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I have to account for that, but I'd also say that the places I've lived are probably a bit more representative of most of America. New York City alone has about as many people as Missouri and Kansas combined. The South has the largest population of any region and I can definitely tell you that basketball is much bigger there than soccer (i.e., North Carolina Tar Heels, Kentucky Wildcats, Duke Blue Devils, ACC basketball, etc.). The average Philadelphian (my hometown) could name Brian Dawkins, Mike Vick, Andre Igoudala or Allen Iverson, but would likely be hard-pressed to come up with the name of any MLS player within 10 seconds.
The South just isnt big on professional sports period. A large amount, if not a majority of professional sports teams struggle to survive down there whether it is soccer or not. However, the second and third division teams down there actually draw pretty well for minor league teams.
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Originally Posted by BajanYankee
I don't know if it's "growing wildly." I do think that it's growing, but I don't think that its popularity is really increasing among the masses. In other words, I would not expect to go to any barbershop, start a conversation about soccer, and expect to get any type of participation beyond, "Yeah, it's cool." On the other hand, there is one conversation taking place at barbershops, around water coolers, and in taxi cabs across America right now. And that conversation centers around the question, "Will Lebron choke again???"
Actually, it is growing wildly. Revenues, attendance, sponsorship, and other things are growing faster than any other league ever has in this country. Just to put this in perspective. In 2006, the Kansas City Wizards sold only $30,000 in merchandise all season. This year, they had sold over 1 million dollars in merchandise by the beginning of April and the season started March 11th. I believe the league had a 30% increase in merchandise sales last season from the prior season. Any company in the world would kill to get that kind of revenue increase.
5 years ago I could never start a conversation about soccer anywhere unless I was amongst friends. Now, I have conversations at work almost daily and just yesterday I started talking to a guy at Target about SKC in the middle of the store. That was unheard of until the last few years.
Jordan is ranked No. 28 in the FIBA rankings. They rank behind Lithuania, Turkey, Australia, China, Russia, Angola, Puerto Rico, Slovenia, New Zealand, Iran, Lebanon, the Dominican Republic, and Canada among others. But they also rank ahead of Korea, Tunisia, Mexico, Poland, Madagascar, Latvia, Paraguay, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kuwait, Bulgaria, Mali, Uzbekistan and Finland.
Yeah because everyone in the states looks like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie do they!
Those two? Yeah, they are an embarrassment!
No doubt, the US has more than it's fair share of unsightly inhabitants.
I'm sure you're like me, I defy the odds!
The South just isnt big on professional sports period. A large amount, if not a majority of professional sports teams struggle to survive down there whether it is soccer or not.
.... the SOUTH?
Atlanta and Miami, sure, but the entire south isn't big on pro sports?
Atlanta and Miami, sure, but the entire south isn't big on pro sports?
The Southern Region, not the entire Southern part of the United States. I am talking Confederate States and SEC and ACC territory. The economics and statistics show that overall, the south struggles to support major league sports teams.
The Bucs, Magic, Jaguars, Marlins, Dolphins, Braves, Falcons, Hornets, and others are either all facing financial struggles or they have in the past due to lack of support from the fanbases.
The Southern Region, not the entire Southern part of the United States. I am talking Confederate States and SEC and ACC territory. The economics and statistics show that overall, the south struggles to support major league sports teams.
The Bucs, Magic, Jaguars, Marlins, Dolphins, Braves, Falcons, Hornets, and others are either all facing financial struggles or they have in the past due to lack of support from the fanbases.
I was referring to the culture of sports, which can be separate and apart from professional sports. I mean, would you really say that football is less popular in Florida--the state that produced Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith--than soccer based on what statistics show? The South has produced a litany of football and basketball players from Allen Iverson, Michael Vick, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Terrell Owens, Calvin Johnson and Kevin Garnett. These guys are all household names. There are no American soccer players who have that type of instant name recognition. If you walked into a bar in Winston-Salem and asked some random guys who Ciint Dempsey is, you'd be lucky if one of them recognizes the name. But try going to a bar in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia or Alabama and ask some random guys who Kevin Garnett is. They could tell you his height, his position, what team he plays for, what his strenghts and weaknesses are, and will probably even weigh in on whether he should retire or not.
Soccer has a looooooong way to go in the United States. I would venture to say that Roger Federer is more well-known than any living American soccer player. Just Googling "Roger Federer" yields over 52 million results whereas "Landon Donovan" yields only 5 million. Googling "NBA" yields 639 million results whereas "MLS" yields only 59 million. That's not much more than "ATP Tour," which yields 45 million results.
