Why soccer will never be big in the USA....... (2 Viewers)

[NewlyRetired]

If the USA really wanted to it could win a World Cup in the next 12 years. That said it would need to be a country wide effort and someone would have to put hundreds of millions into it. You can tell me how great the rest of the word is till your blue in the face. But if Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, AJ green, Lebron James, Etc Etc of all the truly great US athletes and athletes to come took ten years and dove head first into winning a World Cup I'm sure we could do it.

And that completes Scooby's B-I-N-G-O

 

[Ilov80s]

It won't be big until athletes can start making serious money playing it.

Lionel Messi makes £336,000 per week.

Yeah, but what's that in dollars?

About half a million

Is that European weeks or American weeks?

 

[CGRdrJoe]

It's boring. 1 or 2 goals for an hour and a half game? No thanks.

I agree, I would rather see 5'4" Mexicans kick field goals from 45 yards in a 6-6 dual

 

[Norman Paperman]

It won't be big until athletes can start making serious money playing it.

Lionel Messi makes £336,000 per week.

Yeah, but what's that in dollars?

About half a million

Is that European weeks or American weeks?

But its delivered via African Swallows

 

[17seconds]

It's boring. 1 or 2 goals for an hour and a half game? No thanks.

Beats the hell out of baseball. I went to a dozen Tigers games last year and didn't see 1 goal.

Despite everything I've said, I prefer soccer over MLB

 

[McGarnicle]

It seems like what you're saying is that soccer fans are inherently racist, and therefore soccer will never be big here because we won't tolerate the racist fans.

My impression of the soccer hooligans overseas, or the racist ones that you reference is that they are the equivalent of our rednecks and that is the primary demographic at the games. I could be wrong but that was my impression. Also maybe in countries that are majority white, the bananas are not considered as offensive as in a country like ours with a long history of racial tension and a large black population.

I've heard people say that soccer isn't big here because it's boring. I don't know if that's true or not. I do believe though that if it was as big here as football or baseball, the average fan wouldn't be a mouth-breathing racist redneck because those people typically can't afford to attend many American sporting events.

Just about everything in the bolded is flat out wrong, except that the people that throw bananas are the equivalent of mouth-breathing racist rednecks

Then I would like to understand how the bananas and monkey noises are condoned if there isn't some unspoken acceptance of that behavior much greater than we'd ever see here.

It's not.A possible exception is Russia which is one of the most racist countries in the world

So what is it then? How is it that dozens or hundreds of fans at a time can engage in an overtly racist act without mass outrage/backlash/rioting erupting, or people simply leaving in disgust? Has attending soccer games over there become such an anything-goes event that civilized people either stay home or know to keep their mouths shut? In that case we're back to my assumption that it's mostly euro-rednecks attending the games. Something doesn't add up.

 

[Christo]

If the USA really wanted to it could win a World Cup in the next 12 years. That said it would need to be a country wide effort and someone would have to put hundreds of millions into it. You can tell me how great the rest of the word is till your blue in the face. But if Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, AJ green, Lebron James, Etc Etc of all the truly great US athletes and athletes to come took ten years and dove head first into winning a World Cup I'm sure we could do it.

 

[roadkill1292]

What's "big?" The World Cup final will probably outdraw this year's World Series and NBA finals on tv. If you want to argue that it's not a fair comparison because the WC is held only every four years, I won't put up a serious beef. But the weekly numbers for soccer games (not just MLS) are approaching that of baseball and basketball, too.

 

[CGRdrJoe]

It seems like what you're saying is that soccer fans are inherently racist, and therefore soccer will never be big here because we won't tolerate the racist fans.

My impression of the soccer hooligans overseas, or the racist ones that you reference is that they are the equivalent of our rednecks and that is the primary demographic at the games. I could be wrong but that was my impression. Also maybe in countries that are majority white, the bananas are not considered as offensive as in a country like ours with a long history of racial tension and a large black population.

I've heard people say that soccer isn't big here because it's boring. I don't know if that's true or not. I do believe though that if it was as big here as football or baseball, the average fan wouldn't be a mouth-breathing racist redneck because those people typically can't afford to attend many American sporting events.

