How soccer won over America and became part of U.S. sports culture

I vividly remember how the American soldiers reacted as we watched the U.S. men's national team take on Germany in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals.

On a sultry evening, we had gathered at a U.S. military base in South Korea, not far from the Demilitarized Zone.

I was there to capture the soldiers’ response to the game for CNN. Our makeshift viewing room was soulless, with plastic chairs loosely arranged around a TV on a stand wheeled in especially for the occasion.When the match kicked off, the soldiers watched dutifully, with none of the rowdiness I'd have expected from a similar crowd back in my native United Kingdom.

Surprisingly, the United States looked far more dangerous — a team that, just four years earlier, had left the World Cup finals in France with the worst record of all 32 nations. The underdogs were taking it to the favorites, though the efforts of the have-a-go heroes barely seemed to register at our muted watch party.Then, in the 39th minute, order was restored when the Germans – then-three-time world champions – went ahead.

And while the Americans continued to fight valiantly, Germany ultimately hung on for a 1-0 win.To me, it had been epic. The United States had gone out on its shield and deserved huge congratulations.

That’s the sentiment I expected to hear from the soldiers on the post-match microphone. Instead, all I got was a chorus of “woulda, coulda, shoulda.” Not just disappointment but disdain.

Tough crowd. I was gobsmacked. Clearly, Americans didn’t do gallant failure, instead demanding domination over mere participation every time.

But in soccer, the U.S. was an upstart, not an icon, and that’s when I realized why the sport was such a hard sell in America.

Twenty-four years on, and times have changed.Soccer has now replaced baseball as the third most popular sport in America, behind football and basketball, according to data analytics firm Ampere Analysis. The news comes as the United States is at the center of the soccer universe with Can