Last night, on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” John Oliver of “Last Week Tonight” and "Daily Show" fame attempted to explain English soccer to his yank counterpart, David Letterman.
The interview is full of funny moments as Oliver attempts to get Letterman acquainted with the ins-and-outs of the English game. Letterman is clearly ignorant of all things soccer, and John Oliver relishes his opportunity to humorously educate the late night legend. The video takes a turn for the metaphorical about 4:00 in, when Letterman asks, “So what’s the point, now, of getting your hopes up of working your way to the Premier League?”
To which Oliver responds, “You are literally embodying why soccer will never take off in the United States, because, you can talk about it as long as you want, you eventually get to the point of an American going, ‘But, so what’s the point?’”
An American? That doesn’t quite add up. A 67-year-old white male who probably hasn’t watched five games of soccer in his life? That sounds more like where the conversation would stall. Soccer will take off in the United States, just not with an older generation that simply can’t be bothered.
But eventually, like how Letterman will soon be replaced by Stephen Colbert, young soccer loving Americans will grow into old soccer loving Americans. And they, in turn, will be replaced by the next generation of young soccer loving Americans.
It won’t be long before the entire United States sees exactly - using the words of Oliver - what the point is.