Just about everything in the bolded is flat out wrong, except that the people that throw bananas are the equivalent of mouth-breathing racist rednecks

Then I would like to understand how the bananas and monkey noises are condoned if there isn't some unspoken acceptance of that behavior much greater than we'd ever see here.

It's not.A possible exception is Russia which is one of the most racist countries in the world

So what is it then? How is it that dozens or hundreds of fans at a time can engage in an overtly racist act without mass outrage/backlash/rioting erupting, or people simply leaving in disgust? Has attending soccer games over there become such an anything-goes event that civilized people either stay home or know to keep their mouths shut? In that case we're back to my assumption that it's mostly euro-rednecks attending the games. Something doesn't add up.

Probably the same way American fans still go to watch mike Vick, Jeremy Stevens, Kobe, John rocker...

 

[Ilov80s]

The soccer doesn't have enough scoring thing is just part of the American mindset. We always want more, we always want more scoring. The NFL has done everything it can to increase scoring and stats and it has become the most popular sport. We just don't seem to buy into the less is more ideal.

 

[17seconds]

What's "big?" The World Cup final will probably outdraw this year's World Series and NBA finals on tv. If you want to argue that it's not a fair comparison because the WC is held only every four years, I won't put up a serious beef. But the weekly numbers for soccer games (not just MLS) are approaching that of baseball and basketball, too.

Soccer is by far the #1 sport in the world. Being "big" here is not being #3 or #4. It's having a US-based league that is at least the clear #2 in popularity behind the NFL. Truly big would be rivaling or surpassing the NFL. That would make us like other countries. Then it's big.

 

[The Gator]

It's boring. 1 or 2 goals for an hour and a half game? No thanks.

Would it make people feel better if they started awarding 7 points for a goal?

In football, your scenario is 14-7 in the same timeframe as a half of football. If you extrapolate that over the three hours it takes to play a football game it's roughly the same scoring to time ratio.

The average point total for an NFL is what, 40/45? So that's ~6 scores including extra points and field goals(too much fun to watch) for over three hours of your time. Not so much of a difference

 

[roadkill1292]

It won't be big because there aren't constant commercial breaks like all the major American sports have so the networks largely want nothing to do with it. Same goes for hockey.

This guy gets it.

ALWAYS follow the money.

The logic here is exactly opposite of reality. Viewers determine what networks will show. That's how they make money.

 

[msommer]

The soccer doesn't have enough scoring thing is just part of the American mindset. We always want more, we always want more scoring. The NFL has done everything it can to increase scoring and stats and it has become the most popular sport. We just don't seem to buy into the less is more ideal.

Europeans don't like American football much because it's just a bunch of fat guys standing around. Then they run around like headless chickens (the short and thin ones, that is) for five to ten seconds. And it's back to standing around again. For three and a half hours. Yeah, and some lunatic keeps shouting "OMAHA".

 

[Christo]

It seems like what you're saying is that soccer fans are inherently racist, and therefore soccer will never be big here because we won't tolerate the racist fans.

My impression of the soccer hooligans overseas, or the racist ones that you reference is that they are the equivalent of our rednecks and that is the primary demographic at the games. I could be wrong but that was my impression. Also maybe in countries that are majority white, the bananas are not considered as offensive as in a country like ours with a long history of racial tension and a large black population.

I've heard people say that soccer isn't big here because it's boring. I don't know if that's true or not. I do believe though that if it was as big here as football or baseball, the average fan wouldn't be a mouth-breathing racist redneck because those people typically can't afford to attend many American sporting events.

Just about everything in the bolded is flat out wrong, except that the people that throw bananas are the equivalent of mouth-breathing racist rednecks

Then I would like to understand how the bananas and monkey noises are condoned if there isn't some unspoken acceptance of that behavior much greater than we'd ever see here.

It's not.A possible exception is Russia which is one of the most racist countries in the world

So what is it then? How is it that dozens or hundreds of fans at a time can engage in an overtly racist act without mass outrage/backlash/rioting erupting, or people simply leaving in disgust? Has attending soccer games over there become such an anything-goes event that civilized people either stay home or know to keep their mouths shut? In that case we're back to my assumption that it's mostly euro-rednecks attending the games. Something doesn't add up.

