Professional Sports on the Rise and Fall

[ajzepp]

Being played only once every four years has something to do with that, don't you think? There's certainly a "novelty" about the World Cup because it is so infrequent -- just like the Olympics. I never watch track and field, but every four years I find myself watching a freaking hammer throw because it's the Olympics.

 

I'm sure it has something to do with it, though I don't think the last few Olympics have exactly been ratings champs.

[KRT88]

blah, blah, blah. The field fairies have been saying this for 30+ years. If it was gaining so much popularity, football, baseball, and all other sports would have been out of business long ago. Soccer is just a brutal sport to sit and watch either on tv or even live. Sure it's great for your saturday morning kid thing to help your child stay in shape, but please, the pro and even higher level amateur levels are just boring.

 

 

I disagree10,000% is the boring statement. If you watch a game with passion fans or even better attend one with the fanatics then you get hooked. Back at the 94' world cup, sitting with the Dutch fans in DC hooked me. Those people were insane. My buddy and I were the only people in the entire section not wearing orange and they created such a fun atmosphere, singing and drinking and yelling.

 

Soccer will never be one of the big 4, but it is growing in popularity and it offers a nice secondary option, for those of us you think the NBA is as exciting as folding socks. Could anyone actually hit a open 15 foot jumpo shot? Sorry can't practice that skill, it won't be on sportscenter.

[ajzepp]

Soccer will never be one of the big 4, but it is growing in popularity and it offers a nice secondary option, for those of us you think the NBA is as exciting as folding socks. Could anyone actually hit a open 15 foot jumpo shot? Sorry can't practice that skill, it won't be on sportscenter.

 

My problem with the NBA is that fouling is a part of the damn game plan. Ever since the advent of the "hack-a-shack", I've gradually lost interest in the game. The fact that you can basically have one of your players dedicated to fouling the hell out of the other team's best player is asinine to me. I also think there are too many teams that make the playoffs, to the point where you have teams with losing records in there from time to time. Regular season games in the NBA are almost meaningless. At least in baseball you only have four teams from each league making the post-season, so every one of the 162 games can be viewed as important.

[Chandler#81]

Have you ever played soccer? At what level? You are very very wrong about it being popular because it accessible. It is very difficult to watch soccer in North America. It is not accessible. I watch it for exactly the reason's you mentioned....beauty, strategy and entertainment.

 

I grew up playing Hockey, still play. Can't sit through 10 minutes of hockey.

 

I purchase the 600 range on DTV -all the nations' 'Empire' type local sports. There are always 4-5 soccer games on at any time. Not that I watch any of them. If you really like the sport, it's available. -Also on many Mexican/Latino networks.

[ajzepp]

I purchase the 600 range on DTV -all the nations' 'Empire' type local sports. There are always 4-5 soccer games on at any time. Not that I watch any of them. If you really like the sport, it's available. -Also on many Mexican/Latino networks.

 

Yep, you could watch soccer all damn day on DTV if you were so inclined....DTV rocks!

[PTS]

blah, blah, blah. The field fairies have been saying this for 30+ years. If it was gaining so much popularity, football, baseball, and all other sports would have been out of business long ago. Soccer is just a brutal sport to sit and watch either on tv or even live. Sure it's great for your saturday morning kid thing to help your child stay in shape, but please, the pro and even higher level amateur levels are just boring.

Blah blah blah to your argument. The fact of the matter is soccer is bigger here than it was 30 years ago, it's bigger than it was five years ago and it will be even bigger five years from now. If you don't think so, you're just being ignorant. Now that doesn't mean soccer will continue to grow at the expense of other sports. It doesn't have to be a Top 4 sport to be successful. Some might say it's already being successful.

 

The problem with soccer in the past was what I'll call the Americanizing of soccer. It's already a beautiful game but people here tried to tinker with it and its rules to appease the American masses. It failed big time because they only alienated the sport's real fans ... which by the way marketing companies now say are one of the best groups, along with hockey fans, to spend advertising dollars on.

 

Thankfully, the MLS and US Soccer Federation are doing things the right way now. It has been an uphill battle but since starting the league post World Cup 94, the league is just inches away from profitability. In fact, I believe just about every team with a soccer specific stadium turned profits last year. Within the next two seasons, I believe every team in the league will have their own dedicated stadium which helps financially and on TV.

 

I could go on and on with all the great things that happened to soccer in the USA over the past 10 years. Like I said before, it doesn't have to be a Top 4 sport to be widely successful here, although I imagine one day it might be considered a Top 5 sport.

