The Soccer Mom: A Uniquely American Archetype
Soccer mom, complete with smiling kids and SUV.
“Soccer moms” are uniquely American. The term came about in the soccer culture of this country, rose to prominence by describing a desirable political demographic, and continues to have resonance today.
In 1995, when Susan Casey ran for office in Denver, her slogan was “A Soccer Mom for City Council.” Casey’s usage is generally acknowledged as the first political appropriation of the term , but it was in the summer of 1996 that it came to national prominence.
Describing then-First Lady, Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy wrote in Time Magazine, “Hillary is the soccer mom of the pair who went grocery shopping and to the baseball games and firmly hitched her wagon to her husband’s star” (they didn’t yet realize quite how firmly hitched that star was!).
The term soccer mom exploded and became the most desired voting bloc of the 1996 presidential campaign. Soccer moms were a desirable political demographic because they were seen as among the few undecided voters in that election.
But who exactly are these soccer moms? Writing in Slate magazine in 1996, Jacob Weisberg observed that,
The consensus seems to be that soccer moms are some subset of middle-class, white suburban women. They “care about their kids” (as opposed, presumably, to urban “rap moms” who do not), and they are incredibly busy.
The soccer mom’s emergence came about simultaneously with soccer’s rise in the US. Unlike most countries, in which soccer is played across all classes, soccer’s popularity in the 1970s and 80s was adopted by the middle class. Soccer was seen as friendlier than American football, more active than baseball, and had a certain European sophistication that led to its booming in many middle- and upper-middle class suburbs. In addition to the economic homogeneity, these suburbs were also mostly white. Soccer quickly became the rich white kids sport. Within these wealthy, white suburbs, soccer became uber-organized. In contrast to the pick-up games played across the world, soccer in the US was played in official practices and games. Organizations such as AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization), SAY (Soccer Association for Youth), and USSF (United States Soccer Federation) provided the umbrella under which parents organized the game at the grass roots level. Like a PTA on grass, parents organized their children’s teams. Mothers who did so were often dubbed “soccer moms.”
Though the term soccer mom really became part of mainstream discourse in the 1996 presidential campaign, references to it appear far earlier. Many newspaper articles in the 1980s talk about soccer moms.
In a 1985 column in the Providence Journal titled “Confessions of a Soccer Mom,” Stephanie McKenna described her struggles to balance all of the requirements of her busy life. She says:
I became a Soccer Mother.
Soccer Mother. The job spec isn’t great. You have to juggle schedules at a moment’s notice, drive forever, withstand the elements. You have to muzzle up, despite judgment calls that would throw Solomon for a loop. You learn to step over the wreckage at home that builds from chores left undone. And friends start writing instead of phoning because you’re hardly home.
By the mid-1990s, many people had neighbors like McKenna, or had become soccer moms themselves. When Susan Casey and Hillary Clinton were referred to as soccer moms, the term caught on because people knew the person it described.
Since its heyday in the 1996 presidential election, the term soccer mom continues to be used (despite the political elite’s attempts to coin the new hot demographic, of which “Security Moms” and “Nascar Dads” are the most recent examples). Soccer moms were fought over again in the 2000 election.
Soccer mom retains cultural cache today. Numerous books have been written with the term in their title (see The Secret Desires of a Soccer Mom, Ninja Soccer Moms, and Suburban Antacid: Poetry for Soccer Moms). Musicians enjoy using it as well: there exists a band called Cheatin’ Soccer Mom and the band Everclear has a song called “Volvo-Driving Soccer Mom” well known enough to warrant its own Wikipedia entry. ABC had planned a show called “Soccer Moms,” but decided not to go forward with it after seeing the pilot.
Her fifteen minutes of political fame may be through, but the soccer mom continues to have her place in American society. Ask any American what a soccer mom is, and chances are good you’ll get a positive response. The soccer mom is uniquely American, a term born in the culture of American soccer, brought to prominence in American politics, and which continues to retain relevance to this day in American society.
February 13th, 2007 08:54
“In contrast to the pick-up games played across the world, soccer in the US was played in official practices and games.”
Is that really true most places? When I lived in Belgium, both I and my younger brothers played for a local Belgian club team at our respective age groups, with official practices, games, refs, uniforms, the whole deal. My parents got to continue to do the same soccer mom/dad thing they did in America, except with a language barrier. I imagined that most of western Europe, at least, would be similar.
February 13th, 2007 12:51
I think this actually asks a larger question. That is, why is it that here in America we have put our children on such a pedestal that we sacrifice our own well being and wholeness as a person all to appease our children in what “we think” makes them happy. Is it guilt for being away from home so much because of all the hours away from home that are spent? This has not always been this way in American culture. It is actually relatively new and I would guess started in the 70’s and more so in the 80’s when many moms went to work full time which was done for financial and personal reasons of self fulfillment.
In the 50’s or 60’s kids did not have as much clout with their parents as they do today. Children were not catered to as much and in turn children saw their parents not only as parents but as people with interests and their own needs. Kids therefore found ways to entertain themselves more. Believe me, as a very late baby boomer I not saying that “those were the days”. There were many things that were not good about that era. But as time marches the pendulum always seems to swing. My three children are all adults now, but I did the same thing. Dragging my kids to soccer as well as other sports along with scouts, church activities and ….. Well, you get the picture.
So my question beyond soccer is, are we teaching are kids the wrong lessons?
February 13th, 2007 14:48
Stephen – You’re probably right that the US is not the only place in which soccer is extremely organized. However, I think the fact that soccer grew in popularity by being organized by adults differs from many countries in which it was played first, organized second. Even today, while I do see pick-up soccer increasingly being played, it still lags behind basketball and other sports in this regard.
