Erik Coulbourne

We're Talkin' About Practice

An Open Letter to Soccer Fans

I know this is a soccer only site, but please forgive me for stealing this gem from AI, or Allen Iverson for those not in the know. For you see his words of wisdom are the basis for my discussion. And how you might ask? Let me set the scene for you...

It all started on a beautiful Sunday in South Florida. I walked outside to the wonderful warmth of upper 70-degree weather without a cloud in the sky in early March. I know you all up north are saying thanks for rubbing it in, but I had to note this as it coincided with my pleasure of a great day ahead as I was to take in a practice game and interview Paul Dalglish afterwards. So the scene was perfect, until I arrived at the pitch.

It did not start out that bad. There were close to a hundred cars in the parking lot, which was a surprise being that it was just a scrimmage between the Rapids and the Burn at FAU. But it was a great sight to see such a turnout under the circumstances. The Fusion were hard pressed to get such a crowd. So I continued up the walkway to the field when a young guy who asked to see my ticket stopped me. After the shock wore off, I asked him "Excuse me?"

Again he asked to see a ticket. I told him that I did not have one and why should I since I was here to watch a scrimmage and meet up with Chris Ward of the Burn to cover the scrimmage and interview a player afterwards. He proceeded to tell me that I could not get in without a ticket. I simply asked if he would find Mr. Ward and let him know I was here to see him. No dice. He did not have time to find anyone since he did not know anybody at all. So I was told to either pay , which was going to the FAU soccer team, or maybe read about the game on the Internet in some bulletin board.

To make matters worse, I did not have a single dime in my pocket I am sorry to say. So I headed back to my car in disgust to head to an ATM to get a Jackson. But as seconds and then minutes went by, I could not help but think, "Why should I have to pay to watch practice?" I mean I could head down to Sunrise and watch DC United practice all I wanted without shelling out a penny. Could it be that I have become spoiled by the hospitality of Doug Hicks over the last two years with being able to have full access to D.C. United players and coaches at their practices.

I mean, don't get me wrong; I support the FAU soccer program trying to raise funds for itself. And heck, I even went to school there so it is not like I did not want to give them money for support after giving them thousands of dollars in tuition. But find another way to do so instead of making people pay for something that should be free in my eyes. Same thing goes with the games that were played at the Orange Bowl this spring. Why did MLS decide to charge fans to attend those games when just two years ago they were free at Lockhart for numerous games over a week span? I guess I should know better since MLS could use all the money it can get so decided to hold the event at the OB and charge admission, while at the same time keeping some of the fans it greatly needs away.

There is an underlying issue here that is plaguing soccer in this country. The sport craves expose and coverage but somehow seems to miss the boat. I would bet money on it that I would have been the only member of the media there. I still see a problem when Soccer Loop can easily get access to cover the Nats but cannot get access to a practice. All I am trying to do is spread the word of the sport and try to give it the exposure it needs and wants. The only problem is some in the sport are blocking the way. Until a few things change though, soccer will never get the recognition it greatly deserves in this corner of the world. So like A.I. graciously stated, "We aren't talkin' about a game, we're talkin' about practice".

Article by: Erik Coulbourne