[Bmwolf21]

I've been hearing how soccer is on the rise in the states for 25 years. The fact is it will never reach anywhere close to the popularityit has in Europe. It's a sport that is played by millions of kids in the states throughout school but that's where it ends. Baseball has been on the decline for years and now hockey's having problems but I still love it.

I don't know about TV ratings, but attendance figures point to baseball's growth, not decline. With the exception of two recession years in '02 and '03 attendance has been steadily climbing from the 90s to today(see chart halfway down page); they set an attendance record last year and are on pace to break that record again this year. Minor league baseball has set attendance records in each of the last four years.

[Lurker]

Like I said before, it doesn't have to be a Top 4 sport to be widely successful here, although I imagine one day it might be considered a Top 5 sport.

If the NHL--the #4 pro sport (discounting NASCAR, for the moment)--gets a 1% share of national TV viewers, would something south of that for soccer be considered a success?

 

Promo, I agree with your inclusion of lacross in the increasing popularity category.

 

Sadly, I'd put golf in the decreasing category, as the number of people playing the game is declining from the intitial wave of Tiger-mania. In a high speed world, the time contraints of a 'good walk, spoiled' are getting harder to justify, both in terms of playing and viewing.

[Hardy Pyle]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/molinaro/2...s_get_ahea.html

[Mike32282]

Soccer is stupid. The only reason our kiddies are playing it is because- with the exception of a kick in the shins- it's safe and with such a big field, it tires the little heathens out. Any activity that strickly bans the use of our fabulously dexterious fingers is ridiculous.

 

Boring as hell. Doesn't transfer well to TV.

 

Will never suceed in America.

 

I couldn't agree more!

[Mike32282]

I am SO tired of reading "Americans don't like to watch soccer because they don't understand it." Bullschitt. There's really not a whole lot to understand. I also don't enjoy watching a televised chess match -- and it ain't because I don't understand chess or don't like to play. I played soccer from the time I was six until I went to college. I know the sport. It doesn't matter. It's just not an interesting game on TV when there are so many other options. Listen -- I LIKE the sport and it's still about the last thing I'd tune to unless it's the World Cup (and nothing else is on).

 

When will the kickball faithful just suck it up and realize soccer is "the world's most popular sport" for one reason and one reason only -- anyone (and particularly, the impoverished) can play because all you need is a ball and a field. It's that simple. It's not the greatest game ever invented -- it's the most accessible game to most of the world.

 

Are people really suggesting that a rise in the US Latino population will drive soccer popularity in this country? To the contrary, I believe those Latinos will be converted to our more popular sports as they see how much more entertaining they are to watch.

 

Soccer already IS popular in the US -- just not on TV, and it never will be. Fun to play, boring to watch (for most). Period.

 

 

Good post! I agree. Soccer may be fun to play, especially as a kid. But on TV, I'd rather watch golf and even that makes me fall asleep.

[KD in CA]

 

 

Passion?? More like a drunken insane asylum run completely amok. That make Yankee Stadium of the '70s look like a pre-school class.

 

Someone made the point that the rising Hispanic population will increase soccer popularity in the US. True of course for that segment of the country, but in English speaking America, soccer will never be more than a third tier sport. It's popular with parents because it's easy for all the kids to play and the equipment is cheap.

 

Hockey sadly, will continue to decline. The best thing for the NHL would be to ship all the southern teams to Canada. It's a regional sport and it was foolish to try to force it on the 2/3 of the US that doesn't care.

 

MMA overtaking boxing? Very sad but probably true. I for one miss the glory days of the Sweet Science.

[colin]

soccer is a niche sport in the usa.

 

it is popular overall because little kids and girls play it. the us women's team is one of the best in the world -- this is because girls don't bother to play sports in most the places where soccer is popular.

 

it might be growing, but it's not the explosive growth MMA is experiencing world wide.

 

soccer is a simple game that doesn't possess any of the traits that we tend to love in our sports. no size strength or extreme speed. no hand eye co-ordination at all, no power and explosiveness. it is very low on strategy compared to the big 4 teams sports.

 

soccer is a simple little poor person game that has sort of reached its limit. it is exactly the game you see in the UEFA championships and so on, very few chances to score, skilled players without much opportunity to make a large impact on the game, and there is no where for the game to change.

