Major League Soccer – Not a Major Sport in the U.S.
Why?
By Bob W.
3/24/06
Soccer, or what the rest of the world calls "Football", has the largest fan base of any sport in the world. With around a billon fans and over 200 million players world-wide, professional soccer is by far bigger than the NFL, the NBA, MLB, and the NHL combined. The Federation of World Football (FIFA) has 204 member countries. In 2002 the FIFA World Cup had a cumulative in-home audience of 28.8 billion viewers.
So why isn't soccer more popular in the U.S.? I have a theory....
1. No Commercials.
We all know that you can't have a professional sport on TV without having a sexy 20-year-old girl in a string bikini trying to sell you beer every 5 minutes. Not that I am against beer or 20-year-old girls in string bikinis. With no timeouts and two 45-minute halves, the game play doesn't stop long enough for it to be worthwhile to corporate sponsors looking for commercial air time to hawk their wares.
2. It's Not Natural.
We all grew up throwing balls and rocks and hitting all kinds of crap with sticks. So we can all associate with sports where we use our hands to hit, catch, or throw. Soccer, on the other hand, is not a natural sport for Americans. It's not natural for us to hit, catch, or pass with our feet, so we don't view soccer as a real sport.
3. What Happened?
Most people I talk to say they just don't know the rules well enough to follow the game. It's not basketball, it's not football, it's not hockey - what is it? While the rules are basic - I am not going to get into all of them, so just think of it as a combination of basketball and hockey with a whole lot of people on the field - most people just haven't watched or played enough soccer to learn them.
4. Bad Timing.
We already have football, basketball, baseball, and hockey. We're guaranteed a good game or two any weekend of the year. With a different sport having a playoff every three months or so, Americans just don't have time to watch one more sport. "But, baby, it's the playoffs!" will only work for me a couple times a year. Four times is pushing it - she would never go for five.
Is There Hope?
I don't think the outlook is totally grim for Major League Soccer. With the U.S. men's team going to the Word Cup Quarter Finals in 2002 and the 2006 World Cup starting this spring, soccer is growing in popularity. And who can forget Brandi Chastain ripping her shirt off in glory after making the winning goal during the shootout with China in the 1999 World-Cup Championship? And, surprisingly, soccer is the second most popular sport among American kids between the ages of 6 and 12. So, who knows? In 15 or 20 years MLS may be as popular as the NFL!
If you do find the time Major League Soccer has 10 teams around the county that do play starting in April (sometimes on ESPN2). The MLS playoffs start in late October and the MLS Cup is played in November.
Bob W. is a high school soccer coach living in Austin, TX
Give Blood . . .Play Soccer
