Introduction speech

Speech: Soccer in the US Soccer in the Us My passion for soccer s back to when I was a little boy. I would jump and cheer wildly every time I saw a match being played on the television. Back in the day, all I wanted to do was play soccer when I grow up. The 2002 world cup shall forever remain etched in my memory. This was the time when the world’s greatest footballers of all the time Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima commonly christened “ the phenomenon” was at his best. Every time he was on the pitch I could not get my eyes off the screen. Ronaldo was doing magic on the pitch and his ball dribbling skills left even his opponents clapping and cheering for him. Ronaldo was so influential that he helped his country, Brazil, lift the 2002 world cup. Brazil won 2 nil against Germany. The two goals were entirely scored by Ronaldo. Though he is now retired, Ronaldo, remains a football legend who greatly influenced my liking of the beautiful game and ever since then I have never looked back. I have been an ardent admirer and follower of mainstream teams as well as clubs, especially the English Premier League.
I will briefly talk about soccer in the US which is governed by the US Soccer Federation, popularly referred to as US Soccer. This is the organization that is charged with the governing of soccer at all levels in the country; professional leagues, national teams as well as the amateur game. Soccer is the 3rd most played team (behind only basketball and baseball/softball) sport in the US having more than 13 million Americans playing it. Soccer popularity has been rising since the 60s and 70s and especially got a considerable boost when the US played host to the 1994 World Cup. Wangerin in his book; Soccer in a Football World, claims that the term football in the US refers to the sport of American football with the sport of association of football being referred to as “ soccer” (Wangerin, 2006).
In the US the highest professional soccer league is the Major League Soccer (MLS) which is an equivalent of the English Premier League. MLS started playing with 10 teams in 1996 and has grown to the current 20 teams (17 in the US and 3 in Canada) with more expansion in the pipeline. The MLS begins in March and runs up to December, with the overall season winner being awarded the Supporters’ Shield. The post-season winner gets the MLS Cup. Having an average attendance of more than 18, 000 for every game, MLS has the highest average turn out of any sports league in the US. It is also the 7th attended professional soccer league in the world.
In conclusion, soccer enthusiasts also track the US national teams, especially the World Cup which is held after every 4 years. The World Cup has grown popular particularly with the US TV audiences with the 2010 World Cup drawing close to 24 million US viewers. To me soccer will always remain my favorite game of all time.
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References
Dave, W. (2006). Soccer in a Football World. New York, NY: WSC Books Limited.