American football and soccer 

I recently saw an interview on Emily Rooney’s Greater Boston show on our local PBS station.  Emily (yes, the daughter of 60 Minutes Andy) made a comment about the popularity of football, baseball and basketball and the relatively modest attention Americans give to the New England Revolution, our major league soccer entry.  She asked the Revolution broadcaster about the reasons why.  She raised this question:  Is the reason because Americans like lots of scoring, high scoring and don’t appreciate 1-0 games? 

The Revolution announcer’s response was interesting.  It was a clear, simple response.  He said when you think about it, American football games often are low scoring games.  He went on to offer this perspective.  He said a 14 to 7 game is really a 2 to 1 game…only three scores plus extra points over the course of sixty-minutes. 

I have never thought of it that way.  The only scoring difference between a 2-1 soccer game and a 14-7 football game is the numerical value placed on each score.   

On Sunday, our Revolution takes on the Houston Dynamo for the Major League Soccer (MLS) championship in Washington, DC

We’ll take a 1-0 win any time!