European football will never become mainstream in the United States - it's just not going to happen. ESPN can hype it all they want, and so can FOX Sports, but my guess is that it will only ever occupy a niche market - unless the republicans are right and we are taken over by immigrants some day.But, I would rather have a European football team than an American one. I am crazy you say? Maybe, but I'm sick of hearing how "soccer" is boring. There are 60 minutes of game time in the NFL (America's football league). How long does it take to play? I'd say 2.5 hours most of the time. How much time is the ball in action? 11 minutes, on average, according to the Washington Post... There is 11 minutes of game time - 1 hour of commercials. Seriously. But, yeah - "soccer" is boring... with its constant action and 90 minutes of game time played in 2 hours.
Anyway, I'm not going to convince anyone to change their mind. Besides, if America had "soccer" we'd probably figure out how to make the games 4 hours long and jam in 2 hours of commercials.
On to the Dynamo (Dee-NAH-Moh) Match
My first experience with European football was in Detroit - not long ago. I had a good time, although a) It is infinitely better in an open-air stadium (not a dome) b) the Dynamo match last night (against the Dutch team Ajax [I-yax]) meant something.
When Anna and I got off the subway car there was an obvious buzz in the air. In Kiev's subway stations there are a lot of vendors - selling just about anything - from pet food to bras, and everything in between. On this night, there were all kinds of vendors selling bootleg Dynamo apparel and paraphernalia - very cheap. I picked myself up a scarf.
The subway exit was basically the stadium's entrance. As we crossed the street and made our way to the gate a group of fans were cheering "Dee-NAH-Moh, Dee-NAH-Moh, Dee-NAH-Moh".
There were a lot of things that I really enjoyed about the Dynamo experience.
Subtle Stadium
Dynamo's stadium is not luxurious - it is not even large. But, it doesn't need to be. It is just a place to watch a football match - and the sport is the center attraction. It's why I always loved old Tiger
Stadium and wished they would have just fixed it up. That stadium was awesome because of its history - - NOT because it was designed by the same architect who built every other cookie cutter stadium in the last 15 years. While Dynamo's stadium isn't luxurious- it is in a beautiful setting. Above the stadium, on one side, is Mariinsky park (you can see some pics in one of my previous blogs).
OK... there aren't enough hours in the day - so I'll just post a few
more pics later... (By the way, the game ended in a 1-1 tie.) Headed into the city now, hope to post more thoughts on the game tomorrow.
