Soccer In A Football World by David Wangerin

We usually review fiction, but occasionally have posted some non-fiction titles. Regular readers (both of you) probably know I have a recessive gene that clouds my sensibilities when it comes to soccer. Today's post is further evidence of the concept of variable selective gene expression.

This book is the product of a "soccer fan born in the wrong country at nearly the wrong time" who presents a detailed (and the emphasis really is on 'detailed') history of soccer in the US. He traces back to evidence of how soccer and rugby and our own version of football (gridiron) are intertwined going all the way back to the colonial period. Wangerin then brings out the how and why gridiron became the game of choice in the US and how soccer, once a big deal, became relegated to the back seat to more recent decades as soccer started to claw its way back into the American consciousness.

Despite the incredible depth of research and the presentation of detail of arcane matches, leagues, and people, this book failed to draw me in. It just seem a bit dry; a presentation of facts that failed to impart any feel for the personality and passion known to reside in the game. The only chapter that really grabbed me a bit was the one entitled Momentary Insanity, which was about the US women's national team program. Otherwise, this book is probably more of interest to sports historians.

Now my next soccer book (Soccer against the Enemy) has more personality and passion in the first 2 chapters than this entire book.

East Coast Don