I think you're begging the question. There has been a backlash. Fans who have done those things have been banned. Players have been put on trial for racial abuse. In the most recent event when Dani Alves picked up the banana and ate it the crowd loved it. They are behind us in race relations. But it's not like they're sitting on their hands.

 

[NewlyRetired]

It's boring. 1 or 2 goals for an hour and a half game? No thanks.

Would it make people feel better if they started awarding 7 points for a goal?

In football, your scenario is 14-7 in the same timeframe as a half of football. If you extrapolate that over the three hours it takes to play a football game it's roughly the same scoring to time ratio.

The average point total for an NFL is what, 40/45? So that's ~6 scores including extra points and field goals(too much fun to watch) for over three hours of your time. Not so much of a difference

Ironically, soccer players are typically the highest scoring players in the NFL

 

[EYLive]

You really think that aside from the number of scores, american football and soccer are the same?

I'm not telling anyone to stop watching. I just won't be wasting my time watching the ball get lobbed back and forth for nearly 2 hours.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

TV announcer: The Continental Soccer Association is coming to Springfield! It's all herefast-kickin, low scorin. And ties? You bet!

Bart: Hey Dad, how come youve never taken us to see a soccer game?

Homer: I ... dont know.

TV announcer: Youll see all your favorite soccer stars. Like Ariaga! Ariaga II! Bariaga! Aruglia! And Pizzoza!

 

[NewlyRetired]

What's "big?" The World Cup final will probably outdraw this year's World Series and NBA finals on tv. If you want to argue that it's not a fair comparison because the WC is held only every four years, I won't put up a serious beef. But the weekly numbers for soccer games (not just MLS) are approaching that of baseball and basketball, too.

Soccer is by far the #1 sport in the world. Being "big" here is not being #3 or #4. It's having a US-based league that is at least the clear #2 in popularity behind the NFL. Truly big would be rivaling or surpassing the NFL. That would make us like other countries. Then it's big.

So by that logic the NBA, NHL, PGA, and NASCAR are not big.

Looking at soccer in the US based on only the domestic leagues popularity is a huge whiff. That is not how the sport works in our melting pot where fans watch a ton of different leagues.

 

[17seconds]

You really think that aside from the number of scores, american football and soccer are the same?

I'm not telling anyone to stop watching. I just won't be wasting my time watching the ball get lobbed back and forth for nearly 2 hours.

What about the vuvuzelas? There's vuvuzelas sometimes

 

[Politician Spock]

Not trying to troll.

They're just hoping in to your boat.

 

[roadkill1292]

What's "big?" The World Cup final will probably outdraw this year's World Series and NBA finals on tv. If you want to argue that it's not a fair comparison because the WC is held only every four years, I won't put up a serious beef. But the weekly numbers for soccer games (not just MLS) are approaching that of baseball and basketball, too.

Soccer is by far the #1 sport in the world. Being "big" here is not being #3 or #4. It's having a US-based league that is at least the clear #2 in popularity behind the NFL. Truly big would be rivaling or surpassing the NFL. That would make us like other countries. Then it's big.

I don't know if I buy that definition. Is MLB or NBA or NHL a clear No. 2? And how do you factor in American audiences closely following foreign leagues, which is a non-issue with our other domestic sports?

 

[Ilov80s]

You really think that aside from the number of scores, american football and soccer are the same?

I'm not telling anyone to stop watching. I just won't be wasting my time watching the ball get lobbed back and forth for nearly 2 hours.

To someone that didn't grow up with football, it probably looks similar. Hand the ball to a guy who runs into a pile of huge guys. Take a 30 second break. Throw the ball and watch it go over everyone's head. Take a 30 second break. Throw the ball to a guy who catches it and gets tackled. Wait 2 minutes for a replay to see if he actually caught it. Punt the ball to the other team. And so on.

 

[McGarnicle]

It seems like what you're saying is that soccer fans are inherently racist, and therefore soccer will never be big here because we won't tolerate the racist fans.

My impression of the soccer hooligans overseas, or the racist ones that you reference is that they are the equivalent of our rednecks and that is the primary demographic at the games. I could be wrong but that was my impression. Also maybe in countries that are majority white, the bananas are not considered as offensive as in a country like ours with a long history of racial tension and a large black population.

