Can Soccer Be Normal in America?

The 1994 World Cup was America’s first summer fling with soccer. Robin Williams monkeyed about at the pre-tournament draw calling then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter “Mr. Bladder” (“It is nice to meet you after feeling you for so many years”), the matches drew huge crowds to college football bowls briefly repurposed as soccer stadiums, and the US team—led by Alexi Lalas, an indie rocker manqué with an electric shock of red hair—roared out of the group stage with four points (a win over Colombia, a draw against Switzerland) before falling to eventual champions Brazil in the round of 16.