THE ASPIRING HORSEPLAYER

The story line runs near and dear to any racing fan’s heart.  A sport that has been long cherished and held in high regard around the world struggling to find relevance on the national stage here in the U.S.  Fans of the sport long feeling somewhat shunned and mocked by the general populace.  Only once every few years does even the prospect of having a chance to claim a sliver of the spotlight present itself – and only then when something truly remarkable is deemed imminent.

Earlier this week in South Africa, just such a moment occurred when Landon Donovan nailed the game winner against Algeria, propelling the U.S. World Cup team to the knockout portion of the tournament in the  round of 16.

I’ll spare the obvious Miracle on ice comparisons – if only because Algerian soccer is not quite the enemy that Soviet hockey was.  Certainly the moment invokes memories of the passion and excitement coursing through the land each time the U.S. drove a puck into the Russian net.

The sudden surge of interest and enthusiasm in the happenings of a sport long dismissed by Americans as “boring”, and (in so many words) “unmanly” has caught some of guard.  Not me.

We’ve been saying this for years.  The reason people love sport –  all sport – is because deep down in our hearts we are fascinated by watching the human spirit (or in our case the equine spirit) overcome adversity.  Every sport – given the right venue – is capable of captivating the people’s attention.  It just takes the right combination of accessibility, relevance, and of course heart-stopping dramatic moments.

When the U.S. began their World Cup campaign, they faced off against mighty England on a Saturday afternoon.  The internet was ablaze with excitement.  Twitter even went to so far as to add nifty little icons if you typed in a country’s name or the phrase  ”#worldcup”  into a message.  The match earned a 7.6 rating, whereas the longer broadcast that included pre-game coverage earned a 6.1 rating (making it the 5th highest rated FIFA broadcast since 1994).

The most viewed moment in American soccer history continues to be the shirtless romp of Brandi Chastain and Team USA beating China in the 1997 Women’s WC Final.  A whopping 18 million viewers tuned in for that epic moment – proving what horse racing fans have known ever since our leading ladies Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra burst onto the scene:  we may think of sports as being “manly” – but there might be something to this whole “girl power” thing after all.

What about that goal-heard-round-the-world by Landon Donovan that propelled the U.S. to the next round and elicited the response across the nation captured above?  While being dubbed the “most viewed soccer telecast in U.S. history” (despite the obvious math problems when compared to the Brandi Chastain moment above), the match drew just a 4.6  rating – reaching perhaps 6 million viewers overall.

Contrast that with what was generally considered a rather down year for the Triple Crown season in thoroughbred racing.  The Preakness stakes – won by Lookin at Lucky over Kentucky Derby champion Super Saver - earned 8.4 million viewers.  If the sources I’ve linked to are to be trusted, that means that a rather nondescript 2010 rendition of the Preakness still earned over 2 million more viewers than the greatest and “most watched” soccer moment in a generation within the U.S.  I find that fascinating given the general “racing is dead” talk and the ubiquitous, inescapable references to the World Cup everywhere one turns.

Now, it must be said – the U.S. match against Algeria came on a weekday morning – not exactly prime time television – which makes their ratings all the more astounding.  Most of racings largest moments happen on a Saturday – which tends to draw increased viewership (there’s a reason the NFL targeted Sunday for their main “game day”).  No doubt we’ll be looking at another huge draw for soccer when the U.S. takes on Ghana on Saturday.

What about when times are good for racing?   When Rachel Alexandra won the Preakness in 2009 – a race in which the favorite was not the Kentucky Derby champion (Mine That Bird), but rather a filly attempting to become the first of her kind in decades to prevail in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown - it earned a 7.9 rating (and reportedly 10.9 million viewers) – the second highest rating for the Preakness broadcast in almost 20 years.  Smarty Jones set the bar even higher back in 1994, earning a 9.4 rating.

Perhaps we should not be so fast to throw in the towel and trumpet the demise of racing?  I’m sure folks affiliated with FIFA are euphoric and will look to capitalize on their success.  While the popularity of thoroughbred racing is indeed declining as the decades march on, we must remember that there is indeed a “base” or “core” from which to build upon for the future.  Pessimism will get us nowhere.

As a sport, soccer has progressed with a definitive goal in mind over the last two decades – to aggressively carve out a slice of relevance and to earn a shot at capturing the attention of the nation.  They’ve dedicated themselves to securing a new generation of fans through efforts like youth soccer, and have embraced popular mediums like video gaming to drum up interest, familiarity, and enthusiasm (as anyone who has played the outstanding FIFA franchise games can attest).

And note – while it takes quite a bit of effort to nurture a growing following, you don’t even need ALL the stars to align themselves – as our matches in the World Cup have been marred by 90 minute scoring droughts, controversial decisions from officials, and those blasted, damnable vuvuzelas.

We’ve been over all of this before, of course – as each time the Olympics come around I find myself shouting at the television screen about competitions I know next to nothing about (I’m not a pretty sight in ice skates – nor in track and field uniforms).  The other evening my wife and I watched with amusement as our 1-year-old bellowed unintelligible yells of defiance directed towards the ineptness and futility of the Baltimore Orioles.  Obviously it’s a part of who we are from very early on in our development.  It’s as if our brains are firing up to declare: “something is happening – something exciting – I want to have a vested interest in this!”

Make no mistake – soccer is experiencing a surge in popularity the likes of which it has never seen in this nation.  Everyone I spoke with at work this week tended to have wishes for the team in their hearts, on their lips, and in their minds. Only time will tell if the attention is fleeting or if it has real  staying power.  We in thoroughbred racing no all too well about fleeting glory.  One factor that will no doubt play a key role is how the U.S. performs against Ghana on Saturday, and then, God-willing, against any future opponents they may face.  A strong run could propel the sport to a sustained (or semi-sustained) golden age of popularity.

Likewise – with some improved foresight, a bit of luck, and the courage to aggressively carve out our own niche audience and build for the future – we might find ourselves thrust back into the national spotlight one day-  and hopefully for all the RIGHT reasons.