Soccer being more popular among the population of the USA

Look at Brazil, football/soccer came in 1895 in a country with a population much smaller than in the United States and with the same size in area, was restricted to white elite until the decade of 20 and only after 1933 did it begin the professionalization. You would first have to invest in the regional tournaments, starting to found state leagues and then with the help of business, press and government and logically with improved means of transportation, national tournament. In Brazil, at the end of the decade of 10, football began to separate from tennis and cricket, which were widely practiced by the elite, and in the 20's started to reach the main population, the poorest people and especially the Blacks, which began to be accepted in several clubs, this was essential.

An interesting fact was the relationship between trade union leaders and football. Just as he had not been sympathetically received by the intellectual elite, so had the working class. The trade union leadership of the time, composed mostly of anarchists and communists, viewed sport with suspicion as a form of alienation produced by factory owners to divert the attention of the proletariat to the cause of the working class. For such leaders, football was merely an expression of the consumerist and alienating manipulation of the bourgeoisie. The relationship with the union leaders began to change from the decade of 1910, when the leaderships began to realize that they could raise members to the cause anarchist / communist through the sport. Thus, they became common events that, to publicize the working doctrine, used as a pretext matches between workers' teams. This was how in 1919 the Workers' Festival of 1919 was created, where teams formed by the workers disputed friendly among themselves.
 
This reminded me that Brazil is the only country where there are still state championships, every state has a tournament, including the Federal District.
And in all state championships there are two divisions, first and second, a few have a third division.
 
Actually had an idea how the sport could succeed, as long as they allowed players from Britain to play in the league instead of having league rules keeping players American.
 
Actually had an idea how the sport could succeed, as long as they allowed players from Britain to play in the league instead of having league rules keeping players American.
The issue seems the first league didn't liked as will damage the chance for locals, plus as the sports were no that transatlantic yet there is not that difference, when if they allow and those players can become coach-coordinator for locals would improve the level.
 
From what I was reading at the time 600 to 6,000 fans would usually attend New York Giants games. The Baltimore Orioles Football Club had reported crowds of 8,000 at several games so I think the league could survive.
 
When I was on vacation I was talking with an American tourist while he was streaming some american football game in the hotel's computer. One of the things other Argentines noticed while watching is how many time offs American Football has, and how they were used to display ads. In comparison, the sport known across most of the world as football, has very few time offs (usually only when a player gets hurt and of course the half time interval). So the American guy claimed that's why advertisers didn't like the sport known across most of the world as football: they lack the opportunities for ad placement the sports typically played in the USA have.

Is there any sense in that? You can have lower thirds with adverstiment, but I can see the argument about why a short commercial break during the game is more desirable for advertisers, as they have the full viewer's attention.
 
Global icons, yes but not US icons. Soccer players are virtually unknown in the US , few people know who they are or care. A kid in Brooklyn isn't looking to play in Barcelona, he is looking to play in Giant Stadium.

Sound like you're a shut-in or you live in the middle of bfe because it's pretty common to see kids running around with soccer jerseys on and you can catch all the major leagues live on television nowadays.
 
Sound like you're a shut-in or you live in the middle of bfe because it's pretty common to see kids running around with soccer jerseys on and you can catch all the major leagues live on television nowadays.

Nothing compared to the big three, there are reasons even the NHL makes 8 times as much money.
 
Nothing compared to the big three, there are reasons even the NHL makes 8 times as much money.

I think you're focusing too much on MLS vs soccer in America. MLS has made a conscious decision to cap salaries as not to go bankrupt as other leagues in the past have. The fact that the league is over 20 years old now and has plans to expand from its current 22 teams to 28 teams is a testament to that. Also, there are many American kids playing in Liga MX,Premier League and the Bundesliga, who have average salaries on level with the major American leagues. All three of those leagues get good coverage in the United States and serve as inspiration for American kids.
 
If you look at the 'big' sports, the ones that the USA seems to have fallen in love with (American Football, Baseball, Basketball) just happen to be the ones that . . . THEY* invented and are generally the best at !!!

From the USA perspective, the 'Big Three' have a huge entrenchment, with robust parent-supported little leagues, profitable college programs, very profitable professional leagues (major and minor), and to a certain extent, amateur leagues that one can play in, so long as one can still run around.

Americans just do not seem all that interested in sports where the best of the best is consistently some group of foreigners.
Ice Hockey is on the cusp of making it into a 'Big Four' from time to time, but will never take off since that pesky country to the north seems to always supply many of the best players.
Soccer (Association Football) is just that much less desirable.

Soccer is a victim of American particularism: "If we can't always be the best, why bother !? That's just a sissy sport for furriners."



* for purposes of this post, I am going to ignore claims that all three of these games have roots outside of the USA!
 
I think you're focusing too much on MLS vs soccer in America. MLS has made a conscious decision to cap salaries as not to go bankrupt as other leagues in the past have. The fact that the league is over 20 years old now and has plans to expand from its current 22 teams to 28 teams is a testament to that. Also, there are many American kids playing in Liga MX,Premier League and the Bundesliga, who have average salaries on level with the major American leagues. All three of those leagues get good coverage in the United States and serve as inspiration for American kids.

