Yankee Stadium's Other Tenants

Playing on a field whose dimensions are dictated by America’s pastime is emblematic of NYCFC. The size of the NYCFC field is a testament to the club’s tendency to grovel to the basest tastes with panem et circenses.  

Take the most billed match of the year—LA vs. NYC. Or as you more likely saw it pitched: Stevie G vs. Super Frank (ignore that Lampard didn’t even make the bench). As for the match itself, the cameraman completely missed a goal because he was hell bent on a close-up David Villa. There was no goal build-up and not even a glimpse of the ball flying into the net. Viewers saw Villa walking near the halfway line, heard a cheer, and then saw a replay. It’s great that soccer is growing in the US. And it’s swell that aging internationals are willing to live out a well-paid early retirement on our shores. But can we please show goals live?

The NYCFC field fails to meet minimum size requirements—this much is clear to the naked eye. Opposition teams spoke of how they practiced long throw-ins before coming to Yankee Stadium because a good throw-in is equal to a corner at the Bronx stronghold. All media requests to measure the field were denied, confirming the open secret: soccer is ancillary to the NYCFC machine.

The restricted field at Yankee Stadium can hardly be expected to produce topnotch soccer—but NYCFC offers something else. The bulk of NYCFC’s allure is its landlord.

Soccer in a baseball stadium is a phenomenon in itself. It’s a novelty that might turn apathy to curiosity. There is inherent, American history at Yankee Stadium so a supporter will get something out of the experience no matter how poor (or confined) the soccer is. There is something of value simply in visiting the storied stadium.

The oddity of seeing a soccer match played on a baseball diamond is reason enough to go. A sort of athletic freak show, NYCFC’s strangeness is its appeal. Sure, NYCFC might have Pirlo, Lampard, and Villa, but throw in the Great Bambino, Mantle, and Jeter then Americans will watch this FIFA declared “ethnic sport for schoolgirls”.

The problem with the NYCFC setup is that the focus is not on the game but on the spectacle. Designated players take precedence over goals. The MLS caters to our wants as consumers, though. Does it think we’d rather see a DP walk around more than we’d like to see a homegrown MLS player score? Maybe we do. The number of Pirlo shirts at Yankee Stadium prior to his arrival indicates the MLS is simply giving us what we want.

For all that Yankee Stadium is doing to bolster soccer’s status in the US, is it doing so at the expense of the most iconic winning team in the world? The Yankees bought the MLS expansion rights with Manchester City. Imagine—how would you feel as a Yankees player? With baseball declared dead or dying daily, Yankees players must be resentful that their owners don’t even have the respect to wait for the autopsy report. You have just one foot in the grave and they’re already building a “football club” on top of you. Perhaps the Yankees can feel vindicated that their pitcher mound took precedence over decent football and constrained the pitch to a minute size. Perhaps they don’t care.

It’s unclear after just one season whether sport or spectacle will triumph for NYCFC. The appointment of Arsenal’s Patrick Vieira as manager speaks to the club’s prioritization of marquee names. NYCFC is on the egregious end of the spectrum in the gimmick arena as compared with other MLS franchises, but their impressive attendance indicates that there is a shrewd business mind behind their pageantry. NYCFC average 29,000 fans per match. The Red Bulls, Eastern Conference leaders, have an average attendance of 19,600 (capacity 25,000). Maybe it will end up being a ‘come for the Villa, stay for the Poku’ success story. Would Dog Day Afternoon or Serpico have reached so many people without The Godfather? A love for the sport, sprung from an initial interest in seeing a Champions League winner in the flesh is plausible enough.  

O Tempora! O Torres! Kopites and Torres Reconcile

Sport can be cloying. It can. But the sweetness of the reconciliation between Fernando Torres and his Liverpool supporters at Steven Gerrard’s tribute match might be one of most moving moments of this season. For all of the comparisons to combat and warfare, sport thrives on emotion. The raw power of victory and defeat narratives are always accompanied by the history and stirring personal stories of athletes. These stories humanize individuals who are looked upon as idols. These stories make sport relevant beyond its immediate sphere. These stories are what make sport a microcosm of life.

Torres’ departure from Liverpool in 2011 was perceived as a betrayal by Kopites and there is no reasoning with football supporters. As a professional athlete, Torres made a tough career decision. His decision was a manifestation of the simplest Godfather tenet--it’s not personal, it’s business. It must have been very difficult for Torres to leave Liverpool, where he was loved and he, in turn, loved them back. Still, he became Judas. To leave Liverpool for Chelsea was the ultimate sellout and the vitriol of the Kop was felt acutely when he returned as an opponent.

