MARCH MADNESS...IT'S NOT JUST BASKETBALL, HOW ABOUT SOCCER?

“The times, they are changing.”  Maybe at no time ever in history has this been more true. The evolution of consumer buying patterns and the new found boundless technology found in our mobile devices has turned the world on its ear. From pizza to medicinal marijuana, it’s all there at a click and delivered in a click. But it's not just consumer buying that has been impacted, it's practically every aspect of our life. Do you use printed instructions or do you use YouTube?...gotta ‘nest’ at home?…is Siri finding what you need?…is Uber at your door?…Amazon Prime? OMG!

Change is impacting sport as well. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, nutrition, or living too close to San Onofre, but a fairly large percent of the kids in the U.S. aren’t physically elite…if you are 12 years old, male and 6’1”, you gotta shot at the NFL or maybe the NBA. If you are 12 years old, male or female and “right sized” for your age, physically elite sports are probably not in your future. Do not move from San Diego to Green Bay, no matter what your Dad thinks. And PS, your MOM absolutely hates the idea of contact sports…who wants their child to risk a head injury that could cripple for life?

Do not underestimate the real power of Moms! In my age group, driving with moderate levels of alcohol was “ok” as long as you did not have an accident or get caught by the police. As drinking escalated, more police did not counter the horrible trend...but MADD stopped the activity cold at the social level. When a majority of Moms decide something, well, I think that's what is gonna happen. NFL take note.

I realize this is a goofy lead in, but as a consequence of social trends, many of us see a great future for soccer. I am one of them and I believe the MLS/SoccerCity SD proposal as positive for the City and County of San Diego. Soccer is an aspirational GLOBAL sport for boys and girls. We have about 100 leagues and 3,000 teams in San Diego County alone. That’s arguably more to 50,000 local athletes touched by soccer each year. If San Diego is the home of healthy living I cannot think of a much better activity for our kids. Are there details? Of course. Are there good local San Diegans behind the effort? Yes. Is SoccerCity SD for profit? Yes. Is it 100% privately funded? Yes.

Good enough for me...good for the City and County…good enough for our kids…let’s make it happen!

-bob

See the full March SDSI Newsletter HERE