Football in Europe
(June 3, 2002)

When it comes to football, we all know the rest of the world calls soccer football. It is a worldwide passion that has yet to catch on in the United States. In June, in the midst of World Cup fever, my wife and I spent three weeks in Europe.

When I first thought of doing this article, the working title was "NFL in Europe." After reviewing the newspapers upon our return, it seems that it was a slow month for NFL news. The NFL in Europe? It is virtually nonexistent.

I think twice I saw someone wearing a NFL Europe T-shirt. Saw one, maybe two, gift shops with NFL Europe stuff and we went to plenty of shops. There might have been one billboard promoting an NFL Europe team. Saw one guy, probably a tourist, wearing a NFL team hat. No NFL t-shirts or other merchandise was to seen. Forget about getting Arena Football League updates, even the copies of the USA Today I saw did not have the standings.

We visited ten countries on an escorted tour, so watching much of the World Cup was not an option. Watched the beginning of the US-South Korea game before taking off for a bus tour of London. Saw a couple of minutes of the US loss to Poland while walking by a large screen television in Lucerne, Switzerland. Did not see any of the big victory over Mexico, but snuck a couple of peeks of the Germany game during lunch in Rome. Saw some bits and pieces of other games and was able to watch the final upon our return home.

While watching the games was not a priority, following the results was almost unavoidable. Londoners beamed about the victory over Argentina. When we were in Lucerne, the Italian and Turkish fans celebrated their teams advancement to the second round. Flags waved and horns blew for most of the night. In Venice, Spanish fans celebrated victory by singing in Saint Marks square. In Pompei, the Italians were dejected by loss. In Rome, flag draped German fans celebrated the victory over the United States. The daily newspapers devoted ten or more pages to the tournament. The flavor of the World Cup was everywhere with our British tour director giving updates.

Perhaps, the decent showing by the US National Team and the continued popularity of soccer among America's youth, will lead to an increased interest in the game here at home. Football is huge in Europe. American football is not.