User:Roehl Sybing/American soccer on Wikipedia

Disclaimer: This essay, while open for comment, is under development. It does not represent the entire body of opinions among American editors, nor does it represent the entire opinion of this editor. The author reserves the right to add, revise and clarify any remarks contained in this essay. In addition, please do not edit this essay, taking all comments instead to the discussion page.

The distinctions between what is perceived as the international standard of soccer and the standards developed within American soccer, at some times independent of the world's game, have been a source of repeated concern between American editors and non-American editors (exceptions exist, of course: not all editors of American soccer-related articles are necessarily American). Several misconceptions must be cleared up, and these distinctions must be made more stark, so that Wikipedia editors can best decide on a course of action to resolve this constant rift.

Alternative to WikiProject Football

Before distinctions are addressed, I must first say that I have recommended on at least one occasion that MLS-related (including the league article, team articles, etc.), US Soccer-related (including the men's national team, women's national team, etc.), and all other American soccer-related (including American Soccer Pyramid, American players' articles, etc.) articles should be placed under the concern of those outside of WikiProject Football. Namely, I would propose that a new WikiProject should be created to address and create standards for the treatment of American soccer on Wikipedia.

Already, a task force of editors is in place for this very issue, but whether such a group that is part of the larger WikiProject addressing all of soccer is more beneficial than the above solution is an issue that merits some discussion.

Misconceptions

In the past, non-American editors have cited a need for standardization among all soccer articles. What is good for European-related articles is good for American-related articles. Therefore, unified templates, a standard vocabulary used across soccer-related articles, and a universal acceptance of what is deemed encyclopedic are all essential before an article or its content is even considered for addition or revision.

First, it is important to understand the perspective that no one global standard for soccer exists. Within articles related to the Premier League, it may make sense to adopt a series of standards that make editing easier and less inconvenient. The same may be true for articles related to Serie A, or La Liga, etc.

Whether the same is true worldwide, however, should not be automatically accepted as fact. Promotion and relegation between leagues, for example, is not a universal concept. According to the relevant article, some promotion and relegation in Japanese soccer is economic based, not dependent on on-field results. Many, if not all, European leagues are not divided by an apertura and clausura, as is the case in leagues in Central and South America. Despite a world governing body and a worldwide following of soccer, there remains a fundamental series of variations across regions over the treatment of the sport.

One need only look at other WikiProjects for reference. Templates Infobox Station and Infobox japan station are two examples demonstrating that distinctions are unavoidable, or at least noteworthy enough to merit disassociation between the two related yet different subjects. See templates Infobox Television (used in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends) and Infobox animanga (used in Pokémon (anime)) are further precedent.

This is not to say that soccer and American soccer are as different as American animation and Japanese animation. Major League Soccer is a first-division league sanctioned by FIFA; the United States Soccer Federation is a member of CONCACAF. In the end, they play essentially the same game as most everyone else in the world.

However, the qualifiers above are chosen exactly to say that there are unavoidable differences, and a quick dismissal of the concerns brought about by those differences, in the name of unity and standardization within the WikiProject, is anathema to the very causes Wikipedia sets out to promote: a respect for consensus among editors, a respect for the evolution of consensus among editors, and a recognition of the consequences of consensus building, the last of which will receive treatment later in this essay.

Key distinctions

What follows is a list of differences that may cause conflict among editors. Future consensus should decide if these distinctions can be reconciled under an umbrella WikiProject policy, or if separation between the standards for American soccer and the rest of the sport is warranted. Please keep in mind that this is yet to represent the full scope of editing conflicts related to this topic.

Youth players

In the same vein of other professional sports in the United States, a declining but still noticeable group of American soccer players continues to develop through the American university system. For the most part, NCAA-affiliated institutions participating in college soccer are responsible for developing soccer talent that have moved on to Major League Soccer or other leagues around the world.

Many college players, on the other hand, do not advance to the professional ranks, and end their athletic careers upon graduation. Some of them have made prominent appearances in the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship, have earned awards for their on-field performances, or have been noted generally as impact players for their colleges and universities.

This conflicts with how non-American editors represent the rest of the world's view of soccer. Players are largely developed through youth academies of professional soccer clubs, and are not recognized as professional until they see playing time on a full squad in an official competition. As such, youth players, according to the standards set by WikiProject Football, are not notable until they achieve professional status.

What is ignored with respect to American college players, however, is the status of notability afforded to college athletes in other major sports, namely college basketball and college football. All of these sports have professional ranks outside of the NCAA, creating a duality between amateurism and professionalism in American sports that is largely missing in the rest of the world, and is therefore not recognized by most non-American editors.

League structure

Very few leagues around the world have a top-down structure as Major League Soccer has created. Rather than having clubs develop through a ladder system that connects amateur leagues to the top flights, expansion slots are awarded to deserving cities who put forward the best business plan. MLS has no mechanism through which struggling teams are demoted to a lower division in favor of promoting a successful semi-professional team. Conferences also divide the league into two geographical regions, and playoffs decide the league championship, almost unheard of in the rest of the world.

On the field, MLS in the past adopted some variations in the game, namely a shoot-out that broke ties in regulation. A minor debate on Major League Soccer records and statistics took place as to how shoot-out wins could be reconciled into the all-time totals. One solution was to merely add them in the column for draws, as games that ended in penalty kicks in the rest of the world were regarded as draws, despite what Major League Soccer called them at the time.

Vocabulary

Though it goes without saying, what is called football around the world is called soccer in a small group of countries, most notably the United States. Ground refers to venue or stadium, pitch refers to field, and footballer refers to soccer player. Though petty on the surface, this has been the subject of many a debate on Wikipedia. More often than it should, some decisions have been made with how it is supposedly done in the rest of the world, without regard for the audience the articles in question address, whether they are American fans or soccer fans.

Standardization

For the most part, the debate between American editors and non-American editors has been acceptably civil, if not productive. But a key argument, if not the key argument, for certain editors has been the standardization of usage of terms, article structure, templates and notability. It is this author's estimation that, given the large and arguably untenable scope of WikiProject Football, the concern that policies adopted for American articles may cause negative consequences for the WikiProject as a whole ("if we do this, then we must do that") is exaggerated and unfounded. As WP:CONEXCEPT states:

“ Consensus decisions in specific cases are not expected to override consensus on a wider scale very quickly - for instance, a local debate on a WikiProject does not override the larger consensus behind a policy or guideline. The project cannot decide that for "their" articles, said policy does not apply. ”

It is important, therefore, that these concerns are addressed and respected by the existing WikiProject. If such is not possible, or if such is not ultimately sufficient for eventual reconciliation between American soccer editors and other soccer editors, then perhaps it is best to explore the creation of a new collective for the former group of editors, separate from demands of an outside peripheral group that seek to override the decisions made among editors chiefly responsible for the articles directly under their scope.