A nice article about how public soccer fields are used around NYC. I particularly liked this part:

The subways are known as one of the great equalizers of New York, a place where executives on their way to work stand inches from those coming off the night security shift. But pick-up soccer equalizes in much the same way and with more meaningful interaction. We’ve never once played without gaining an extra player looking for teammates.

This is so true. I’ve been following the drama of my Portland Timbers moving to MLS next year. There was a lot of push back from people because they were evicting AAA baseball to convert the stadium into a soccer only facility. People felt that this foreign sport was very literally pushing aside America’s pastime. I think as the millenial generation who grew up with soccer really comes of age, this worry will disappear. Soccer has a lot of potential to bridge cultural divides in our cities; it’s a language we can all understand.