Kevin Marshall's America
Despite a valiant effort, the US was overcome by Ghana in the first knockout round in this year's World Cup. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
So what now?
I know I’m not completely on an island here, but I’m sure judging by the reaction I’ve already received in private conversation and on Twitter, I’m bound to get some heat for suggesting that the enthusiasm Americans have been showing for soccer is at best temporary, and reserved only for the biggest stage of international competition rather than for the sport as a whole.
Thing is, I don’t dislike soccer. On occasion I’ve even enjoyed watching a few games. There’s something about the atmosphere, and the field of play, and the passion exuded by the players that engages me. Also, there’s something appealing to me personally about the idea of being part of a sport that’s connected through a truly global network.
In that sense, at least, it’s sort of like the Olympics. I know I for one have always been a huge fan of both the Winter and Summer games, ever since I was a child. And I, like most professing their interest in soccer now, don’t really pay much attention to the Olympic sports in off years. The difference, though, is that we don’t spend 3 years and 11 months making jokes about how boring the Olympics are.
The bottom line is that most Americans who tuned in for the World Cup are most likely going to go right back to the soccer bashing. Or, even worse, continue operating in complete ignorance of the sport’s existence.
The battle cry for soccer in the United States is hardly a new tune. In the 1970s, international soccer phenom Pele made it his life’s mission to bring the sport to America. He succeeded to an extent. Through his efforts we got a professional soccer league, and for the first time, children started playing the game.
Unfortunately, that’s as far as it went, and really that’s as far we’ve come in the last thirty yers.
The problem is that the sport is operating in a funnel that’s closed off at the tip. There is no shortage of opportunities for pre-adolescents to engage in the sport, but that interest and enthusiasm – much like that of most fans – isn’t sustained. As they get older and work through different levels of our education system, soccer becomes less and less prevalent and, therefore, less appealing.
Which is why I think Major League Soccer, while a worthy and noble cause for soccer enthusiasts, is a fool’s errand as far as advancing the sport. There can be tricks and ways to make two or three major market teams profitable, but there’s no way to make a sport as a whole thrive when participation bottlenecks in the preceding generation.
The real key to soccer proliferation is to make it profitable at the collegiate level. This is the one common trait of every popular team sport in the United States. Baseball is the lone exception, but it has the benefit of being around since the late 1800s and comes with its own special can of worms.
So if soccer advocates want to see any headway in the next four years, they’re going to need to press the NCAA to market to and recruit youth and then get the communities surrounding their campus to pay to see games. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a tough sell. Particularly at schools with the resources to put into a program of long-term growth. Those schools already have their cash cows and don’t have any reason to try to get milk from the soccer goat.
The most likely scenario is that the World Cup will continue to increase in popularity, but soccer as a whole won’t. For whatever reason, Americans have an aversion to team sports they didn’t invent. (“Hockey!”, someone cries out. Cue riotous laughter.) We see this in the various team and individual sports that comprise the Olympic Games. Other countries treat them with reverence, with some even granting them the same attention and respect we bestow on our mainstream sports. Meanwhile, their visibility here is negligible, yet we still manage to medal and stay competitive in them.
Because America is AWESOME and doesn’t need to like a sport to be good at it! Also, we have a fairly large population and no shortage of families with enough money to dump into their children’s dreams of excelling in a sport most of the country seems to forget exists save every four years.
In all seriousness, what does this say about us and our relation to soccer? Are we able to get behind it, or are we just getting behind the idea of a national team advancing in a sport that the rest of the world is engaged in? Do we have the capacity to embrace it as a potential national past-time, or are we just waiting for the next international sporting event for our latent nation pride to take over and drag us all to the Biergarten?
I guess we’ll have a better idea in three years and eleven months. And I guarantee we’ll be having the same exact conversation.
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20 Responses to The World Cup’s More Popular Than Ever! Soccer? Not so much.