I think your love of soccer colors your view of the sport's popularity. If you had to compare Kobe Bryant's jersey sales to Landon Donovan's, I'm sure it wouldn't even be close. Really, if you had to compare Kobe's jersey sales in the U.S. to any soccer player's, I'm still sure it would not be close.
I was referring to the culture of sports, which can be separate and apart from professional sports. I mean, would you really say that football is less popular in Florida--the state that produced Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith--than soccer based on what statistics show? The South has produced a litany of football and basketball players from Allen Iverson, Michael Vick, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Terrell Owens, Calvin Johnson and Kevin Garnett. These guys are all household names. There are no American soccer players who have that type of instant name recognition. If you walked into a bar in Winston-Salem and asked some random guys who Ciint Dempsey is, you'd be lucky if one of them recognizes the name. But try going to a bar in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia or Alabama and ask some random guys who Kevin Garnett is. They could tell you his height, his position, what team he plays for, what his strenghts and weaknesses are, and will probably even weigh in on whether he should retire or not.
Of course they would. But, you also have to remember that MLS has no presence in the south. The bids that Arthur Blank and Barcelona put together for Atlanta and Miama were skipped over in favor of teams in the Pacific Northwest.
If you were to walk into a bar in the Pacific Northwest and start talking MLS, people would start talking and be knowledgeable about it. I know this because I just spent a week up there in Vancouver, Portland, and Seattle and talked to dozens of people all over the cities and even the airport security guy that frisked me was talking about details of the game the day before on my way home.
I had an SKC hat on while pissing at a drug store in Seattle and the guy pissing next to me managed to say, "Graham Zusi is turning into a hell of a player for you guys."
That is what I mean about perspective. What I find about people that do not realize soccer is gaining popularity and doing so quickly, is that most of them are from the Southern region where MLS has no presence. It is because from their perspective, it hasnt. The closest MLS team is either DC or Houston and they likely do not get any marketing about MLS and may not even receive the national games in their market for that reason.
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Originally Posted by BajanYankee
Soccer has a looooooong way to go in the United States. I would venture to say that Roger Federer is more well-known than any living American soccer player. Just Googling "Roger Federer" yields over 52 million results whereas "Landon Donovan" yields only 5 million. Googling "NBA" yields 639 million results whereas "MLS" yields only 59 million. That's not much more than "ATP Tour," which yields 45 million results.
Roger Federer is one of the most famous athletes in the world because he is one of the best, if not the best at this sport so that comparison is weak at best. Landon Donovan isnt getting press all over the world as Federer does. The only time Landon is going to get any international press is when he scores a goal like he did in the 2010 World Cup or his limited time with Everton during loan. Federer is getting press in every country in the world during every tournament. That's like trying to compare Omaha to New York City.
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Originally Posted by BajanYankee
I think your love of soccer colors your view of the sport's popularity. If you had to compare Kobe Bryant's jersey sales to Landon Donovan's, I'm sure it wouldn't even be close. Really, if you had to compare Kobe's jersey sales in the U.S. to any soccer player's, I'm still sure it would not be close.
No, this is something I actually pay attention to and study. I know very well how unpopular soccer has been and how long it has to go. You have no idea how much time I put into knowing the numbers, stats, and how much I pay attention to things to do with this. I do it daily. I have worked in sports, I know people that work in sports and I have access to information most people do not. I took classes in college for sports management. This is a passion for me. I know how to be fair and objective about it.
I never said jerseys of US players would be more. Of course Kobe's jersey is going to be, China buys basketball jerseys like we buy cans of soda pop. The top NBA players jerseys are also among the top sold jerseys in the world because of that, even more than Messi or Ronaldo even though the NBA is a drop in the bucket compared to EPL or La Liga. You have a nation of 1.5 billion people obsessed with the NBA. However, some stats show the popularity of the NBA within the U.S. is declining because it has a huge image problem.
I do not have the exact statistics in front of me but I believe two years ago, David Beckham's soccer jersey was the number 1 selling jersey in the world. I also believe that when you rank team jersey sales, Manchester United sells more jerseys within the United States than any NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL team.
Which brings me to another point. When you measure popularity of a particular sport, the options for basketball, baseball, and football are pretty much limited to the United States for the most part. However, in soccer fans follow leagues all over the world. Some American soccer fans do not even follow MLS at all but they are still soccer fans and there are a large number of those around. I know a few myself.
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