Soccer caucus kicks it with stars

The score was 6-6, the game was in penalty kicks, and Rep. Eric Swalwell had a choice.

The freshman California Democrat and former college soccer player was playing goalie at the first Capital Soccer Classic on Wednesday, and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a veteran Marylander widely considered a potential future speaker of the House, was on the spot.

"I told him right before he took the kick, ‘Sir, you're in leadership, but I hate losing,'" Swalwell told POLITICO.

He saved the shot, but his team still lost the game. (Lest anyone doubt the 32-year-old Swalwell's competitiveness, he also made a full-field sprint to block a shot during the game.)

The Classic, which was sponsored by the U.S. Soccer Foundation, POLITICO and Johnson and Johnson pitted Swalwell, Van Hollen, Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), Luke Messer (R-Ind.), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) in an exhibition game with former men's national team players Cobi Jones, John O'Brien, John Harkes, Jurgen Sommer and Claudio Reyna. The teams were coached by Van Hollen and Reichert, two co-chairmen of the congressional soccer caucus.

By and large, the members managed to hold their own against the occasionally loafing former professionals. A Van Hollen aide also noted the congressman — who was the only member playing dress clothes rather than in soccer gear — did score an earlier penalty kick against Sommer, a former national team goalie.

Reichert, who played football as a child, picked up a knock during the game and left the field limping with ice around his right leg.

"I took a hard cut in the turf and the turf took me down," he said. "But I got back up. You print that."

The event, at Gallaudet University's Hotchkiss Field, also featured a youth clinic coached by D.C. United players, mini-games for adults and an address from U.S. men's national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

The event also showed the mutually beneficial relationship between the nation's fastest growing sport and Congress. In 1986, Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.) — a former NFL quarterback — stood on the floor of the House and called soccer "a European socialist sport."

Twenty-seven years, 3 million youth players and six consecutive U.S. World Cup qualifications later, representatives aren't as quick to condemn soccer as uniquely un-American. The Congressional Soccer Caucus is 20 members strong. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), a Kemp disciple who was on last year's presidential ticket, played soccer in high school.

For the sport, winning political support is crucial to building soccer-specific stadiums the game needs to grow in the United States and wooing the large international tournaments — especially the World Cup — that can build the game's popularity even further. The U.S. Soccer Foundation also relies on $1 million in federal grants to fund an outreach program for inner-city kids.

For congressmen, particularly those in suburban districts, a fondness for soccer can link them to their constituents. (Remember how soccer moms were supposed to decide the 1996 presidential election?) And the federal grants back up congressional priorities, including battling child obesity and giving children something to do after school.

"Raising the visibility and reminding members of Congress and others that soccer is no longer an outside sport, but part of who we are in this country, is important," United States Soccer Foundation President Ed Foster-Simeon told POLITICO. "Drive around any suburban community in this country on a Saturday and thousands of children are playing soccer."

The professional players were hopeful the politicians could see why their sport — and its foundation — deserves support.

"If we have politicians paying attention, falling in love with the game, seeing the passion people have for the game, they're going to realize it's not only about the sport," said Jones, a midfielder and one of the legendary players in U.S. soccer history. "We all realize soccer is the world's game. This is about building international ties. This is about helping younger kids."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the winning team.