Soccer's Next Great Arrival is Predicted

The thing is - I think soccer HAS arrived. I mean the US team is a regular at the World Cup, famous Euros are playing out their careers in the MLS and some solid American players are gaining notice in European leagues. Pretty amazing. So it isn't the NFL, MLB or the NBA - the thing is, at this point in their development, the NFL, MLB and the NBA couldn't hold a candle to their present day incarnations either.

 

I disagree completely.

MLS' goal was always to be able to fill NFL stadiums, and it hasn't come close to achieving that with any consistency.

And yay, they reach the World Cup. Only after beating a bunch of tiny countries smaller than Alabama! And when they get to the World Cup, do they win? Maybe once in a while, but usually not. Wake me - wake ALL Americans - when they win it all!

And it's a sport for wimps. In no other sport do you ever see anyone hit the floor or field unless they've been punched in the face. Soccer players are out of shape, and would get their asses kicked against every single NBA/MLB/NFL player.

Look at the ratings and attendance for MLS. The fact that MLS doesn't get massive ratings or massive crowds show that the sport of soccer in America is completely dead. We've heard about its imminent arrival, and it has been found wanting. Yeah, kids play it, but then they move on to real sports. Except the wimps.

Obama is a socialist. Sarah Palin for President.

 

This has certainly taken a pleasant turn. Good morning to you too.

 

This may be one of the most ignorant posts in the history of this board. MLS's goal was never to fill NFL stadiums. It was to fill 15-20K venues, which is why that's what has been built and fills regularly. It's attendance is on par with NBA, NHL and most MLB teams.

As for soccer players being out of shape, not even worth a comment.

As for soccer being for pussies and full of floppers, well basketball does pretty well in this country and it's the biggest pussy team sport on the planet.

 

You could have fooled me based on headline and first few paragraphs:

U.S. Expects Soccer’s Rise if It Hosts Cup in 2022
By JERÉ LONGMAN

Interest in soccer has grown considerably in the United States since it hosted the 1994 World Cup. Major League Soccer is on solid footing, having just completed its 15th season of competition. And American television viewership for the quadrennial World Cup final now outdraws the average audience for the World Series.

Another significant lift will come Thursday if the United States is awarded the 2022 World Cup over Australia, Japan, Qatar and South Korea. On the same day, FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, will also award the 2018 World Cup to a European bidder among England, Russia, Portugal/Spain, and Belgium/the Netherlands.

“I think it would change the sport here over the next 12 years,” said Sunil Gulati, president of the United States Soccer Federation and the 2022 bid committee. “What happened last summer, with the World Cup being a water-cooler moment, we can build on that. We won’t be the N.F.L., but we would have a long run-up to build the game. A lot of cities want to be part of it.

 

No. We've just decided en masse to ignore trolls.

 

Soccer has made it, at least for a month every four years. The jury on MLS is still out. Sellouts are still rare in the league, even in the soccer-specific (a.k.a. small) stadia several teams have had built for them. Profits are hard to come by. It's on a more solid footing 15 years in than the NASL was, but success for the league, rather than the sport, will be when the stadia are full and teams begin adding seats.

 

Considering Piotr's previous posts on this thread, I'm pretty sure this particular rant was dripping with blue font.

 

So you can copy and paste, but you can't read, apparently. Can't have it all, I guess.

 

I'm not noticing this big wave of people showing up to tell me I'm wrong.

 

Soccer may forever be a niche sport in America, but to say its popularity hasn't grown immensely over the past two decades would be completely ignorant.

We've had a national team competing at the international level for barely two decades. The existing professional soccer league is 15 years old. In the last decade, the U.S. has had quite a bit of international success, from its quarterfinal appearance in 2002 to its success at the 2009 Confederations Cup. There are Americans playing at the top levels of club soccer, from the EPL to Liga to the SPL and the top league in France. MLS, which teetered on the brink of collapse for most of its first decade, is now in the process of expanding to 20 teams and has contracts with two of the game's most recognizable international stars, even if both are in the twilight of their careers. I'd wager that there are more Americans following the top European soccer leagues than ever before, and EA's FIFA series has been one of its most successful sports video games. And I believe I remember reading that Americans bought more World Cup tickets than any other nation for the 2010 games.

The fundamental problems still remain -- our best athletes won't ever play soccer, and our development stages are flip-flopped from the way the rest of the world does it. But hosting the 2022 World Cup would be huge for American soccer. There's no denying that.

 

Are you sure about that?

Every MLS team began playing in an NFL or College Football stadium. The Columbus Crew built the first soccer specific stadium which opened in their (and the League's) 4th season. (And that was only because they were basically thrown out of Ohio Stadium due to renovations & because the had a billionaire owner.)

It was another four years before the 2nd soccer specific stadium opened, the Home Depot Center, in LA.

Now, it's turned out to be a great thing for MLS to have these stadiums. They're bettered suited to the size of their crowds and, instead of being tenants paying rent, they control the revenues and can sell naming rights & fully integrated sponsorships.

But, I think it's a stretch to say that their goal was to attract 15,000-20,000 instead of 50,000-75,000.

In its heyday, the NASL filled NFL stadiums. With the World Cup, another generation of kids having grown up playing soccer, and greater immigration from soccer mad nations, I believe the goal was to fill the big stadiums.

And, with its small TV revenue, stadium revenue is vital.