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One of the cool things about living on military bases when I was very young was that LOTS of Army brats (and their parents) had picked up on soccer during time spent stationed in (primarily) Germany, so I was actually playing in elementary school in base leagues before it caught on in suburbia in general. We lived on Long Island during the peak years of the Cosmos with Pele and Beckenbauer, though I was an avid Washington Diplomats fan when it came to NASL, which was just as unrewarding as being a Kansas City Royals or Washington Capitals fan has been over the years. We also lived right by Nassau Coliseum, home of the New York Arrows, the first champions of the first professional indoor soccer league (original MISL) so I got see them and the Cosmos play in the ’77-80 period. Good stuff. But once the Dips and then the original NASL folded, I stopped paying a lot of attention to professional soccer in the USA and began to follow international leagues instead, which continues to this day. Note: in great minds think alike mode, I actually did a short post this morning about how I’m kinda glad that we’ve been knocked out, leaving the World Cup in the hands and hearts of those around the globe who really appreciate it . . .
Take it from a hockey fan who saw his favorite sport gain temporary national attention during the winter Olympics – People were tuning in because they love cheering for our COUNTRY, not the sport. As soon as the Olympics were over the casual fans went right back to ignoring professional hockey, and soccer will suffer the same fate. It can be a tough pill to swallow, but take pride in the fact that the US team represented the sport and our country so well.
Soccer just isn’t an American sport. It’s a very defensive game. The reason football is popular is because it’s so offense-driven. We like to see touchdowns. We want someone to win, we need a conclusion – the idea of a tie game is abhorrent.
We’re also super-saturated with sports in America, especially if you get into college sports. As an analogy, I don’t know about anyone else, but I can only get into a few TV shows at a time. My nights are booked with lawyer shows, and you want me to watch a doctor show? Soccer is that doctor show.
US Soccer won’t get behind this idea at all. They take their best players to the academy before they get to college, and Adidas has their own project to pay players not to go to college and instead play in MLS. Worldwide, players join club teams and academies not college teams. The best players typically don’t go to college or at least stay 4 years.
I think most countries, also those who can be categorized as big soccer powers, witness a peak in interest during the World Cup, where a lot of people who normally don’t watch games get caught away by the exitement. When the Cup end, they wont supporting their local pro team or anything.
America is slowly but surely becoming a soccer nation. There won’t be a revolution, and it will come at a slow but steady pace. With the changing demographics of the country, the relative success of MLS, and a whole generayion growing up playing the beautiful game, soccer is here to stay…
Heck, a baby league like MLS already has higher average attendance than both NBA and NHL…
BTW, the Germany-Argentina 1/4 should be a thriller this Saturday! I can’t wait!!!
“America is slowly but surely becoming a soccer nation. There won’t be a revolution, and it will come at a slow but steady pace.” Ivan
That’s what they have been saying since the early 1970’s. And it hasn’t happened.
I don’t soccer will ever have the same level of importance here as it does in other countries. America seems to love contact sports (oddly enough not hockey though) and the harder they hit the more we like it. I think MMA and competitions like the UFC are rising much faster than soccer.
Personally I didn’t like soccer before the world cup and I don’t like it any more during. Anyone who likes to play up their injuries to get a “foul” called is a wuss. I even see that sorta thing in the NFL but at least they don’t pretend to be hurt worse than they are.
Soccer just isn’t an appealing sport for American athletes. If Kobe, LeBron, Reggie Bush, and A-Rod were soccer players then I think it would be a different story and America would not only be a soccer nation, but we would dominate the sport. But, as such, guys like that go on to play football and basketball and soccer is stuck with guys like Landon Donovan, who would be a back-up infielder for the Kansas City Royals.
