it's not ignorance...nfl interest fails in other parts of the world just like australian rules football. someone across the pond could say you're ignorant and neither you or that person would be more wrong or right.

I know about soccer. They don't.

Anyone would could watch that US-Ghana game and an NFL playoff game and say the soccer game was better is either lying or has terrible taste.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

no, just not your taste. they have tried to grow the nfl in europe. it failed. they don't like it. every brit i've ever talked to has said the same thing: "it's too much conferencing and slow, and too many bloody commercials". it's not their thing. goodell is going to destroy the league if he keeps trying to sell this product to europe...they aren't interested and they're not going to be.

australian rules football is the closest example i can think of. it's huge in australia, but everywhere else it's ignored. that's because it's their thing. now, they are more into soccer than the average american, but the interest in this country has grown exponentially in the past 10 years. and that's not just because espn covers it. it's catching on here, and if the US team does well, it's just going to get bigger. you and dolphin can be on the hater bandwagon all you want...but the sport is being taken seriously here lately.

The "soccer is growing exponentially" idea is mostly a myth. It's on television more but that is because television requires content and filling it with soccer is better than replaying 30 for 30's or reruns of Mike and Mike. No one cares about the MLS. I don't know anyone who actually watches it as their #1 or even #2 league. Maybe people like the English Premiere League but until they have American teams it won't ever be popular here for the same reasons you said about the NFL.

We've heard the same stuff since the 90s. Since then, American sports have gotten more popular worldwide more than soccer has "taken off" here.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

i don't think the MLS would be adding teams the way they have been if there was no interest. soccer will not ever be a dominating sport here but i see an awful lot of kids everywhere i go wearing soccer kits, international and local, and if they continue to be interested...then it can grow with the next generation.

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I played soccer a lot when I was a kid too.

The sport that seems to actually be growing with a chance of staying around is lacrosse. Maybe it is just my area of the country though.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

they're not just playing it, they're watching it too.

i think in areas like here and where you are in NY there's a level of interest that probably isn't shared by more rural areas. i've watched that sport live and on TV and it doesn't really do it for me. but i know there's a following for it, especially at the college level.

You aren't referring to that ESPN statistic are you? http://deadspin.com/that-espn-poll-claiming-mls-is-as-popular-with-kids-as-1539533010

Only 1 million people watched the MLS final and that is from all age groups. I don't think I need to post the other sports finals ratings.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

After the 2002 world cup, when the US unexpectedly made it to the quarterfinals, the MLS had a huge spike in attendance, setting a record in the 2002 MLS Cup at 61k. since 2005, the league has expanded adding 9 new teams, and in the next 6 years, it will expand to 24 teams. The Portland timbers outdraw the Blazers, the Sounders outdraw the Mariners, Real Salt Lake outdraws the Jazz. The Columbus Crew outdraws the Blue Jackets in the NHL. I’ve been to matches; I’d say over half of the attendance come from families…parents taking their kids. Kids are watching. Whenever I’m out, I see kids wearing Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, Chicago Fire, LA Galaxy shirts. It’s not a myth.

Broadcasts are limited with the MLS, but even that’s grown with new contracts by NBC sports and ESPN, along with Univision. In fact, it’s going to expand again including fox sports. Anyone should know that a sport telecast primarily on cable and not regular networks is not going to share the spoils ratings wise. And the MLS isn’t even a great league quality wise. it’s not even in the big 4 of association football leagues: EPL, Bundesliga, Serie A, and La Liga. but it is getting more popular, and that can be helped by the US doing well in this World Cup. That’s been proven.

Soccer won’t ever become as popular as our big 4 (football, baseball, basketball, hockey) but it certainly isn’t the wayside sport that you want to think it is.

Rick is right and Zack is wrong



There was some asshole on CNBC this morning comparing football to soccer and he mentioned the constant action of soccer

Are you kidding?

Watch a soccer game and tell me what percentage of the time players are either walking or lightly jogging.

ACTION PACKED


Soccer sucks.

And I was great at soccer, but Im American so I gave it up for my country.

1 million people watched the MLS final.

5 million people on average watched the NHL Finals and that included games on NBCSN and wasn't a winner take all game in a series that ended 4-1. The Blackhawks finals series had games with over 10 million people watching.

I don't know what your point is then. I know it exists in this country and some people seem to like it. However, if we start to include things like golf and NASCAR we already put soccer as the 7th biggest sport in America. It may be bigger than tennis. I really don't know.

Even you know that soccer is always going to lag behind sports like hockey. If you think if the US works really hard that eventually they can reach the 5th most popular sport then go ahead. I don't really think it's a major accomplishment for the "worlds most popular sport" to beat out golf and NASCAR here.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

From what I understand, US soccer fans hate Mexico, but it's not in a racist way.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

As the only CSFMB member to play both NCAA baseball and soccer at college, soccer is great, baseball sucks.

When fans of the other team throws bags of urine and vomit on you, you tend not to like them.

Did not happen.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

What?

Mexico looks like a good team to root for.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Well, your point that “no one watches soccer”, which I get is hyperbole, is still a false claim. My point, which should have been rather clear, was that soccer was growing exponentially. In the 80’s, the professional soccer league we had (the original NASL) couldn't sustain itself and it collapsed. It lasted 16 years. The MLS hasn’t even been around for 20 years yet, and it’s been expanding more and more each year. But it’s already been more relevant than the NASL ever was. If “no one watches it”, then the league would fold…your point about it being a myth—back in the 90’s, there was truth to that. I think there was probably an agenda to make it popular because of the World Cup bid we had in 1994 as hosts. It didn’t do a thing for us.

Since 2002, it seems to be picking up legitimately and if more quality is poured into the MLS, i would think interest would continue to rise. tennis became hugely popular in this country during the period when americans were dominating the sport in the 70's and 80's. niche sports tend to work that way. american football is our institution...but there was a time when that wasn't the most popular sport either.

I don’t know why you’re using our 4 major sports’ ratings against the MLS, though, when I already said it’s only being covered on cable (and prior to last year, covered primarily on a now-defunct cable station). of course the NHL is going to have higher ratings—there are more markets, it has a long standing following, and the finals are broadcast on primetime network TV. it's the "newest" professional league getting this much coverage...it would need time to gain a following before that's really fair.

just a quick glance at a cable ratings website, though, showed that the world cup coverage was only a few notches below "game of thrones", the number one show on cable. that's pretty good considering it's not shown in primetime slots.

If ties are allowed, is it possible that the US will have to share the World Cup?

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This is my signature...

No ties in the knockout rounds. Two OT's and then penalty kicks if still tied.

El Juego Bonito, INDEED!

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This is my signature...

KD didnt play collegiate sports or the myriad stories of the poor behavior by Mexico fans at Estadio Azteca?

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I admit it's not true, while playing baseball and soccer in college, opposing fans did not throw bags of urine and vomit at me.

I was just playing off the whole chas thing.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

So the entirety of Europe is pretty much out of this thing.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

There are more countries in Europe besides Spain and England.

Belgium, Germany, and France are still in. The Swiss still have a shot.

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@audioidkid

Since when?

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This is my signature...

Two time! Two time! Two time! World War losers.