Soccer on a Shoestring

It seems like a good time to talk about the popularity of soccer in Maryland.  We've already covered the wildly successful Chelsea FC-AC Milan match that rocked M&T this summer.  And we've had our shins kicked by an enthusiastic youngster from one of the nation's most successful youth soccer leagues.  (Mea Culpa -- every soccer mom in the world knows you don't jump between the striker and his target for a picture, so the bruises were entirely justified.)

We've heard all about the Elite tournaments, the world class facilities, camps, clinics and top ranked college programs in our state.  Those points were raised yet again when we received requests to study the feasibility of building stadiums for two different professional soccer teams. 

There are historic reasons why our state has an affinity for the game known universally as futbal.  Baltimore was a gateway for 19th century European immigrants who stayed to work in the factories, shipyards and railroads.  Washington, with its diplomatic corps and international community, also embraced the "beautiful game" as a cultural bridge.  Easy to see how soccer spans the divide between the ethnic communities and Embassy Row in the metropolitan suburbs.

But this week I witnessed another dimension in this soccer-mad state that flies pretty much below the radar.  It took place less than a mile from my home, where the fields of Annapolis Middle School buzz every Saturday with kids and their parents attending youth league games.

Until recently, the fields were usually deserted on Sundays.  But a few months ago, I noticed adults kicking around soccer balls on Sunday mornings.  Later, it was teams in uniforms.  One time I drove by and noticed there was a giant flag strung between two trees and smaller, different flags on makeshift poles around an unmarked field.

This past Sunday morning, my curiosity got the better of me.  It was early, and I was driving by just as a crew was unloading a large grill and some coolers and another group was stringing a series of flags.  It was only later I realized the largest was Bolivian.

I stopped in and asked what was going on.  Despite the language barrier, everyone was friendly and pointed me to their organizer, who spoke English.  What I learned was pretty amazing.

In Anne Arundel County, there are several adult soccer leagues.  The largest is in the Glen Burnie-Pasadena area, where there are more than twenty teams.  In Annapolis, there are eleven.  They have been competing all spring and summer on various fields around town when the youth leages weren't using them.  What had been happening at Annapolis Middle School the past few Sundays was the playoffs.  And today was the final.  A crowd of more than 1,000 -- mostly from the area, coming by bikes, bus, on on foot -- was expected.  They represented many nationalities, mostly from Latin America.

The County has organized these leagues, and in addition to their recreational activities, they have been helpful as a conduit to the immigrant community who are frequently unaware of health issues -- such as vacinnations for the recent H1V1 flu.  Through the language of sports, county health officials have been able to communicate with those in need of services who they could otherwise not reach.

I'm not sure how many green cards were in the crowd, and was too polite to ask.   But what I did see was an orderly, enthusiastic, and very gracious group of sports fans out having a wonderful time with their families as they were cheering their neighbors in a cultural activity that was a common denominator for them all.

When we look for Marylanders passionate about the game of socccer, these folks probably won't be on anyone's e-mail tree.  But they represent one more reason why having an international soccer match here engenders so much enthusiasm in so many quarters.