BQ – Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your comment and perhaps others might add on to your ideas (though as a 27 year-old single male, I have little perspective on which to base any kind of response) .
February 13th, 2007 17:58
David,
Very nicely written, thorough treatment of the soccer mom phenomenon. My feelings about the term, though, are mostly negative. I plead guilty to being a soccer mom for several years, in the sense that I did drive (never in a minivan or SUV) my daughter to practice, attend matches, and serve as team manager. But almost all the coaches with whom I came into contact were men (and only one that I know of knew anything at all about the sport of soccer as a fan/supporter). I guess I resent using the word “soccer” to describe these moms–they were people who were involved in enabling their kids to participate in an extracurricular activity–nothing more than that. My daughter played tennis and figure skated at various times and I saw the same kinds of people at those practices & events. But lots more kids play soccer than tennis and the media love to generalize things with a catchy phrase. In my experience, there’s almost no soccer in a soccer mom.
February 13th, 2007 19:35
Back again–sorry, I don’t think I addressed your point–it might take a long torturous essay for me to figure out a proper response.
Anyway, I just saw your Feb. 7 entry about The Soccer Tribe and left a comment there. Nice work!
February 14th, 2007 09:44
Susan – Thanks for your comments. I agree that the term soccer mom has little to do with soccer. It could be basketball mom, football mom, baseball mom, etc.
The reason I think it did become “soccer mom” and not any of those other examples is to do with class. Soccer in the American mainstream is seen as a white, middle-class (and up, suburban sport. Soccer thus stands in for this longer description of class and race.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you continue to do so!
February 14th, 2007 11:13
By the way David, I am an absolute soccer geek and have been coaching the game for 18 years, involved with it for 30. I have talked with other sr. coaches who wonder when they step back from it all if sometimes we just push it all a bit much. Guys who say they never went on vacation during the summer and how their kids missed many a weekend invite to the lake because the kid was involved with a tourney or something. There is no doubt that this has pushed us to produce better soccer players in this country but how many of those millions of kids are still playing soccer? I always tried to instill a love for the game with my players and I think my passion rubbed off on many. At least I have bee told so by many parents of these same kids. But I still reflect and wonder at what price. Not just with soccer as Susan states, but with whatever the sport.
February 14th, 2007 14:24
ah yes, the soccer mom. the bane of my existence. i dont think anyone will question the term, but obviously this doesn’t exhibit the entirety of american soccer culture.
I wish there was more thought given to this than when it first was co-opted as an important campaign demographic. keep diggin David!
February 14th, 2007 20:53
BQ – I agree with you wholeheartedly. I know I have seen statistics which show the drop-off rates between middle school and high school in terms of children who play soccer. And I think the US has also not done as good a job as possible in terms of making children who play the game into adult fans. Instilling a love of the game in American children is just as important in the long run as producing the next elite player.
February 14th, 2007 20:58
Adam – Why are soccer moms the bane of your existence?
I do agree with you that they are nowhere close to the entirety of American soccer culture. I have applied to PhD programs in anthropology with the intention of studying the role of soccer in Hispanic immigrant communities. I also live in a mostly Hispanic neighborhood and often play with the local Guatemalans and Salvadorans. I intend to write more about the diverse soccer cultures that exist in this very diverse country.
I do think, numerically speaking, there is more soccer played in the type of suburbs that produce soccer moms. That, along with its appropriation in political circles, has led to the widespread use of the term, in my opinion.
February 15th, 2007 14:42
David, I am curious about what you will learn in your studies of soccer’s place in Hispanic immigrant communities. In the non-Hispanic typical “soccer-mom” areas, the sport is driven by participation on a traveling team and those costs can be substantial. That is one reason why many kids drop out, even in non-immigrant communities. Of course, the costs of participating in almost any sport are quite high these days–kids never just “go out and play” any more. I look forward to learning more about youth soccer’s organization in the Hispanic community.
February 16th, 2007 10:03
Susan,
You may be familiar with it already, but I definitely recommend Paul Cuadros’s book A Home on the Field for an in-depth look at Hispanics playing soccer in this country. I reviewed it earlier so you may know it as well.
The Washington Post occasionally has articles about Hispanic soccer leagues in the DC area (I found this one particularly interesting) . There are such leagues all around the country. They used to be only in urban areas, but now they are popping up everywhere.
February 23rd, 2007 17:50
[...] presidential candidates searching for the buzzword of the 2008 campaign. The early successor to 1996’s soccer mom may be [...]
February 25th, 2007 19:55
The Culture of Soccer (Moms)…
Watercolor by Maryann Burton
If you haven’t had a chance to stop by the relatively new blog ‘Culture of Soccer‘ by David Keyes, you should find some time to do so. I found my way there thanks to Josh over at ThroughBall and have enjoy…
August 17th, 2009 06:54
I didn’t read your article, but I’ve seen this stock photo passed around quite a bit, and I wonder if anyone else has noticed this woman on it is a giant? I mean, really? That’s a Chrysler Pacifica she’s leaning against like it’s a sedan. Wonder if it was intentional to choose a former pro volleyball player or if they just pasted them in front of the car and didn’t worry about scale.
November 30th, 2009 04:01
[...] When many people think about American soccer, the first culture that comes to mind is the game that kids in the suburbs play. Drive around nearly any suburb in the United States and you are likely to encounter fields full of children playing soccer. Soccer is one of the most played sports among children in this country, and the US has the most registered youth players of any country in the world. And who can forget the archetypal soccer mom? [...]