How strong is soccer at a TV level in the US/Canada? Do you follow it and whom?

[TiminBC]

A. Few years ago I found myself with a bad back and on the floor for months. TV became a friend and while I never liked soccer before Spanish La Liga captured my fancy. Watch it religiously now. Locally I go down to the local sports field in the fall and smoke a cigar and watch from afar. Of course my friends think I have lost my way not obsessing about hockey.

I enjoyed watching games at Conde Villanueva when baseball was not on. Of course they misguidingly cheered for Real Madrid.

[raymond5737]

I finally watched my first OZY- Rules Football and Rugby recently and I loved them both.It is important that you Be patient and really watch what is going on to appreciate the beauty of the game and their differences. Played American football and tore my ACL. I was a bad mother ducked so I know what it aleays. But Ozzy rule football and rugby are a different breed of sport. Later on in life I met a Chichester who turned me on ro woman's rugby. With a couple of bottle s of wine, i watched the most fabulous display of women mauling each other in a very sexy way. It was obvious after a while that this was more important than the actual game itself. I liked it a lot.

[Lant63]

The US should have gotten their world cup bid, was it 2022?

It would have been the perfect time to give the boost the support needed in the US

They still may get it in 2022 if Quatar keeps up at their current pace.

As for its popularity, it is getting much more popular with the college crowd.

[forgop]

I never played organized soccer of any sport as a kid and I don't know that I can even remember having one as a kid. I grew up in a rural part of the midwest and your only option for youth sports was baseball.

I have 2 girls, currently 10 and 12 that got into soccer at around 4 I think. My oldest quit when we moved my younger daughter up and was clearly better than her. My youngest has played travel soccer for 2 years now and has always seemed to play against girls that are mostly 1-3 years older than her. She's a good player as it is, but it'll be really nice to see what will happen once she really hits a growth spurt (she'll be 11 in august and can fit in size 8 clothes).

If you had told me years ago, I'd be watching soccer at any level and enjoying it, I would have laughed at you. I guess watching how her game has developed has made my appreciation grow more for it today at any level. I don't seek out to watch soccer on TV unless it's world cup or the olympics and I would still prefer to watch football, hockey, and college basketball over soccer any day of the week.

[wea1959]

I like watching it with locals when I am traveling abroad, but not so much in the USA. It still feels a bit odd here at home. I am a big Deportivo Saprissa fan!

[dvickery]

I played soccer/football as a kid ( 1960's ) ... Can't say I really understood what I was doing other than running a lot and having fun .

I coached minor soccer for 9 years as my boys grew up ... Loved it .

I cannot watch it on TV ... The 90 second recap on sports highlight channels is okay . So I have ( mentally ) reached the conclusion that ... At the pro level ... A 1 1/2 hour game has about 1 1/2 minutes of excitement .

Derrek

[cardinalfan85]

Go Portland Timbers! I went to a game when I lived in Portland and the atmosphere was electric. It was how I imagine a game in Europe would be. (And it was only a preseason game too)

[wabashcr]

It's difficult to quantify. MLS is still growing. They average about 20k fans a game, with Seattle averaging close to double that. MLS tv ratings are non-existent. There's certainly an appeal developing in supporting your local side, but the league operates like a cartel, and the quality of play is still lacking. Still very much a niche, but in a few markets it's really taken off. Locally we have an NASL side (second tier), and they sold out their 15k stadium for every match last year (their inaugural season). It's interesting, the atmosphere is great, but ultimately the level of play is appalling.

On the other hand, the Premier League does relatively well on tv here. With most cable/satellite providers, you can watch every match live, and you can stream them all live as well. Several networks have been involved in televising PL rights over the last few years, and the value of those tv rights deals continues to soar. Every city in America has pubs that are overflowing on Saturday and Sunday mornings for early PL kickoffs. In my experience those crowds are a good mix of ex-pats and locals who are just crazy for the game.

The US national team has managed to tap into mainstream support the last few world cups. Bars fill up hours before kickoff, cities host large public viewing parties, attracting tens of thousands of fans, and results can lead the news.

[Dispence]

Here in the D.C. area there is probably the largest Latino population in the whole US.

What?!?! I love the diversity in DC, but largest Latino population?!?!

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._cities_with_large_Hispanic_populations

[Dispence]

I've been following Arsenal in the EPL for about 15 years. I have many friends from North London, so I kind of inherited their team. It used to be unbelievably difficult to follow and I used to watch dodgy streams online. NBC Sports now has some of the best EPL coverage in the world. I can watch EVERY game on TV at home. We actually have better coverage than they do in the UK, much to the chagrin of my mates... I actually never miss a game. I can even watch on my phone if I can't be at home.

