Matt Berezo
Soccer Wire is a great soccer blog that covers just about every level of the game that there is. The site has blogs and news posts from the international level, all the way down to youth soccer. The sight has so much information that the viewer even has the option to select the region that he or she is interested in reading about in order to view every soccer blog that has ever been written on the site that has to do with the corresponding part of the country or world. The wide range of topics the blog had were also interesting to me. While there are standard blogs about superstars like Ronaldo, there are also write-ups about soccer players tearing their ACL’s (a common injury in the sport). However, the one part of the blog site that interested me the most was the section that is dedicated towards college soccer.
There are five major team sports in college that are televised on national television each year: football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer. All of these sports generate a great deal of media attention, from the BCS to March Madness, and Omaha to the Frozen Four. Unfortunately, soccer does not get this type of recognition. Soccer Wire is the perfect blog for someone to get all the information that they want about college soccer for both men and women. If college soccer wants to reach its full potential and tap into the United States market, there need to be more sites like Soccer Wire that cover the ins and outs of men’s and women’s soccer at the college level.
The college soccer blog does not just feed stats and game results out like most sites. The site goes in depth and recognizes significant events, statistics, and news that are happening today in the NCAA. For example, the most recent blog post does an in-depth analysis on the record crowd BYU had during their 3-0 win over the University of Nebraska. Other blogs include Notre Dame’s participation and victory of the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic, as well as Virginia Commonwealth’s first MLS draft pick of junior Jason Johnson. The blog also features articles about all the NCAA players that were invited to the MLS combine, as well as an analysis of how specific conferences such as the ACC are affected by the teams that were picked up and dropped from the league. There is also a “Notes and Boasts” section where there are write-ups on almost every single college soccer game that occurred each day. These are just a few examples of the important stories that are happening in the NCAA today that don’t get enough coverage, and are essential for any true college soccer fanatic.
And if you are a true college soccer fan, then you would want to know more about the high school athletes that you favorite school is recruiting, right? The Soccer Wire has that too. There is a news section on the blog that is featured for high school soccer. There are articles about “Players to Watch”, coverage of NCAA letter of intent, or better known as, “signing day”, and some of the biggest high school soccer events, such as the UHSAA Soccer Championships. In fact, the sight lets you go even further in depth with recruiting in the section of their sight that is titled, “College Recruiting”. There is also a “Showcase Watch” that keeps up on the biggest events that the best prospects compete in
Of course, it’s hard to ignore the fact that international and professional soccer are what people pay the most attention to. There are separate sections that cover international and professional soccer for both men and women. The blog goes in depth into the business of soccer. For example, a recent blog discusses ESPN’s decision to provide extensive coverage for U.S. Men’s National Team’s 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Mexico. The site even has a full data-base of every soccer player by name so that the viewer can look up his or her favorite players and all the blogs that have been written about them. My favorite part of the site, though, is another blog section that is titled, “OMG! What a Goal!” It’s a great part of the site to watch some of the most amazing goals, and it is an easy way to get lost on your computer for a few hours with your jaw dropped. It’s a great part of the sight because it has the potential to bring more attention to the soccer section of the blog. If you are looking for a site that not only covers professional soccer, but also does a great job with in depth analysis of college soccer, SoccerWire.com is the best site for you.