Torres’ form at Chelsea was nowhere near the form he played in when partnered with Gerrard, and Liverpool supporters relished in this fact. You can only hate if you once loved. The ferocity of the Liverpool supporters’ reactions to Torres’ departure speaks to the high regard in which they held the Spaniard. Had a lesser player defected to Chelsea, he would likely be faced with apathy and disgust. The torrent of hate Torres’ experienced was deeply rooted in a love betrayed.

Liverpool fans forget that they are his second love. Torres had already had his heart broken at Atlético Madrid. He was the captain and poster niño of the club, but Atléti’s plummeting stature in world football compelled the young player to walk away. He pledged he would never go to Real Madrid out of devotion to the Rojiblancos. Loyalty is important to the striker. And he returned to his boyhood club this season with a welcome fit for a galáctico.

When Gerrard asked Fernando to return to Merseyside, the striker must have had some apprehension. Perhaps he feared he would be subjected to boos and what ought to be the celebration of one man’s career would turn into a reminder of the mercenary side of football. Maybe Torres feared being ignored and that he would emerge from the tunnel to hostile silence.

But reality trumped even fantasy when Kopites were finally ready to forgive their former number 9.They sang his song. His armband proved he was a Red. Torres. Torres. You’ll never walk alone it said. Torres. Torres. As the song mentions, there was something fated about Fernando becoming a Liverpool player. He belonged to them even before he signed. His voluntary move to Chelsea undermined the soul mate quality between the player and Liverpool.

Perhaps transfers and time--1 sale and 2 loans removed from Chelsea--allowed fans to forgive. Consider this: Torres’ return for Gerrard’s tribute match was the first opportunity supporters had to show him that he was still adored in Liverpool circles (forgiveness was simply impossible while he was playing for Chelsea). Again, the tribute match was the first time Torres returned to Anfield without affiliation with Chelsea. In this light, Liverpool forgave Fernando as quickly as they could. He’s really only been away from Chelsea for half of a season, yet the Kopites were quick to reclaim him. Their warm welcome seemed to say that they would have seen him through the hard days much better than Chelsea, if only he had stayed. They wanted to forgive Torres desperately and express their love for the fallen hero.

Torres’ many posts on instagram demonstrated how deeply he appreciated his reception at Anfield. His acrimonious departure from the club hurt him because he still loved the club, but for the sake of his career had to leave (sound familiar?) So to see his faithful admirers turn against him was painful to witness and likely part of the reason for his dismal form at Chelsea.

Torres is an exceptionally thoughtful player. His interviews are insightful and eloquent. His answers reflect the mind of someone who understands the realities of the football transfer market and wishes the supporters could, too. He posted a photo of Liverpool legends standing together with their arms around each other and captioned it “Liverpool Family”. He had finally returned to Anfield in a way that allowed closure.

It was decidedly not as if he had never left. The return had the same sweetness as the second beginning of a romantic relationship that ended because of circumstance rather than personal reasons. Perhaps timing was wrong or one person had to move away. The breakup was not a product of incompatibility with each other, but incompatibility with external factors.

With all the nostalgia of Torres’ Liverpool days, it was interesting to see the Spaniard reunite with his Chelsea captain John Terry, who was also invited to Gerrard’s tribute. The defender posed for a picture with Torres and Didier Drogba, reminding Liverpool supporters that Torres’ life at Chelsea was filled with friendships and memories as well.

Another image shows Terry and Torres happily catching up. An appreciation for his time at Chelsea does not undermine the place Liverpool holds in his heart. Torres is not reminiscing fondly about Liverpool at Chelsea’s expense. He is not spurning his Chelsea days and denigrating his experience at the London club now that he is safe, enwrapped in the love of both Atléti and Liverpool. Torres’ Chelsea experience has been part of his journey to acceptance at Liverpool.

He posted another photo that seemed to say to Liverpool fans that he never returned their hatred, even when it was at its ugliest. He praised the Kop and credited them for how much they contributed to his career. His post was soul baring and deeply sentimental. He wrote “I feel in peace with myself.” The admission is admirable and speaks to his devotion to the club that he cares what they think of him.

Club-player relationships are always rendered in terms of romance, and the metaphor is especially apt for Torres and Liverpool. He was ready to be friends for quite some time after the breakup, but Liverpool supporters took time to come around. It may have irked Liverpool supporters to see Torres smiling and chatting with Terry and Drogba, but they must have delighted in the joy evident on Torres’ face when interacting with his Liverpool skipper, who the Spaniard still credits as the best he’s ever played with.

[Originally published on Lovely Left Foot]

Stevie G: The Lame Duck

The stamp. The red card. The return of the armband to Jordan Henderson. Steven Gerrard’s career is limping to the finish line and his many admirers around the world are turning away to spare him the embarrassment. Even the media has been respectfully ashamed on his behalf following his ejection from the match against United. Majority of the reactions expressed disbelief rather than disgust or anger.

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