They work in college athletic departments. They even write for papers and work for television studios. They still have the feel for the game . Take all these factors into account and you can see what I was watching surrounding that lone college soccer game. The players were not any different.
Athletes are athletes.
It was the supporting cast that had undergone a complete transformation. Instead of having to beg and plead to find someone willing to coach the soccer team, many U.S. schools at all levels now enjoy a choice of very knowledgeable and motivated coaches. In a similar vein, officials, community sponsors, local media and so on all our part of the generational shift towards a booming sport. Using purely a U.S. frame of reference, XC had a tremendous grassroots boom in the 70 s and 80 s. Equipment flew off the shelves and participation numbers started to bring corporate money into the sport much like the early AYSO years for soccer.