Soccer's Hall Of Fame

Part of my vacation was spent at the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, New York. Which I am sure makes Eric at Ramblings of a Soccer Junky impressed and, perhaps, envious. (I tried to post a picture, but Blogger keeps rejecting it. Must be because I am actually in said photo. When I get a different picture uploaded, I'll try posting again.) The Hall was better than I expected. Which either means I had incredibly low expectations or my lack of knowledge about U.S. soccer history made the place seem more interesting. Of course, both are possible, as well.

The Soccer Hall of Fame is in Oneonta for one primary reason. They are trying to lure the baseball junkies from Cooperstown about twenty miles down the road. It basically says so at the very first exhibit you come across. Honestly, it may seem kind of pathetic at first, but why not take advantage of a natural drawing card?

I would call myself a casual soccer fan, so I doubt I would have traveled too far out of my way to visit the Soccer Hall of Fame. However, since it was just down the road from the hotel I stayed at, it was an easy decision. See, it is always about location, location, location.

As for the displays, I enjoyed the NASL exhibit probably most of all. It having been the pro league I was most familiar with (Beckenbauer fan here). I was a bit underwhelmed at the quantity of NASL material on display in a fairly large room, but I believe all the former teams had some representation.

The history of the sport is fairly well documented and I enjoyed learning about the game's past here in the States. Obviously, there is a heavy emphasis on the U.S. National squads, both men's and women's. There is also a display of all the current MLS teams kits.

The top floor of the two storied structure is basically all interactive. Translated that means you could kick the old football around. Having limited soccer skills, I took a pass on that.

The gift shop was fair. I was surprised at the lack of MLS items available. There were a number of Chicago Fire jerseys, but maybe only two other teams apparel present. (Any place that isn't selling D.C. United items must be called into question.) However, Bruce Arena can rest easy as I did cough up the cash for a Soccer Hall of Fame sweatshirt.

Overall, I'd probably give the place a C+. I might even be convinced to up that to a B-, but in a building as large as they have, they really need to fill the place more efficiently. The history stuff was great, again being ignorant might have helped, and the National Team materials were also very good.

Both the NASL and MLS displays need to be more filled. It's a National Soccer Hall of Fame, let's try and make our leagues (NASL and MLS) seem important. Maybe have a running tab on all-time scoring leaders. The jerseys of all-time scoring leaders, perhaps? It's just a thought.

The Hall has spurred my desire to learn more about the game's history and given me greater respect for those who donned the red, white and blue long, long ago. I would definitely go again, if I was in the area.