I've heard people say that soccer isn't big here because it's boring. I don't know if that's true or not. I do believe though that if it was as big here as football or baseball, the average fan wouldn't be a mouth-breathing racist redneck because those people typically can't afford to attend many American sporting events.

Just about everything in the bolded is flat out wrong, except that the people that throw bananas are the equivalent of mouth-breathing racist rednecks

Then I would like to understand how the bananas and monkey noises are condoned if there isn't some unspoken acceptance of that behavior much greater than we'd ever see here.

It's not.A possible exception is Russia which is one of the most racist countries in the world

So what is it then? How is it that dozens or hundreds of fans at a time can engage in an overtly racist act without mass outrage/backlash/rioting erupting, or people simply leaving in disgust? Has attending soccer games over there become such an anything-goes event that civilized people either stay home or know to keep their mouths shut? In that case we're back to my assumption that it's mostly euro-rednecks attending the games. Something doesn't add up.

I think you're begging the question. There has been a backlash. Fans who have done those things have been banned. Players have been put on trial for racial abuse. In the most recent event when Dani Alves picked up the banana and ate it the crowd loved it. They are behind us in race relations. But it's not like they're sitting on their hands.

Makes sense now.

 

[EYLive]

You really think that aside from the number of scores, american football and soccer are the same?

I'm not telling anyone to stop watching. I just won't be wasting my time watching the ball get lobbed back and forth for nearly 2 hours.

To someone that didn't grow up with football, it probably looks similar. Hand the ball to a guy who runs into a pile of huge guys. Take a 30 second break. Throw the ball and watch it go over everyone's head. Take a 30 second break. Throw the ball to a guy who catches it and gets tackled. Wait 2 minutes for a replay to see if he actually caught it. Punt the ball to the other team. And so on.

80% agree.

Tradition plays a big part.

 

[The Gator]

You really think that aside from the number of scores, american football and soccer are the same?

No, just debunking the "not enough scoring" complaint you made

 

[EYLive]

You really think that aside from the number of scores, american football and soccer are the same?

I'm not telling anyone to stop watching. I just won't be wasting my time watching the ball get lobbed back and forth for nearly 2 hours.

What about the vuvuzelas? There's vuvuzelas sometimes

Tooootally forgot about THE SOUND OF MY PEOPLE. Love them things.

 

[EYLive]

You really think that aside from the number of scores, american football and soccer are the same?

No, just debunking the "not enough scoring" complaint you made

For the record. I don't like low scoring football games either.

 

[NewlyRetired]

You really think that aside from the number of scores, american football and soccer are the same?

I'm not telling anyone to stop watching. I just won't be wasting my time watching the ball get lobbed back and forth for nearly 2 hours.

To someone that didn't grow up with football, it probably looks similar. Hand the ball to a guy who runs into a pile of huge guys. Take a 30 second break. Throw the ball and watch it go over everyone's head. Take a 30 second break. Throw the ball to a guy who catches it and gets tackled. Wait 2 minutes for a replay to see if he actually caught it. Punt the ball to the other team. And so on.

80% agree.Tradition plays a big part.

That is a big reason that soccer audience/popularity is growing based on the influx of younger people who have grown up with the sport.

As the country's demographics continue to evolve, it will affect soccer most likely in a positive fashion in the next 30 years in the US.

 

[roadkill1292]

You really think that aside from the number of scores, american football and soccer are the same?

I'm not telling anyone to stop watching. I just won't be wasting my time watching the ball get lobbed back and forth for nearly 2 hours.

To someone that didn't grow up with football, it probably looks similar. Hand the ball to a guy who runs into a pile of huge guys. Take a 30 second break. Throw the ball and watch it go over everyone's head. Take a 30 second break. Throw the ball to a guy who catches it and gets tackled. Wait 2 minutes for a replay to see if he actually caught it. Punt the ball to the other team. And so on.

Don't forget the litigation breaks. For what is a coach's challenge if not a tiny lawsuit?

