that on average outdraw your typical MLS team. The differences are not so much quality, but competition from other sports and fan base loyalty.

Here in the US, we've got scads of professional and amateur teams to choose from. Here in the Seattle area, where the USL Seattle Sounders play, I could choose to go see a Sounders game, or I could also buy a ticket to see the Seattle Mariners play baseball, the Seattle Sonics (at least for the time being) in B-ball, the Seattle Seahawks play the football that allows you to carry and throw the ball, the University of Washington football team. I believe there's also a hockey team or two around. What are the EPL teams competing with? Cricket?! Come on, that's no competition at all.

Add to that the incredible brand loyalty that comes from growing up in a culture where you identify with a team from an early age (often) and stick to it through adulthood. If you're a Newcastle supporter (and God help you, if you are, you poor sod) you're part of a long history with that club, that comes with its own songs, history and lore.

The Sounders don't give you that. You can trace the team back to the 1970s NASL heyday but it's still not the same.

I remember a couple of years back reminiscing with an elderly friend of mine who is a lifelong Liverpool supporter. He was telling me stories about matches and what the crowd was singing and how they'd improvise the songs to react to what was happening on the pitch, or on the sideline. As he recounted these tales, his eyes fairly sparkled with a light and joy that comes from revisiting fond places in the mind.

When American soccer can breed emotions like that, well that's when soccer will make it in this country. Now, if Becks can accomplish that, he's done his job.