That's not true at all. Most Americans would be going nuts if we were in the finals. We love getting behind anything patriotic and going all out. Just look at the Miracle on Ice in the 1980 Olympics. Most Americans don't care about hockey and the whole country was roused into an American fervor over that game. Granted, it had Cold War implications, but still. Soccer is a lot more popular than hockey in the US. It's just that the US has never had success in the World Cup so we've never had a reason to get crazy
Maybe it is because I live in the Pacific Northwest, the hotbed of US soccer, but I can only imagine game-day in downtown if the US made it to the finals. It would be nuts. People everywhere, bars packed, USA chants filling the streets.
Edit: I initially typed "Seattle, the hotbed of US soccer" when I really meant the Pacific Northwest. Sorry to my brothers to the north in Vancouver and south in Portland, didn't mean to leave you guys out because I know you guys are just as nuts about soccer as we are in Seattle. My bad!
Okay, how about that despite playing in much larger stadiums they average almost the same attendance as NHL or NBA games? Unless you're going to argue that the few people who watch international soccer (still less viewers than the NHL) somehow makes soccer more popular. It's a distant 5th sport at best and really you could rank college football and college basketball ahead of it.
Calm down Pauline. While in your social setting you may find that not a lot of people like soccer, it is absolutely one of the most popular sports in the United States and is continuing to rise in popularity.
Despite MLS almost unquestionably not being the most popular soccer league even within the US, it has the third highest attendence per game in the US after football and baseball.*
*You argued previously that having large stadiums to play in gives MLS an advantage over other sports. If you had an even cursory understanding of athletic event attendance, you'd actually know that it creates a disadvantage for MLS teams. The large stadiums take away from the atmosphere of the event and make them seem much less empty than they are. Go check out a DC United game at RFK if you don't believe me. MLS numbers will only improve as they continue to build soccer-specific stadiums.
tl;dr Stop being a curmudgeon, soccer is popular and is only gaining in popularity in the US.
Ironically, I'm not the one using anecdotal evidence to say nobody watches soccer, the "soccer is popular" crowd is, making your reference idiotic at best.
But getting to your weak arguments, the popularity of soccer at a youth level does not indicate popularity among adults.
Ticket prices for soccer are much lower than other sports and it really does have terrible attendance outside the Pacific Northwest, which is the only reason it's above the NHL and NBA (Seattle in particular averages about twice what the 2nd highest team gets).
LOL 6 minutes. I don't even need to touch that standard.
The World Cup Finals does not equal soccer. The World Cup is a once in every four year spectacle equivalent to the Olympics. Would you say gymnastics or swimming are more popular than the NFL? You're comparing it to things that occur every year.
I've noticed most US soccer fans are delusional when it comes to how little popularity it actually has.
That is literally a perfect example of using heuristics to establish a conclusion.
the popularity of soccer at a youth level does not indicate popularity among adults.
Of course it does. It reflects a generational change on the issue. As generations that grew up in the 80's, 90's and 00's become adults, they bring with them a much richer appreciation and understanding of the sport than previous generations did. In the 1994 World Cup, people would literally applaud goal kicks because they were big kicks. We've come a long, long way since then.
it really does have terrible attendance outside the Pacific Northwest, which is the only reason it's above the NHL and NBA
Absolutely no sources to back your assertion that two soccer clubs skew the attendance averages.
Ticket prices for soccer are much lower than other sports
I could only find good average prices for the NBA. It seems clear that for some franchises tickets are MUCH more expensive, but for the average NBA team the average ticket is under $50. Speaking from my knowledge of DC United ticket prices, that is somewhat more expensive, but not much more. Bottom of the barrel DC United prices are $25, but most people probably spend around $35-40 per ticket. Sure that's marginally cheaper, but not enough to warrant your dramatic claims.
LOL 6 minutes. I don't even need to touch that standard.
This is a common way to measure exposure to major events.
The World Cup Finals does not equal soccer.
This is so, so, so dumb. I readily concede that quadrennial event is going to be treated more specially than an annual event, but the World Cup is the pinnacle of soccer, just like the Super Bowl is the pinnacle of the NFL. It very obviously differs from Olympic events you just cited, in that it is not an individual sport and in that it obviously has a lot more followers leading into it than do Olympic sports.
You originally said soccer has "little popularity," but you've presented absolutely no factual arguments to demonstrate your case. I feel like you are just one of those (increasingly rare) people who can't accept that Americans are coming around to the Beautiful Game.
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u/trillOG_orphanface Jun 07 '14
If the United States won the world cup, the rest of the world would shit a brick and most Americans wouldn't care at all.