Pretty much every game for the 1994 World Cup in the US sold out.
Exactly! IMHO this is not going as well because ticket prices are outrageous, and you have to travel a long way to different venues, 11 in the US, 3 in Mexico, and 2 in Canada. Then you have the unrest in Mexico, and international political unrest. Lots of factors.
Since the 1994 cup was the first time the U.S. hosted it, it would certainly attract additional attention. NBC correctly passed on the bidding for broadcasting rights and it went instead to ABC and ESPN.
The North American Soccer League had folded a decade prior. Even Pele couldn't save it.
People learned their lesson after watching the 1994 World Cup snoozefest. The final match ended 0-0 and went to a shootout to determine the World Cup winner, something intolerable to most Americans who are used to watching sports where teams actually score during the regular game. They'd rather overlook a steroid or doping scandal than watch a 0-0 game, especially in the final.
A lot of those who were let down by the 1994 World Cup would certainly steer their kids and grandkids away from it.