{image1}Every four years, American sports fans and writers roll out the age-old debate about soccer's lack of popularity in the United States. Low-scoring games (curiously, a no-hitter is a baseball must-see, however. -ed.) , a lack of appreciation for the sport's subtleties and an obsession with ESPN-driven highlights are trotted out as the prime culprits, with soccer backers angrily denouncing the rest of the population as NFL-addicted heathens.
For me, the lack of personal interest is much simpler -- there was never a high-profile, pro soccer team in Milwaukee while I was growing up.
Everybody seems to play soccer as a kid, and then most of us grow out of it. The sport is rarely on television, its major event (the World Cup) happens just once every four years (an eternity to impressionable 8-year-olds), and mid-size metropolises such as Milwaukee lack pro teams.
Of course, we actually do have a team -- several, in fact. Firstly, we have the Milwaukee Wave, an established and successful member of the nine-team Major Indoor Soccer League. Secondly, we have the Milwaukee Wave United, the Wave's outdoor, A-League brethren.
I was lucky enough to travel to London for 10 days last November just as English Premier League play was heating up. With games blaring from every pub television in the city, it wasn't difficult to take notice. Between the TV coverage, the damp weather -- which seems to fit the sport perfectly -- and the literate, witty beat coverage in London's fabulous newspapers, I quickly became a closet soccer geek.
Undoubtedly, there are thousands of Wave, Wave United and general soccer fans in the metro area, and they are likely to find the following primer a tad simplistic (note the word "primer"). But it is not directed toward them. Instead, allow me to introduce the team to the rest of Milwaukee's Brewers, Bucks and Packers-focused fans.
What is Wave United?
Wave United is the second-year, A-League entry of the Milwaukee Wave MISL indoor franchise. The A-League is basically a second-tier outdoor pro league, a level below Major League Soccer. Several players perform for both clubs, though Wave United also employs players from some of the Wave's indoor competitors.
Are they any good?
Yes, actually. Despite some dubious assumptions about fielding an outdoor club comprised of numerous indoor players, Wave United won the 2003 regular season title after finishing 18-10-0 in its first season. The team ultimately lost to the Minnesota Thunder in a two-game playoff set.
This year, Wave United has gotten off to a sluggish 1-5-1 start, some of which can be attributed to the short layoff between the MISL playoffs (in which the Wave lost to the Baltimore Blast in the finals) and the start of A-League play. WU is in fifth place in the Western Conference, but four of the seven teams advance to the postseason (there are nine teams in the Eastern Conference).
Additionally, the Wave has been a smashing success in the MISL, winning league titles in 1997-'98, 1999-2000 and 2000-'01 (officially, these were National Professional Soccer League titles; the league was re-named prior to 2001-'02). They've also reached the finals in each of the last two years. And the indoor Wave maintains a solid fan base at U.S. Cellular Arena home games.
Who should I know?
The head coach is Art Kramer, Keith Tozer's longtime Wave assistant and former indoor-league star. Midfielder Greg Howes is the reigning MISL MVP and led Wave United with 34 points last season. Forward Johnny Torres was plucked from the rival Thunder this offseason and signed to an indoor-outdoor contract. In addition to having a really cool name, Zimbabwean Digital Takawira played for the Milwaukee Rampage (the city's previous outdoor club), was an MLS All-Star with the Kansas City Wizards and was the A-League MVP in 2000. Goalkeeper Jim Larkin is the team captain and plays for the MISL's Cleveland Force. The Brothers Dusosky -- Todd and Troy -- have teamed on the Wave for several years. Second-year midfielder Nick Walls (who starred at Wauwatosa East) and defender Chad Dombrowski (UWM) are among several local players on the club.
Where can I see them?
Wave United plays nine more home matches this year, including next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against the Portland Timbers (the A-League also features clubs named the Salty Dogs and Raging Rhinos, to name a few). Games are played at Uihlein Soccer Park, 7101 W. Good Hope Road. Capacity is around 7,000, though crowds usually range from 1,000-2,500.
Tickets are relatively cheap ($12 for adults, $8 for children under 12) and can be purchased at the Wave/Wave United Office on 510 W. Kilbourn Ave, Suite B; the phone number is (414) 224-WAVE. Like all "non-major" sporting enterprises, Wave United offers fun promotions like next Wednesday's "Carload Night," when as many fans as you can pile into a vehicle can enter for $25, excluding an additional $5 for parking.
Sports shots columnist Tim Gutowski was born in a hospital in West Allis and his sporting heart never really left. He grew up in a tiny town 30 miles west of the city named Genesee and was in attendance at County Stadium the day the Brewers clinched the 1981 second-half AL East crown. I bet you can't say that.
Though Tim moved away from Wisconsin (to Iowa and eventually the suburbs of Chicago) as a 10-year-old, he eventually found his way back to Milwaukee. He remembers fondly the pre-Web days of listenting to static-filled Brewers games on AM 620 and crying after repeated Bears' victories over the Packers.