Yes. MLS itself remains a rather second-tier league (though its quality is gradually improving) but the sport as a whole is booming in America. Three years ago Real Madrid and Manchester United played a friendly (exhibition) at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, and drew 109,318 fans. The match sold out in one day, even though tickets were not cheap, selling for like $50-100 IIRC.
 
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If you look at the 'big' sports, the ones that the USA seems to have fallen in love with (American Football, Baseball, Basketball) just happen to be the ones that . . . THEY* invented and are generally the best at !!!

From the USA perspective, the 'Big Three' have a huge entrenchment, with robust parent-supported little leagues, profitable college programs, very profitable professional leagues (major and minor), and to a certain extent, amateur leagues that one can play in, so long as one can still run around.

Americans just do not seem all that interested in sports where the best of the best is consistently some group of foreigners.
Ice Hockey is on the cusp of making it into a 'Big Four' from time to time, but will never take off since that pesky country to the north seems to always supply many of the best players.
Soccer (Association Football) is just that much less desirable.

Soccer is a victim of American particularism: "If we can't always be the best, why bother !? That's just a sissy sport for furriners."



* for purposes of this post, I am going to ignore claims that all three of these games have roots outside of the USA!


This is largely true which I pointed out before. It isn't a coincidence that the big three are all sports that were "born" in the USA.
 
I think you're focusing too much on MLS vs soccer in America. MLS has made a conscious decision to cap salaries as not to go bankrupt as other leagues in the past have. The fact that the league is over 20 years old now and has plans to expand from its current 22 teams to 28 teams is a testament to that. Also, there are many American kids playing in Liga MX,Premier League and the Bundesliga, who have average salaries on level with the major American leagues. All three of those leagues get good coverage in the United States and serve as inspiration for American kids.

The NFL has salary caps as well, the caps are just much larger. Also salary caps don't help revenue which is what we are counting.
 
The NFL has salary caps as well, the caps are just much larger. Also salary caps don't help revenue which is what we are counting.

I think your mistake is assuming that American kids only follow the American soccer league. MLS is growing in popularity but even the most loyal fans acknowledge that it is not the highest level of the sport. You'd be surprised how much of a following the major European leagues and the Mexican league have in the USA.
 

Fenestella

Banned
Look at the athleticism, creativity, individuality, and teamwork Americans exhibit in track & field and basketball.
There would have been 10+ American winners of FIFA World Player of the Year & Ballon d'Or, 5+ American clubs as prestigious as Real, Barca, Milan, Juve, Bayern.
USA would have won the World Cup 3+ times
 
I think your mistake is assuming that American kids only follow the American soccer league. MLS is growing in popularity but even the most loyal fans acknowledge that it is not the highest level of the sport. You'd be surprised how much of a following the major European leagues and the Mexican league have in the USA.

It isn't enough, you don't see ESPN preferring to show soccer games instead of football games when both are going on at the same time. The sports channels mostly show soccer when nothing else is going on.

The broadcasting rights for MLB is $700 million a year,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_on_television NBA is $930 million https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association_on_television NFL is $5 billon a year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_on_television Hockey is $200 million a year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_National_Hockey_League_on_United_States_television MLS is only $90 million https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Soccer_on_television#2015.E2.80.932022 so less than half of hockey, a seventh of baseball, a tenth of basketball and a fiftieth of football. Both the broadcasters and the sports leagues know how popular a particular sport is and they will get pretty close on the estimates. It might change in the future but right here and now soccer's popularity is such as not to be worth much compared to the truly popular sports.
 
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It isn't enough, you don't see ESPN preferring to show soccer games instead of football games when both are going on at the same time. The sports channels mostly show soccer when nothing else is going on.

The broadcasting rights for MLB is $700 million a year,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_on_television NBA is $930 million https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association_on_television NFL is $5 billon a year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_on_television Hockey is $200 million a year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_National_Hockey_League_on_United_States_television MLS is only $90 million https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Soccer_on_television#2015.E2.80.932022 so less than half of hockey, a seventh of baseball, a tenth of basketball and a fiftieth of football. Both the broadcasters and the sports leagues know how popular a particular sport is and they will get pretty close on the estimates. It might change in the future but right here and now soccer's popularity is such as not to be worth much compared to the truly popular sports.

Again - you are focused too much on MLS, which is one soccer league out of hundreds worldwide.

Soccer has become important enough to American audiences that ESPN's ticker at the bottom of the screen now lists the scores of "Notable European League Games" when they are played, as well as UEFA Champions' League games.
 
Again - you are focused too much on MLS, which is one soccer league out of hundreds worldwide.

Soccer has become important enough to American audiences that ESPN's ticker at the bottom of the screen now lists the scores of "Notable European League Games" when they are played, as well as UEFA Champions' League games.

It is not enough, if soccer were that popular it would be featured games not tickers at the bottom of the screen. Baseball games are regularly shown, basketball games are regularly shown and football games are always shown. All three have tickers on the bottom of the screen as well. You are looking for something that isn't there.

College football and basketball are shown pretty regularly as well. When was the last time you seen a college soccer team on the air in the US?
 
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