 

[17seconds]

What's "big?" The World Cup final will probably outdraw this year's World Series and NBA finals on tv. If you want to argue that it's not a fair comparison because the WC is held only every four years, I won't put up a serious beef. But the weekly numbers for soccer games (not just MLS) are approaching that of baseball and basketball, too.

Soccer is by far the #1 sport in the world. Being "big" here is not being #3 or #4. It's having a US-based league that is at least the clear #2 in popularity behind the NFL. Truly big would be rivaling or surpassing the NFL. That would make us like other countries. Then it's big.

So by that logic the NBA, NHL, PGA, and NASCAR are not big.

Looking at soccer in the US based on only the domestic leagues popularity is a huge whiff. That is not how the sport works in our melting pot where fans watch a ton of different leagues.

They watch a ton of different leagues because the general public in the US isn't interested enough to make MLS a multi-billion dollar league.

My logic starts with soccer being the #1 sport nearly everywhere else in the world. That isn't true of basketball, hockey, etc. Being big here means it has to be like it is elsewhere, not just in the ballpark with other sports. This isn't curling, this is the #1 worldwide sport. It has a bit of weight behind it.

NFL is $9B/yr, MLB is $8B/yr, NBA is $5B/yr, NHL is $2.4B/yr, PGA and NASCAR are over $1B/yr.

MLS plays the most popular sport in the world in the richest country in the world but can only manage $500M/yr. If it were as popular here as it is in other countries, we'd have a league that has 10X that revenue. There'd be so much money to be made that it would happen. It's been played here for decades. Clearly there's a popularity issue.

I appreciate that soccer popularity is growing in the US and a lot of people love the sport, but let's get some perspective instead of just saying it's popular because a lot of people like it.

 

[Dickies]

You really think that aside from the number of scores, american football and soccer are the same?

I'm not telling anyone to stop watching. I just won't be wasting my time watching the ball get lobbed back and forth for nearly 2 hours.

To be fair, at least they are actively playing. In American football they play for 4 seconds and take 30 seconds off.

 

[pats3in4]

Maybe the offside rule needs to be modified in which a *really* close play isn't called by the refs and if it results in a goal, it can be reviewed by replay at the request of the scored upon team.

I was watching one of the USA games on ESPN Classic last week and a USA score was wiped out thanks to an offside call. The replay showed he was onside. Having legit goals wiped out in a game short on scoring shouldn't happen.

 

[Dickies]

It's boring. 1 or 2 goals for an hour and a half game? No thanks.

Would it make people feel better if they started awarding 7 points for a goal?

In football, your scenario is 14-7 in the same timeframe as a half of football. If you extrapolate that over the three hours it takes to play a football game it's roughly the same scoring to time ratio.

The average point total for an NFL is what, 40/45? So that's ~6 scores including extra points and field goals(too much fun to watch) for over three hours of your time. Not so much of a difference

I frequently present this argument to my soccer and hockey hating friends who repeat ad nauseam that they are unwatchable because there isn't enough scoring. It goes in one ear and out the other. I hadn't even thought about the fact that soccer plays a significantly shorter game.

 

[NewlyRetired]

What's "big?" The World Cup final will probably outdraw this year's World Series and NBA finals on tv. If you want to argue that it's not a fair comparison because the WC is held only every four years, I won't put up a serious beef. But the weekly numbers for soccer games (not just MLS) are approaching that of baseball and basketball, too.

Soccer is by far the #1 sport in the world. Being "big" here is not being #3 or #4. It's having a US-based league that is at least the clear #2 in popularity behind the NFL. Truly big would be rivaling or surpassing the NFL. That would make us like other countries. Then it's big.

So by that logic the NBA, NHL, PGA, and NASCAR are not big.Looking at soccer in the US based on only the domestic leagues popularity is a huge whiff. That is not how the sport works in our melting pot where fans watch a ton of different leagues.

They watch a ton of different leagues because the general public in the US isn't interested enough to make MLS a multi-billion dollar league.

My logic starts with soccer being the #1 sport nearly everywhere else in the world. That isn't true of basketball, hockey, etc. Being big here means it has to be like it is elsewhere, not just in the ballpark with other sports. This isn't curling, this is the #1 worldwide sport. It has a bit of weight behind it.