The whole idea of a true “world competition” outside of the olympics has and will continue to make the WC interesting every 4 years. Having said that, soccer is extremely frustrating to watch as Paul G noted above.. watching guys lay down on the ground in extra time to stop the action and preserve a lead. In addition the rules in international soccer with this extra time nonsense is prehistoric. We have clock operators who can stop the playing time if there is a stoppage in play for an injury or substitution. Why continue to run the clock? What a joke.. Soccer has the feel of a charity basketball game where they just put 20 minutes on the clock and let it run straight through. It’s a shame that the rules (even offsides) are the way they are. There are some tremendous players and plays.. but in a sport where 2-0 is a blowout.. it’s just really not that interesting outside of ever 4 years for a couple weeks..
I think the reason it hasn’t taken off can be seen in the lack of integration of baseball outside our own Major Leagues. Our mainstream media can heavily influence what’s “popular” and American anything sells, especially if you can sell commercial time. They appear to have a very limited view of the world which is reflected in what they report we “want” to see.
How else to explain the disconnect between the immense popularity of soccer in the primary, secondary and college school levels and the nearly complete absence of it in our media? A significant portion of our population enjoys it, but that’s not what a bunch of old white men want believe.
C.
Chuck: I understand where you’re coming from, but the crux of your argument is an overestimation of the popularity of the sport. It’s certainly not “immensely popular” at any level, especially not college. I empathize with the passion you have for your sport and the eagerness you have to defend and advocate for it. Thing is, it’s not an attack on soccer so much as a statement of our current climate in regard to the sport. And advocacy has to start with an acknowledgement of present conditions. No change ever comes from denying the present state of affairs.
As for us in relation to the rest of the world: there’s a reason our diplomacy is equated to “cowboys” and we’re labeled as stubborn and bossy. Things like our geography and history, and the socio-political attitude they produced, do make us a bit different from other countries. Globally, we’re the ones to set and buck trends, not follow them. See also: our electoral process, style of legislative government, health care, and so on and so forth.
Not saying it’s good or bad, just the way it is.
I don’t think America will ever be a “soccer nation”, but the sport *is* growing here. Just look at the expanding coverage and ratings of the English Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, and UEFA Champions League matches on ESPN, Fox Soccer, and even the main broadcast Fox network, which drew 1.6 million viewers on a spring Saturday afternoon for a match between clubs from Italy and Germany. Four years ago, that would have been inconceivable.
Now of course, not everybody who tuned in for the World Cup will become a soccer diehard, just as most who tune in for the Super Bowl don’t care about the NFL the other 364 days of the year. But some will. And unlike the 70s and 80s, they can follow the true major soccer leagues, get invested in a club (preferably Everton), and it all builds from there.
ChuckD, the media has nothing to do with it. ESPN has been promoting Euro League soccer for the past few years now and has been televising it a lot. In the past the WNBA and Arena Football were heavily promoted, as was hockey up until about a decade or so ago.
The bottom line is peolpe just don’t watch. And if you don’t get ratings, you don’t get the media’s support.
Sorry Adam. Media has everything to do with it. It’s called Marketing and Promotion. Your Arena football example was an example of a purely bad idea. No one, any where is interested in it. Like a bad sitcom it got cancelled. Most of the rest of the world loves soccer and we’re just different?
I don’t think so.
Oh, and re: the 1.6 million for the Champions League Final on Fox. 1.6 million isn’t bad for soccer, but it’s not enough to get braggy in relation to other sports. It equates to a 1.0 share and is only a small fraction of the ratings for the NBA Finals, which have been dismal themselves in recent years. Even Fox had been publicly hoping (and selling advertisers) on a 2.0 to 2.5 rating in light of it as a “preview” for the World Cup.
Again, not the worst rating it could have gotten. But it’s still in the context (and proximity) of the Cup and still fell below expectations.
Soccer has not and will not gain acceptance for the same reason hockey has not: low (or no) scores. A soccer game can go on for 120 minutes and end in a 0-0 tie. That’s when Americans sit back and realize they just spent two hours watching people run back and forth for no reason whatsoever, and they get upset. We root for winners, or we root for underdogs, but we can’t do anything with a tie.
