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Look, the World Cup can (and I believe HAS) gotten better TV ratings than the World Series, which hasn't exactly grown lately.
TV ratings aren't everything, dude. We've had this convo before. More people can watch World Cup over the World Series, but line 10 born and raised Americans up and ask each of them which sport is more popular in this country. Ask them which sport they would rather watch, and I guarantee it will be baseball over football.
Soccer has made some major gains in this country, but it's still not as big as the MLB, or NBA, or NFL, and not nearly as big EPL or association football leagues that are NOT in America.
I agree. But I was responding to someone who said that soccer would never be popular in America. Of course it will be popular, it just needs time to enter the culture the way other American sports have. The NBA wasn't important in American culture until the 1980's with Magic and Bird and then Michael Jordan. Prior to that it was a niche sport.
Soccer is different than other American sports because its a global game. And we're in the age of globalization so its the perfect sport for our time. Prior to globalization it would have been very difficult for a sport that has its best players playing overseas to enter our culture. But now American soccer fans and sport fans in general are being cultured into the sport through the English Premier League on NBC, the World Cup, Euro etc. ESPN now shows foreign soccer highlights on Sportscenter almost daily.
As I was reading through this I was thinking about something. My kids walk to school in our neighborhood. My boys are crazy about soccer/football and because of this I noticed there were about 10 boys walking down the street in soccer club team jerseys. Barca, AC Milan, Chicago Fire, Chelsea. It was kind of shocking to me as I realized that little kids in our neighborhood had enough interest in international soccer that they would actually wear club team jerseys. We are still dominated by Bears/Cubs/White Sox/Bulls jerseys, of course, but that anyone was wearing a soccer jersey showed that times are changing. I think access to games on TV is changing the landscape. Little kids can relate to professional soccer now that it is actually on TV.
My boys, by the way, probably wear soccer jerseys 3-4 days a week. Flamengo, Spain, Brazil, Fire, and for Christmas they are asking for Messi jerseys.
As I was reading through this I was thinking about something. My kids walk to school in our neighborhood. My boys are crazy about soccer/football and because of this I noticed there were about 10 boys walking down the street in soccer club team jerseys. Barca, AC Milan, Chicago Fire, Chelsea. It was kind of shocking to me as I realized that little kids in our neighborhood had enough interest in international soccer that they would actually wear club team jerseys. We are still dominated by Bears/Cubs/White Sox/Bulls jerseys, of course, but that anyone was wearing a soccer jersey showed that times are changing. I think access to games on TV is changing the landscape. Little kids can relate to professional soccer now that it is actually on TV.
My boys, by the way, probably wear soccer jerseys 3-4 days a week. Flamengo, Spain, Brazil, Fire, and for Christmas they are asking for Messi jerseys.
nice I'm kinda surprised that the sport has grown that much among non hispanics in chicago. here in miami soccer is the number one sport in town but it's driven by the fact that we are are 2/3 hispanic and non hispanic have adopted the game here.
Here we are. The Europeans and Latin Americans mock us for it, I know, we don't really care. We are fine with our major sports and only look at soccer during the world cup. But why not? Why not become a super power in most popular sport in the world?
America's best athletes don't play soccer.
If they did, they'd easily be among the best.
nice I'm kinda surprised that the sport has grown that much among non hispanics in chicago. here in miami soccer is the number one sport in town but it's driven by the fact that we are are 2/3 hispanic and non hispanic have adopted the game here.
To be clear, I'm not saying it is anywhere near the number one sport around here, just that interest has been growing a lot, especially with younger kids.
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