The World Cup is amazing, but there is nothing like following a club team. I was able to go the the WC in the US in 94 and France in 98. The sport is growing everyday. The MLS is kind of a joke league to me, but when people from the US watch REAL football, they get it...

I wouldn't be surprised if Soccer/football leap-frogged one of the top 3 sports in the next generation. The growing latino population, along with the growth among native sports fans - not to mention it's growth among kids, could make it one of our biggest sports in 20 years.

I also want to mention, as the sport becomes more popular, more kids will want to play soccer instead of the top 3 sports. In a generation or 2 we could be contenders for the World Cup. Imagine the best strong safety or point guard playing soccer instead of American football, or basketball. We'd kill it!

[wabashcr]

I've been following Arsenal in the EPL for about 15 years.

Same here. My dad spent some time in London in the 70s and went to several matches at Highbury. So even though we couldn't watch them when I was growing up, once the internet and Fox Sports World came along, there was never any question who we'd support. Of course it helped that this coincided with Wenger coming to the club. I played soccer all the way through college, so I was definitely attracted to their style of play. I follow the Arsenal as closely as I do any team in an American sport. The only matches I ever miss league matches on Mondays and the occasional midweek cup tie. I usually take the afternoon off work for their CL matches. It's crazy how easy it is to follow a club half a world away. Would be nice if they'd commit to a meaningful preseason American tour like literally every other relevant European club has.

[KRunch61]

I'd rather watch girls' softball! I can't understand how a sport that penalizes a player FOR USING HIS HANDS (!) can be so popular. There's not nearly enough scoring (let alone shots-on-goal). Sorry, just an ol' fart who was raised on baseball, basketball, and football!

[Habanos2000]

Having 50% Bavarian blood in my veins, I'm a huge FC Bayern fan and find the German Bundesliga very entertaining. While I love soccer overall, most MLS games are difficult for me to watch. The level of sportsmanship compared to Europe is clearly evident. Fortunately that tide is changing and I'm convinced that once the US gets the caliber of players Europe enjoys, more fans will climb on the bandwagon.

Fox Sports is picking up the Bundesliga games starting the next season and that should also help with spreading the joy of the beautiful game.

[Habanos2000]

Nice!!! Cheer on the fussballgott for me!!

[Stanislaw]

oh HELL YES

[joeypots]

I think a whole generation of baby boomers played some soccer, some played a lot. It seems to me to be a marginally popular US team sport, well behind the big 4. I don't know why this is, many reasons, but people are dedicated to the teams in their area and already have the 4 seasons covered. Don't get me wrong, when soccer is good it's great. Women's as well. (any one remember US-Japan?) May be if the kids keep playing, and I think they will because football is increasingly perceived as dangerous. the market for the game will eventually increase.

[JMacSr]

I love, love European soccer especially BPL and SerieA. Not too many friends that follow it most Americans either love it or hate it for some reason. I'll put it on in the bar and get some haters. I follow passionately AS Roma and Chelsea. Not a fan of MLS though just can't seem to get into it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DrunkenMonkey]

MLS I find hard to care about. I like watching both national teams whenever I can though, and I'm really excited to watch the U.S. women's team start another World Cup, playing against Australia on Sunday. I can see getting into MLS at some point, it just hasn't happened yet for me. What I always love is the international tournaments, World Cup, Euro cup, CONCACAF, whatever.

[LLC]

53,000 at the opener of the Woman's World Cup in Edmonton, Canada. Canada 1-0 vs China. Games will be played in various cities across the country but unfortunately none in Toronto so I won't see any live. I think I heard over 900,000 tickets for the tournament had been sold before it even started.

[nonameno]

never heard of it!

[poorman]

Soccer?

Really?

As enjoyable/interesting as looking at Ken's bare feet.

[Isotonic]

Rob... curious to see how you determined that soccer is now No. 3 sport in Australia.

Are you referring to attendances? TV ratings? TV rights revenue? Participation?

My understanding is soccer really only leads AFL and NRL in one aspect and that is participation. And that is largely due to children. The other two leave the A League for dead in every other way. Cricket would probably have greater TV audiences and revenue with CA and BBL combined.

But your point is very relevant... The soccer monster is growing at a rate of knots. Surely this is down to overly cautious mums not wanting to see their precious little angels hurt playing AFL and Rugby/League.