Soccer is my first love and, alongside music, my passion. I love watching matches from all over the world on television, albeit in a foreign language, and enjoy attending local Rochester Raging Rhinos matches. I love the atmosphere of a game that contains the tension that you could cut with a knife-the boisterous and excitable crowds, the non-stop cheering, and most of all, the creative celebrations teams have when they score.

Soccer is entertainment. Essentially what this means is we pay money to watch athletes, the "entertainers," entertain us. Soccer players have come up with some of the most creative and flamboyant celebrations seen in sport.

In Rochester, when a goal is scored we see impressions of Michael Jackson (courtesy of Yari Allnutt) and Elvis Presley (courtesy of Lenin Steenkamp); and that's to only name a couple! Players want fans to feel what they're feeling when the ball hits the back of the net. And why shouldn't we? The goal is a cause for celebration, and the entertainers on the field encourage us to celebrate with them.

Now let me change the focus a bit. In the US, soccer has gone through many different formats in an effort to "Americanize" it. Why? Does the US feel inferior to other nations in the sport, and need to change it to benefit them? Perhaps not. Perhaps it's because soccer must compete with the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL, which brings me to my point. Recently, I read that the National Football League passed a rule stating that no "group celebrations" after teams scored would be allowed anywhere on the field. The St. Louis Rams were cited as a team that was in violation of this rule, because players were seen celebrating on individual areas of the field after a score. How dare they! I mean, come on, they just scored! Essentially, the NFL is stating that there is no need to celebrate taking a lead or coming from behind to win! Or is there?

The answer is quite simple: YES. I hope and pray that soccer in the US does not go through such a similar and ridiculous roller coaster ride of rule changes that ultimately infringes on the entertainment value of the sport. Could you imagine the A-League and MLS finals played as if those involved were a bunch of stiffs? How is the crowd supposed to react when the players are forbidden from celebrating an all-important goal? Essentially, sport will become less and less important to people as a form of entertainment, since the entertainers won't be there. Let's hope American soccer learns from the stupidity of its competition, and doesn't follow in their footsteps. No celebrations! Now THAT'S Americanization!

It's just my opinion, but I could be right

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