Column: Soccer makes a terrific fourth-favorite sport

My 18-year-old grandson is a huge soccer fan.

He was first-team, all-conference last year at his North Carolina high school and was an all-region performer. He’ll play this fall for a community college in Raleigh.

My wife, Hedy, and I went back to attend his high school graduation earlier this month.

We discovered that his bedroom is a shrine to his favorite sport.

In addition to the numerous all-conference, MVP and tournament plaques on his walls, chest of drawers and desk, a Manchester United banner covers most of one wall. Los Angeles Galaxy, U.S. national team and assorted other knitted team scarves hang jauntily from his closet door. Various high school and club team photos are tucked away in alcoves and on cornices. And a large framed photo of Ethan jumping head and shoulders above two opposing players for a header is prominently displayed.

He’s got “hops.”

And, oh yes, he’s got a New York Yankees pennant hanging over his door. He’s loved the Yanks since he was 5.

Ethan also has four small, pewter national flags above his bed. Each is painted in its nation’s colors. The emblems represent the diversity of Ethan’s rich heritage. From left to right are the American, Mexican, Dutch and Belgian flags.

Those national teams would, in fact, comprise a very competitive four-team group at this summer’s FIFA World Cup being contested in Russia. Ethan is avidly following the proceedings.

What is Ethan’s background?

His oma (grandmother), Hedy, was born in Indonesia and raised in Holland. His paternal grandmother, Maria, was born in Mexico. His paternal grandfather, Jean Pierre, was born in Belgium. All three immigrated to the U.S. in the 1960s.

I was born in Orange County, a third-generation Californian.

Both of Ethan’s parents (our daughter and son-in-law) were born in Orange County.

That makes Ethan ... the kid next door.

His paternal grandfather played soccer in Belgium. His maternal great-grandfather played soccer in Indonesia and the Netherlands. Various cousins, second cousins and uncles played soccer all over Europe and in Latin America.

His father played soccer for Fountain Valley High School, and his uncle for Chico State.

Sadly, his opa (me) has never played soccer. Raised in the O.C. of the 1950s and ‘60s, I played baseball and basketball. Soccer was virtually unknown to American kids of my generation and didn’t gain popularity for another decade or two.

My first exposure to soccer came in 1965, when I watched kids play the sport in alleyways and schoolyards in Seoul, South Korea. I was stationed there with the U.S. Army and many of the games featured clumps of rags passing for soccer balls. A couple of years later, I actually played a single pickup soccer game in a fitness class in college.

I was unimpressed.

In the intervening years, however, due largely to Ethan’s play, I’ve become a soccer fan. While it’s still not football, baseball or basketball for me, it is an excellent fourth-favorite sport.

Based upon his heritage, Ethan would seem to have soccer fixed in his DNA. He never could hit a curve ball and had stone-hands for basketball, but what he does with a soccer ball is incredible.

This summer Ethan is busy. He went to New York City and saw a Yankee game on a mission trip with his church. In July he’ll go to Honduras with a college group to build a house for a needy family. He’s also attending a church wilderness camp.

His attention at the moment, however, is on the 2018 World Cup.

Two of his favorite teams — the U.S. and the Netherlands — failed to qualify and are out of action. That leaves Belgium and Mexico still in the mix.

“With the U.S. out, I’m rooting for both,” he told me the other day. “They each have a shot at winning it all.”

I’m watching the World Cup too. It’s my fourth-favorite sport, remember?

Who am I rooting for? No particular team captures my fancy, but I’ve always cheered for the underdog. Underdog Iceland tied heavily favored Argentina, 1-1, last week in a thriller. Hmm.

So, maybe I’ll root for the red, white and blue — of Iceland!

JIM CARNETT, who lives in Costa Mesa, worked for Orange Coast College for 37 years.