Does anti Americanism in international soccer/football contribute to the lack of interest in the US for the sport? (leagues, ESPN)
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The lack of popularity is due to the lack of history spectator soccer has. It is still seen as primarily a recreational sport and sport for kids. The anti-Americanism is not a huge part, but it does turn people off. People are really triggered that soccer is not super popular in the USA. It is unsettling and weird. Americans don't care that US sports save basketball isn't popular outside the USA.
What is this ”lack of interest in the US in soccer”?
Have you ever BEEN to the US? Have you ever driven past a suburban playing field or city park on a Saturday morning?
Nothing but hundreds and hundreds of kids playing soccer, from age 6 to 66.
Just because Americans aren't interested in sitting on their butts in front of the TeeVee eating chips and watching other people getting paid to play soccer, doesn't mean there's a lack of interest. What we're doing, is we're PLAYING the damn thing!
People are obviously asking about the popularity of soccer as a spectator sport. If people playing soccer recreationally is proof soccer is popular you could say jogging, beach volleyball, and swimming are the most popular sports too. But you wouldn't, as competitive track and field, volleyball, and swimming are still niche spectator sports.
Doesn't work for players who want to make it to the elite level. Works fine, if you want MLS to always be behind bigger leagues. European and South American players are already in the system by 11/12. By the time players finish college, they're what, 21/22? If they wanted to be at the pinnacle of the game they need to be around better coaches than American colleges.
There is a USL/minor league system. I think they just aren't paid.
The lack of popularity is due to the lack of history spectator soccer has. It is still seen as primarily a recreational sport and sport for kids. The anti-Americanism is not a huge part, but it does turn people off. People are really triggered that soccer is not super popular in the USA. It is unsettling and weird. Americans don't care that US sports save basketball isn't popular outside the USA.
It’s because it doesn’t align with the US advertising-supported professional sports broadcasting model. Before cable, the major networks wouldn’t broadcast soccer because there are no commercial breaks. The NHL had to add them for hockey which used to not have commercial breaks. The NHL has a minimum of three commercial breaks per period where they’ll blow the whistle and stop play. Last I knew, Olympic hockey doesn’t do that and NBC cuts away from live games for commercials. There have been a number of famous incidents where the US team scored goals during commercial breaks. I remember the Lake Placid miracle on ice flipping to the Canadian feed at a commercial break and watching the US score a goal.
Soccer in the US is on pay TV with only a few exceptions. NBC broadcasts a few Premier League games. Fox broadcasts the World Cup. NBC broadcasts Olympic soccer. Pretty much everything else is on premium cable or streaming.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Sport popularity is based largely on what you grew up watching. I say watching rather than playing, because youth soccer is very popular for kids but it doesn't translate to being MLS fans later. Kids are now also doing "Ultimate Frisbee", and Lacrosse, both also in college but I don't see either being a big draw for TV watching. Here in Seattle the LMLS team (Sounders) have great attendance, but it's because we have so many immigrants in tech jobs from other countries where it is popular. Still, their games are not very well watched on TV because it requires paying for a cable channel or to stream them. The big networks and even ESPN are not going to carry them because they have to please their sponsors who pay to advertise.
Adults here grew up watching Football, Basketball, Baseball, and to a lesser extent Hockey, and those are the most popular still. Even Hockey games require a special paid service for most games unless a local team is covered by a local station.
And the day that MLS and USL cut all ties was a dark day for US soccer IMO.
It's quite a socialist model isn't, big centralization in US sports.
It’s how you start a league where most teams will lose money for a decade. Salary cap. Revenue sharing. Owners owning more than one franchise. I think Lamar Hunt owned 5 in the early days. I’m surprised they haven’t added television timeouts yet.
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