NFL is $9B/yr, MLB is $8B/yr, NBA is $5B/yr, NHL is $2.4B/yr, PGA and NASCAR are over $1B/yr.

MLS plays the most popular sport in the world in the richest country in the world but can only manage $500M/yr. If it were as popular here as it is in other countries, we'd have a league that has 10X that revenue. There'd be so much money to be made that it would happen. It's been played here for decades. Clearly there's a popularity issue.

I appreciate that soccer popularity is growing in the US and a lot of people love the sport, but let's get some perspective instead of just saying it's popular because a lot of people like it.

The WC rights just sold for $1 billion dollarsThe EPL rights are going to explode in next years after they did fantastic on NBC this year

Liga MX ratings continue to beat out every other club soccer property in the US

I won't argue this anymore, but I can't emphasize enough how big a mistake it is to look at MLS and assume that is the be all end all for soccer in the US. It is one portion (a growing portion but still just a portion).

No matter how big MLS gets, most Mexican Americans will choose to watch Liga MX.

I am not sure why I keep taking the bait seeing as you are the guy who thinks the sport is as popular today as it was back before Becks pre 2006, no matter how many facts are presented to you to show you just how incorrect you are.

Feel free to have the last word, your lack of knowledge on the topic makes it no fun to discuss.

 

[roadkill1292]

Maybe the offside rule needs to be modified in which a *really* close play isn't called by the refs and if it results in a goal, it can be reviewed by replay at the request of the scored upon team.

I was watching one of the USA games on ESPN Classic last week and a USA score was wiped out thanks to an offside call. The replay showed he was onside. Having legit goals wiped out in a game short on scoring shouldn't happen.

Maybe each team should have three timeouts a half, too.

 

[pats3in4]

Maybe the offside rule needs to be modified in which a *really* close play isn't called by the refs and if it results in a goal, it can be reviewed by replay at the request of the scored upon team.

I was watching one of the USA games on ESPN Classic last week and a USA score was wiped out thanks to an offside call. The replay showed he was onside. Having legit goals wiped out in a game short on scoring shouldn't happen.

Maybe each team should have three timeouts a half, too.

Add delays caused by the review as injury time. And set a time limit on the review, too.

 

[Christo]

Maybe the offside rule needs to be modified in which a *really* close play isn't called by the refs and if it results in a goal, it can be reviewed by replay at the request of the scored upon team.

I was watching one of the USA games on ESPN Classic last week and a USA score was wiped out thanks to an offside call. The replay showed he was onside. Having legit goals wiped out in a game short on scoring shouldn't happen.

Maybe each team should have three timeouts a half, too.

And substitutions like hockey!

 

[timschochet]

It won't be big because there aren't constant commercial breaks like all the major American sports have so the networks largely want nothing to do with it. Same goes for hockey.

This was the main reason, but it might change. Two reasons: first because commercials are becoming less important. Internet, cable, DVR, provide revenue streams that will eventually completely eradicate commercial television. How that will relate to sports, I don't know.

The other reason is our growing Latino community. The immigrants especially grow up on soccer and love it.

 

[comfortably numb]

Historical cultural differences at the on set of our country is the reason it is not "big" in the US.

Not racism, not low scoring games, not soccer being too un-masculine.

Simply, when our country was founded we took on the identity of basketball, baseball and football.
These were America's sports.

Other countries had their identity with regards to sports and those sports were and are "big" in those countries.

Times are changing.

Basketball has migrated into other continents bringing on great talent like never seen before to the NBA.

Likewise has baseball.

Football is essentially meaningless outside the US.

Soccer has made it's way over to the US and is becoming more main stream.

For the last 30 years most Americans would only be able to name Pele as a soccer name they were familiar with.

Now, you can watch several countries championship game on TV as a major televised event with large audiences, not to mention tons of regular season games.

As the youth continues to be exposed to soccer and the world class soccer stars are identifiable to the US mainstream, the US super athlete now has another option to make millions. That path is now more open and attainable to a 16 year old super talent when there was very little chance in the past.

It will still be a long time before the MLS is even in the same level as the European soccer leagues but the path is being paved.

Heck, Brazil is synonymous with soccer and all their stars leave to play in Europe. The big difference IMO is soon enough the US teams will be able to compete with the Euro teams to keep their homegrown stars.

