Abandoning soccer would be a great mistake

I AM neither a native New Mexican nor have any association with the University of New Mexico. But I am a soccer player.

I played at Indiana University on Jerry Yeagley’s second, third and fourth club teams in the 1960s, and little did we know then the program we started would become the premier soccer program in the U.S. with eight national championships and a 50 year-or-so win record in the 85 percent range.

In those days our team faced its struggles. We chalked our own field and sold our own tickets. The director of athletics loved football and hated us — we won; they lost. It took the support of the student body and the university board of trustees to force him to make soccer varsity. The rest is history. We have even become a revenue sport and make our own contributions to the athletic department.

What Jerry Yeagley did for Indiana, Jeremy Fishbein is doing for the Lobos. They are a magnificent, national-level team. I attended the first meeting between the Lobos and Indiana back in the fall of 2004: an extremely exciting match between two excellent teams, which the Lobos won on a beautiful shot in the last seconds of the second overtime. I was drained. Comparing Lobo soccer before and after Fishbein’s arrival is like dark and light.

(Athletic Director) Eddie Nuñez has a very difficult challenge facing him and will face great criticism whatever he ultimately decides. That said, he would make a great mistake abandoning Lobo soccer, an excellent program with great respect across the entire United States. ROBERT ROSSOW Los Alamos