Hog Calls

Foreign football finds U.S. foothold

University of Arkansas women's soccer coach Colby Hale, right, demonstrates an exercise to help players recognize the sweet spots on their feet for kicking the ball with Anthony Euculano while leading an Arkansas State Soccer Association coaching course hosted by the Rogers Activity Center on Sunday March 9, 2014 in Rogers.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Even some of the staunchest fans of American football are finding the foreign football we call soccer considerably less foreign.

And that, fourth-year University of Arkansas Women's Soccer Coach Colby Hale said, includes the father of a Razorbacks linebacker, who sheepishly admitted his devotion to soccer long before the U.S. women won the World Cup one week ago and were honored with a New York ticker-tape parade.

"Brooks Ellis' dad lives right across the street from me," Hale said. "He came over when I first got here and said, 'Don't tell anyone, but I wake up every Saturday morning and watch soccer. It's like I'm not supposed to watch it but I do, and I love it.' I think there is a lot of that."

Particularly now, and not bashfully, after the World Cup.

"They have watched a World Cup game, and it's actually pretty fun," Hale said.

The "they" translated into 22.8 million Americans tuned into the championship telecast.

"It was higher than the NBA finals," Hale said. "Higher than the Stanley Cup final."

And it has collegiate soccer coaches wishing they could ride the national wave and start their season today instead of opening in August.

Not that Hale waits for the World Cup wave.

"Soccer is a different market," Hale said. "We never are going to be football or men's basketball and you never are going to be baseball. But I think you can create something because the community is so passionate about Razorbacks anything, if you provide a fair price and a fun event."

Fun and friendly, something that should be a mandatory requirement, but something that some successful coaches in football and men's basketball apparently have the option to ignore.

Win enough and the Bobby Petrinos and Bobby Knights can be boorish bullies while cowering administrations look the other way until misconduct so egregious leaves no choice.

Hale must naturally befriend all, especially kids, since "an astronomical number" of them play soccer from preschool on, in hopes of creating a UA fan base with their parents.

"We shattered every attendance record last year," Hale said. "We sold season tickets behind only baseball, football and basketball."

Nine home games reportedly drew 12,231 to a 1,200-seat facility.

Arkansas' advanced to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament team after zero NCAA Tournaments from 1986-2013.

Fans were first enticed to attend because of promotions worthy of Gary Blair, a better marketer during his tenure as Lady Razorbacks basketball coach (1993-2003) than any marketing pro employed by the UA women's program before or since.

"I have heard Gary Blair's name a lot and have been told I kind of have the same passion," Hale said. "The only person that is really going to be able to market my sport is probably me and the players. They want to connect with a coach and the players. So we get out and make ourselves extremely accessible, probably to a fault. My cell phone is on the website."

His devotion attracting fans to Arkansas soccer seems a true calling.

Sports on 07/13/2015