U.S. pro soccer and traditions ... we need a few of them

In order for the game to become more popular, U.S. Soccer simply must do “this,” or Major League Soccer must do “that.” Or it’s the media that holds the key to greater acceptance.

The truth of course is that there is no magic bullet, no one way to push the pace of development. Just as a child needs a full range of nourishment in order to gain solid emotional, physical and academic foundations, domestic soccer’s maturation will require a full range of developmental elements.

Proper stadiums are critical, of course. So are big stars, the Mia Hamms and Landon Donovans, who put a face on soccer and give the little kiddoes and tweeners a more tangible target for emulation. It’s viral marketing, smart media strategies and prudent spending. And it’s so much more.

Here’s something that no one really mentions, but it’s another drop in the developmental bucket: soccer needs to create its own traditions.

I was thinking about this over the holidays. Consider how many traditions in football are inextricably linked to the holidays …

At Thanksgiving, families around the country gather to gobble the gobblers at the dinner table. Then, if they can defeat the scourge of tryptophan, the men folk and some of the nice ladies make their way to the TV room to watch one of the two NFL Thanksgiving staples. It’s tradition.

How about the Christmas-New Year's season and college bowl games? Watching college football in and around the New Year’s turn is a much an American institution as burger and fries.

The NBA has developed a nice little Christmas Day tradition. Last year, almost 8 million viewers watched the pro hoops doubleheader. MLS commissioner Don Garber would run through Times Square wearing only Adidas joggers and a Mohawk wig if he thought it would help an annual MLS doubleheader reap such advertiser-pleasing numbers.

The NHL is about to pop the cork on its next outdoor dandy. Boston is the venue this year, and once again hockey will benefit from the intersection of novelty and tradition – even if it’s only a recent tradition. And on it goes for baseball (opening day!) and golf (the majesty of the Masters), etc.

Now, think for a second and ask yourself, what are soccer’s annual traditions in our country?

Uh … yeah …uh …well, there must be something, right?

Anyone know of an annual U.S. Soccer men’s national team date? That January friendly against random Scandinavian opposition may be as close as they come. They do typically play a friendly in the New York area before World Cup departure. That’s not a bad one, but it’s every four years instead of every year. And in 1998 the match was in Washington, D.C., rather than in the New York area. So, really, scratch that one as “tradition.”

Quick, when is the “traditional” Major League Soccer championship date? That’s a trick question, of course, because there really isn’t one, although the last two have been on the weekend before Thanksgiving. Similarly, opening weekend has always been all over the place.

NCAA women’s and men’s soccer finals? There’s no set venue. They typically take place on the first and second weekends of December, although there’s talk now of combining the pair.

Don’t get me wrong. These things aren’t easy to develop. In fact, the suits and the marketing mavens, try as they might, really can’t “develop” these things. They absolutely must take root on their own.

But once they do, family and friends start planning weekends, long-haul trips and even vacations around these events. Media outlets get it marked on their calendars. The budget resources for it, which helps ensure coverage, which gets the event into the buzz cycle.

Only then are these annual, traditional events woven into the fabric of Americana.

These annual staples will be another piece of the puzzle in the maturation process … just as soon as somebody gets them going.