The Soccer in the United States Portal Soccer in the United States has long been popular amongst all ages and it is the most popular recreational sport for both boys and girls, and according to History of Soccer: The Beautiful Game, has been so for about 25 years. This late 20th century boom is attributed for the most part to the existence of the North American Soccer League from 1967 to 1984, and the New York Cosmos, its marquee team which included among its players stellar names like Franz Beckenbauer and Pelé. Professional soccer has expanded since the mid-1990s, especially since the 1994 FIFA World Cup which was hosted in the United States for the first time. Both the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women's World Cups were also held in the USA, and the United States women's national team is one of the best in the world. Their home crowd of over 90,000 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California for the 1999 World Cup Final remains the largest crowd in the world ever to witness any women's sporting event. More and more Americans, having played the game in their youth are now avid spectators. Most cities with Major League Soccer teams have large fan bases. In addition, as Latin American immigration is increasing overall in the entire nation, so is the popularity of soccer. The Chicago Fire is a professional soccer club based in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois, USA. It participates in Major League Soccer and was founded October 8, 1997 on the 126th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. They are the most successful club in the U.S. Open Cup since the foundation of Major League Soccer, winning championships in 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2006. Chicago's chief rival is FC Dallas and the two teams compete annually for the Brimstone Cup (established by the fans of both teams), which goes to the victor in the season series between them. While FC Dallas remains the most historically heated rival, recent years have fostered venom between the Fire and the New England Revolution with the clubs ending each other's season every year since 2001. The Fire originally played at Soldier Field, but now have their own stadium, Toyota Park at 71st and Harlem Avenue. There is a considerable ultras culture for the club with groups and fan clubs occupying a standing room only general admission area directly behind the north goal in the Harlem End of the stadium that is referred to as Section 8 and overseen by Section 8 Chicago, the Independent Supporters' Association. Mia Hamm (born March 17, 1972 in Selma, Alabama) is a former American soccer player. Playing for many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team, she scored more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female, in the history of the sport (158). Hamm eventually became one of the most famous women athletes in the world, an iconic symbol of women's sports, and an inspiration and role model to a generation of sports-minded girls. She was named the women's FIFA World Player of the Year the first two times that award was given (in 2001 and 2002), and is listed as one of FIFA's 125 best living players (as chosen by Pelé). She retired from the sport in 2004, when she played her last game in the 2004 Fan Celebration Tour to commemorate the US's Women's National team's victory in the 2004 Olympics. In 2007, her first year of eligibility, she was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame by having 137 votes of the 141 ballots cast. Hamm was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on March 11, 2008 and Women's Professional Soccer, a professional soccer league that plans to launch in 2009, features Hamm's silhouette in its logo. She is the author of Go For the Goal: A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life (Harper Collins, 1999). She appeared in the HBO documentary Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team. |
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