 

football is an example of the highest level of sports. it requires immense strategy, officiating and complicated rules, specialized positions and important compliments of individual player skills with one another. it also requires more dedication than any other team sport to be played on a high level. pain, injury, suffering, intimidation, speed, explosiveness, power, determination, strategy, teamwork, dedication -- these are the attributes that football and football players live by. the nfl and other levels of football have had subtle but significant changes in rules over the years. the nfl is a great mix of tradition and change.

 

hockey is down and kinda going sideways. it had a hot period but the nhl pissed away a good opportunity. imo with HD hockey could be really good on tv if they put in some of the great cameras the nfl has worked with, but it is too small potatos right now.

 

baseball has strong regional support but is fairly tapped out wrt growth.

 

basketball (while the nba has been suffering lately) is a growth sport particularly in asia.

 

soccer really is a novelty in america -- it is interesting that millions of brazillians and unwashed eurotrash get worked up over a kickball game where skinny androgynous men pass about a little ball with little or no scoring while the ref arbitrarily determines how much time the game should be played for.

[KD in CA]

soccer really is a novelty in america -- it is interesting that millions of brazillians and unwashed eurotrash get worked up over a kickball game where skinny androgynous men pass about a little ball with little or no scoring while the ref arbitrarily determines how much time the game should be played for.

 

I think this should be Darin's new signature.

[Ramius]

soccer really is a novelty in america -- it is interesting that millions of brazillians and unwashed eurotrash get worked up over a kickball game where skinny androgynous men pass about a little ball with little or no scoring while the ref arbitrarily determines how much time the game should be played for.

 

 

that sir, is !@#$ing brilliant!

[buckeyemike]

soccer is a simple little poor person game that has sort of reached its limit.

 

Class warfare, eh Colin?

[Beerstm]

Why is Hockey on the decline? I just don't get it. I love the sport. I love watching it on TV and I love going to any games.

 

Minor AHL, ECHL, NHL... I love the action.

 

I hate that ESPN does not give Hockey hardly any attention. I just don't get why Hockey is in the decline.

 

BTW... Soccer sucks.. the only reason why I think it is on the rise is all those soccer mom's signing up thier kids to play the stupid game.

[buckeyemike]

Why is Hockey on the decline? I just don't get it. I love the sport. I love watching it on TV and I love going to any games.

 

Minor AHL, ECHL, NHL... I love the action.

 

I hate that ESPN does not give Hockey hardly any attention. I just don't get why Hockey is in the decline.

 

I'm not sure hockey is on the decline. I think it's doing very well at the college level.

 

Exhibit 1-A: The University of North Dakota. I've been there. It's the biggest sport in the state, and they play in an arena that's better than several NHL buildings. The Ralph Englestad Arena in Grand Forks is a palace. I haven't been to the arena, but they were building it when I was there (my father spent nine years of his childhood in Grand Forks, so I know a lot about the town and school).

 

They regularly draw 11,000 for Fighting Sioux games. And the program has several national titles to boot.

[PromoTheRobot]

One big reason why soccer does not catch on is that the MLS, our highest level of soccer in North America, would be a sub-minor league anywhere else. There are English pub teams that could beat MLS teams. Every other pro sport in the USA represents the highest level of that game: MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL. You won't find these sports played at a high level anywhere. But soccer? Fuggetaboutit!

 

Rather than the MLS, I'd rather see 3-4 soccer teams in the USA, in New York, L.A., maybe Miami or Boston too, and have these teams play European or Latin American competition. Play the best teams, be competitive, and people will care. Otherwise your beating your meat.

 

PTR

[stuckincincy]

One big reason why soccer does not catch on is that the MLS, our highest level of soccer in North America, would be a sub-minor league anywhere else. There are English pub teams that could beat MLS teams. Every other pro sport in the USA represents the highest level of that game: MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL. You won't find these sports played at a high level anywhere. But soccer? Fuggetaboutit!

 

Rather than the MLS, I'd rather see 3-4 soccer teams in the USA, in New York, L.A., maybe Miami or Boston too, and have these teams play European or Latin American competition. Play the best teams, be competitive, and people will care. Otherwise your beating your meat.

 

PTR

 

No breaks in the action = no commercials = very little tv coverage = very little opportunity to inculcate the masses about how vital soccer is to them = no trinket sales = no demands for picking the pockets of non-fans to build free places of businesses with public funds to the benefit of owners of teams and the vicarious satisfaction of the fans who want innocents to fund their personal yucks.

 

In no particular order...