For spectators, soccer is a growing niche sport. Will it ever be bigger than the big four in this country? I don’t think anyone is making that claim. What’s apparent, however, is that a majority of the the younger generation (<30) have learned to appreciate the sport at it highest level. Media coverage of international soccer is growing on ESPN and Fox, MLS is building new stadiums and expanding into smart, tactical markets (as opposed to NHL strategy). Growth of the sport is steady, and all we need is a genuine homegrown star to move things along a bit quicker. Based on the number of players in youth soccer, the advancement of the academy systems for the MLS teams, and the growing interest from European teams in our talent, I see no reason why this won't happen.
i just have to say tht i think one of the reasons that soccer hasnt become popular in the u.s do to some racist issues; for example my next door neighboor (white) was playing basketball wit some friends and one of the boys kicks the ball and he says dont come over here with tht “mexican soccer sh**” like if only mexicans played soccer pure ignorance if soccer was compose in europe but anyways soccer is a great game every time it comes to my city houston the tickets sale out and the stadiums fill up maybe is because we have a high population of latinos in my community but either way i attend to….last think the mexican vs argentina games in this 2010 world cup had the highest viewers ever in latin t.v i think it was 9.3 million people watchin the game i was one of them wit my family its a classic even to white folks
Factors to consider:
1. The Latino population of the United States is rising. Unlike most Americans who are largely indifferent to soccer, there’s an existing love of the game in the Latino community and they are bringing that love with them. Currently, there’s more interest in the Mexican league than MLS, but the foundation is there for future growth.
2. The comparison of the World Cup to the Olympics falls flat in one major way: World Cup ratings are consistently rising every 4 years. Interest in the Olympics is always pretty high, but its relative strength ebbs and flows. Ratings for the World Cup were up 41% from 2006 which was held in a similar time zone. Watch for ratings in Brazil to skyrocket further, as games will actually be closer to prime time.
Of course if the U.S. reaches the final of a major sport like hockey it’s going to get huge ratings! If the U.S. had made the World Cup final I’m telling you the ratings would have dwarfed that though.
3. MLS is expanding. New franchises like Toronto, Seattle and Philadelphia are seeing great attendance. Owners are ponying up $40 million for the right to enter the league. I don’t see the MLS as a “fools errand.” I agree with one point – the need for a link to connect youth soccer to professional soccer. That’s exactly what the MLS is doing with it’s academy system. Look up Generation Adidas.
4. One good idea would be to move college soccer from being a fall sport to the spring. This would mean it wouldn’t have to compete with college football. With the proliferation of college sports channels (ESPNU, CSTV, the Big Ten Network, etc) there are plenty of outlets that could promote college soccer if only it wasn’t competing with the most popular sports. In the spring it would have an easier time of capturing attention and market share.
5. Still, the college system is very flawed and probably isn’t what the United States should encourage if it wants soccer to catch on. Rather than challenging and developing talent, quality players find themselves surrounded by inferior talent and are limited by NCAA rules on practice time. Since most soccer players peak in their mid 20s, having players in college until 22 really stunts talent growth in the U.S. If the U.S. is going to become a soccer power, the academy system is what will take it there, not college soccer.
6. Soccer’s popularity is high, not just the World Cup. Look at attendance when Premier League teams come to the United States. In the comments you point to ‘only’ 1.6 million people watching the Champions League final. I think that’s pretty good for its time slot and the CL’s low media coverage here.
7. To sum up by paraphrasing from the comments: soccer’s popularity in the U.S. will come from evolution, not revolution. MLS will slowly expand, slowly rise in attendance, slowly rise in quality of play, slowly gain respect from soccer fans of the Mexican league and the EPL who currently dismiss it, and slowly become generally profitable. Do I think soccer will become the #1 sport in America? No, but it doesn’t have to be. Our population is massive and growing. The rise of the internet and cable TV will allow “niche” markets like soccer to be successful. Unlike NASL with it’s out of control spending, MLS is being prudent, content to grow slowly. But they will grow.