"I have followed baseball with the closest associations, and soccer in this country is now going through the same formative stages that baseball went through...Everyone, practically, knows the organization of baseball. In time I believe that soccer will be known just as thoroughly by the public - it will rank second to baseball as the leading professional game." - Thomas W. Cahill, National Secretary of the United States Football Association, 1924
Sometime around 1974 - about fifty years after Mr. Cahill made his prediction -there was a knock on the front door of our home in suburban Monmouth County. A Brazilian man, probably in his thirties, told my mom in broken English that he was gathering boys to come with him to the weedy field behind the furniture store - where he would teach us to play soccer!
To understand how much the world has changed in 30 years you need only understand this - my mom was more than happy to let me and my younger brother, ages 10 and 8, go away with this stranger! In addition, I'm sure my mom had only a vague idea what soccer was. And all we knew about soccer was the name Pele, and that you couldn't use your hands.
Pele of course was the great star of the New York Cosmos teams of the 1970s. The success of the Cosmos played a significant role in popularizing soccer in New Jersey. The New York Times ran a story in 1977 describing how soccer was beginning to draw kids away from their traditional activities - baseball and football. One boy told how his team had allowed only one goal all season. Unfortunately it was in the championship game, which their team lost 1 - 0. "Our goalie cried for two days, but we'll give him another chance next season"(!)
Three decades later soccer has become a hugely popular youth sport. And you can forget about clueless moms - in fact "mom" has become soccer's most successful suffix. The minivan makers practically owe their business to the Saturday morning carpool crowd.
Thomas Cahill's dream of professional soccer rivaling baseball as America's national pastime may not have come true, but if he had been with me this Saturday at the Municipal Complex fields to watch some of the more than 500 children who play in Hillsborough's Recreation Soccer program, I'm sure he would have been pleased to see how soccer has been embraced by today's youth.
Well Greg, you may be surprised to know that one of your faithful readers was only about one hundred feet away from you on Saturday. My daughter and I were getting lost in the jungle gym maze your town has to offer. I must say, I think it's the coolest park I've been to that I can remember. We must not be the only out-of-towners that venture over to Hillborough to play there. By the way, we're still trying to sell our house and move to Hillsborough..even though you don't have full day kindergarten!
ReplyDeleteMike, I'm pleased that you are still considering Hillsborough, and still reading the blog.
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested in cool public parks, the Monmouth County Park System has an awesome park in Colts Neck that includes a unique water play area.
http://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/parks/dorbrook.asp
This is the kind of recreational facility that may be possible in Hillsborough after the cleanup of the old Belle Mead Supply Depot.