CONCACAF Gold Cup, you probably had trouble surfing the television airwaves to find live coverage of the match.
"There was 57 channels and nothin' on."
Well, actually my satellite television system offers more than 700 channels, and although Fox Soccer Channel, which had exclusive English-language broadcast rights to the Gold Cup, is one of them, I would have to pay a premium to get it.
I like soccer, but not enough to add more to my already sky-high television bill.
Fortunately I found the game for free on Univision - a Spanish-language network. My high-school Spanish is a bit rusty, so the only thing I clearly understood was when they yelled "GOAL!"
I understand broadcast agreements. I understand the U.S. Soccer Federation trying to get as much as it can in broadcast agreements. But if most Americans can't see the U.S. team play in a tournament as big as the Gold Cup, is it really helping to sell the sport?
Somebody in the marketing department of the U.S. Soccer Federation is dropping the ball.
There is still a swing audience out there for soccer - one that might be won over by the game if it can continually see it played at a high level.
OK, so the United States vs. Mexico isn't exactly Italy against Brazil, but it is still an exciting international matchup.
It's the type of intense rivalry that might sway some casual fans toward soccer, provided they have a chance to see it.
The English-language broadcast of that championship game needed to be on free or semifree (cable or satellite) television.
Whoever negotiated on the side of American soccer should have received a contingency clause from Fox that if the United States reached the final, the game would be broadcast on one of its channels that did not cost a premium price to get.
If Fox said no, then pay a cost to shift it to ESPN.
U.S. Soccer again missed an opportunity to showcase itself.
