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Our conversation was fine until you claimed that kids dont quit football and basketball but quit soccer.
I asked for one simple thing: find an article that says that 80 percent of children stop playing basketball at age 13.
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Originally Posted by RjRobb2
You also claim that you didnt know Philadelphia had a soccer team. I have a hard time believing that someone from Philadelphia wouldnt know a major league sports team came to town and built a new stadium. Union fans I spoken with also say that the Union get their fair share of press. So either you are lying to aid your argument or you live in a bubble.
Lying about what? The problem is that you're talking to soccer fans. Philadelphia is a working-class city that's largely black, Italian, Irish and Puerto Rican. Football is our top sport (which really means the Eagles), followed by the Sixers/Phillies (depends on who's doing better at the time), then Boxing, then hockey, and then the WNBA, I suppose. Conversations about soccer do not happen anywhere between Cottman and Oregon Avenue. But I'm sure if you travel out to the Main Line, you might find some Europhiles who follow the game religiously.
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Originally Posted by RjRobb2
Yes, soccer needs to tap the inner cities more but that doesnt mean it isnt growing rapidly. The NFL also has an issue reaching certain markets as does the NBA and NHL. Any business in this world has demographics that they have trouble reaching. That isnt anything specific to US Soccer or MLS, that is just business overall. Unless you are Wal-Mart, Home Depot, or McDonald's, you could do better reaching certain demographics.
Nope. I'm pretty sure it reaches all demographics (except for the Europhile crowd).
"Innnn West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playgrounds is where I spent most of my days. Chillin' out maxin' and relaxin' all cool while shootin' some b-ball outside the school."
But seriously, it's not even close. Soccer barely gets any mention in the Inquirer. People only think about it every 4 years when the World Cup comes around. Kinda like Olympic swimming.
I asked for one simple thing: find an article that says that 80 percent of children stop playing basketball at age 13.
I dont need too. I am a parent and I also was a kid once too and I also have common sense. You dont need any stats showing that kids quit sports and activities all the time. It is common knowledge as long as you arent an idiot.
If they didnt quit, every high school would be flooded with too many kids to play every sport and you would have 500 kids going out for each. That doesnt happen does it? By the time kids reach high school, they generally narrow down what they want to do and focus on it or they get burnt out.
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Originally Posted by BajanYankee
Lying about what? The problem is that you're talking to soccer fans. Philadelphia is a working-class city that's largely black, Italian, Irish and Puerto Rican. Football is our top sport (which really means the Eagles), followed by the Sixers/Phillies (depends on who's doing better at the time), then Boxing, then hockey, and then the WNBA, I suppose. Conversations about soccer do not happen anywhere between Cottman and Oregon Avenue. But I'm sure if you travel out to the Main Line, you might find some Europhiles who follow the game religiously.
Lying about not knowing about the soccer team. The Union have a HIGHER attendance average than the Sixers do. Do you not realize that? You are strongly downplaying the presence of a professional soccer team in that city. The Union are currently in 18th place out of 19 teams in MLS and they are still outdrawing the Sixers. Would you care to provide an explanation of this so-called irrelevant team know one knows about drawing nearly 19k a game when they are one of the worst teams in the league?
Conversations about soccer do not happen? How do you know this. Do you go to every bar and workplace and listen? Someone is talking about them. Philadelphia also lands US National Team games and International friendlies. Cities that have no interest in soccer do not EVER get those events. CONCACAF and US Soccer put games in cities that will make them money and Philadelphia pulls in the crowds. Would you care to explain that?
What you may not realize about soccer fans is that they get pissed if they dont get media coverage. If a fanbase says they get good media coverage, they are getting it. If not they would be up and arms about it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee
Nope. I'm pretty sure it reaches all demographics (except for the Europhile crowd).
Actually, it doesnt. The NFL has launched a huge marketing campaign in the last 10 years trying to reach the Hispanic and Asian populations and they are still struggling with it. The NHL has been trying to reach minorities for years with little success. Like MLS, it mainly reaches white, middle class and upper class people. That doesnt mean it isnt popular. The NBA has also had issues reaching the Hispanic population. I took a sports marketing class just last year and all of this was covered. All the major sports leagues including NASCAR, golf, and tennis along with everything mentioned has their problem areas. No sports league in this country has fully captured all the demographics they want too. Which is something pretty much all businesses can attest too. A basic business education will teach you that much.
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