As far as US popularity I think soccer needs a big time US star that goes over to Europe and is a dominant force.

Someone who will have the American public at their TV screens on a Sunday morning at 7AM to watch him try to be the best in the world on the European stage.

That player will then be the driving force of a deep run into 2 World Cups for the US bringing in even more of a following.

The stage is set, the stars are aligning and the US is and always has been the underdogs of the soccer world and we would play that role well.

The same role that lead hockey to become hugely more popular after the 1980 Olympics.

 

[timschochet]

The USA winning the world cup would be like a macrocosm of the Los Angeles Kings winning the NHL championship. The Kings have their diehard fans, but most people in Southern California don't really care, and that probably annoys the hell out of real hockey cities like Boston, Pittsburgh, most of Canada.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Pittsburgh? Come on.

 

[timschochet]

Pittsburgh? Come on.

Sometimes I listen to sports talk radio from Pittsburgh on the web just to hear about the Steelers. They spend a LOT of time talking about the Penguins, so I just assumed it's a hockey town.

 

[Mario Kart]

Best sport to watch. Going to go to bars this summer for World Cup games.

In the next 10 years, I think football will dramatically decline and soccer will dramatically increase. In 20 years, they may even do a total flip with each other.

 

[Insein]

Best sport to watch. Going to go to bars this summer for World Cup games.

In the next 10 years, I think football will dramatically decline and soccer will dramatically increase. In 20 years, they may even do a total flip with each other.

-Soccer Guy 1972

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Pittsburgh? Come on.

Sometimes I listen to sports talk radio from Pittsburgh on the web just to hear about the Steelers. They spend a LOT of time talking about the Penguins, so I just assumed it's a hockey town.

Because they have Crosby and Malkin. 10 years ago or 10 years from now and they'll ignore them again.I think it's improved a lot but calling it a hockey town is a stretch.

 

[comfortably numb]

The USA winning the world cup would be like a macrocosm of the Los Angeles Kings winning the NHL championship. The Kings have their diehard fans, but most people in Southern California don't really care, and that probably annoys the hell out of real hockey cities like Boston, Pittsburgh, most of Canada.

Completely wrong here.

The US winning a world cup would have the world following and would be a monumental and historic achievement for the country,

There probably are LA Kings fans who can't tell you the last time they won a Stanley Cup

 

[timschochet]

The USA winning the world cup would be like a macrocosm of the Los Angeles Kings winning the NHL championship. The Kings have their diehard fans, but most people in Southern California don't really care, and that probably annoys the hell out of real hockey cities like Boston, Pittsburgh, most of Canada.

Completely wrong here.

The US winning a world cup would have the world following and would be a monumental and historic achievement for the country,

There probably are LA Kings fans who can't tell you the last time they won a Stanley Cup

Since they've only won one, I think they probably can.

 

[Sebowski]

I literally can't wait for these threads to just get ignored. If this want arty the top of the page already I'd have contributed to that outcome.

 

[Dentist]

one thing soccer does have right is the time it takes to play a game. it's the only argument FOR ties.

If i sit down to watch a soccer game the time is very predictable and is a tidy 2.5 hours... a great time frame for a sports contest.

With MLB I"m not sure if I'm in for 2.5 hours or 4... and its pace has really gotten so much worse over the last 25 years.

NBA... great action and then if the game is "good" you get a completely terrible last few minutes highlighted by a lot of free throws and fouls (riveting stuff).. and who knows how many overtimes i could be in for.

Tennis - 5 set match could be done in 90 minutes or 5 hours.... how do i budget my time for that? How does TV budget its time for that?

NFL - was 3 hours... now fully 3.5 with tons of horrible breaks due to ref challenges, a too long halftime, punts, TD/XPt/Kickoff with 3 commercial breaks (terrible)

NASCAR - penalty laps.... how do people watch this?

If anything I would think the A.D.D crowd of today would embrace horse racing... you turn it on.. watch the horses line up... 1-2.5 min. later it's over and I get a definitive result... very satisfying

There are a lot of things right about soccer... and tradition + the rest of the world not having a problem with the sport will keep it from making the changes it needs to make to capture the casual fan.