Posted on 07/02/2014 7:49:10 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Soccer doesn’t express the American ethos as powerfully as our other popular sports: We are a country of pioneers, and we like to see extraordinary effort rewarded... with points.
Has the time finally come to slap a Do Not Resuscitate bracelet on soccer’s prospects for popularity in America?
If it were up to me, the answer would be no, because soccer players are among the strongest, fittest, most strategic athletes in the world. But, for various reasons, the sport itself does not seem destined for the popularity that supporters have been predicting for the last decade. I’m reminded of the end of Man of La Mancha, when Don Quixote lies dying, but is suddenly inspired to rise once more and proclaim, “Onward to glory I go!” And then he drops dead. Soccer has been proclaiming this impending U.S. glory for years, and while there are signs of life in the body, the prognosis is not good.
This dire diagnosis probably seems crazy in the face of the current World Cup TV ratings success. Between Univision and ESPN, 25 million viewers tuned in to watch the U.S. play Portugal last Sunday. Compare that to 15.5 million viewers that the NBA finals averaged this year, or the 14.9 million averaged in last year’s baseball World Series. Worse, the NHL playoffs averaged only 5 million viewers. Only NFL football consistently beats soccer’s best rating.
The problem with those statistics is that it’s like using the ratings of bobsledding during the Winter Olympics to declare a new renaissance for bobsledding in America. The World Cup, like the Olympics, happens every four years, so the rarity factor alone will account for inflated ratings.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Sorry Kareem, soccer is no more tactical than lacrosse, field hockey, basketball, or ice hockey. The same concepts apply to all field team sports.
At least in lacrosse and hockey, you can hit the other team without a stupid red card.
And World Cup flopping is worse than even in the NBA.
The nothing to show for it claim is bogus.
In the Premier League, dropping two points is a big deal, because of the way the points system works, it takes three ties to equal one win. You have to know the context in which the game takes place.
Outside of the All-Star game.
At least in soccer, supposedly flopping should get you at least a yellow card.
The best players play in England, Germany and Spain because teams in those leagues can pay the most to the players.
Also, quite a few players for the U.S. have duel citizenships, especially as sons of former American servicemen married to German women.
When other sleep aids just won’t do the job turn on soccer. :-)
Soccer doesn’t need cheerleaders......one of the reason I love the Premier League is because of the crowd singing and chanting.
Ha! I always use the Olympics example too. Soccer doesn’t exist in this country as far as most americans are concerned - except as a young children’s sport.
I kinda like watching bits of it when in an Irish pub, but it’s part of the atmosphere. The only actual scores I see is when they are showing the highlights - and occasionally the guy in the back corner with his girlfriend...
I’m not a Liverpool (I root for Tim Howard’s team) fan, but there’s nothing like the Kopites singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” before a match.
It took me a few minutes to figure that out, I didn’t want to Google it. Good one!
1. We have a generation of people who grew up playing the game and really enjoy it.
2. It's cheap to learn and play, so participation is quite strong across demographic lines.
3. The increasing demographic and political influence of Latinos--most of whom grew up die-hard soccer fans--will make the sport far more popular in the near future.
4. The issues of long term injuries from playing American football is starting to make mothers steer their male children away from taking up American football to alternatives--and soccer is a big alternative.
5. Basketball is starting to suffer because many American players drafted into the NBA only know basketball by playing the AAU circuit plus only one year in college. As such, rookies in the NBA don't have the mature playing skills of rookies of 20 years ago.
In short, soccer is here to stay, and could within 15 years become one of the Big Four American sports besides American football, baseball and basketball.
Good point.
English Premier League matches in the US get a 0.3 to 0.4 rating.
In other words, matches played in another country by foreign teams already get almost half the viewership that domestic hockey games get.
The World Cup isn't replicable on a day to day basis any more than the Stanley Cup finals are.
The Stanley Cup gets maybe a 3.5 rating depending on who's playing.
The FIFA World Cup US game got a 14 rating.
Soccer americas next great sport.. and it always will be.
Last year was the first time I ever saw local TV news sports reports showing Premier League highlights.....That’s highly significant.
And now that Tim Howard is a household name, my Everton is about to get a lot more US fans.
“Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.”
In short, soccer is here to stay, and could within 15 years become one of the Big Four American sports besides American football, baseball and basketball.
It is a form of evolution. But it can evolve back.
The other thing is that if immigration wanes, the soccer-loving demographics would likely adopt American tastes in sports.
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