Soccer being more popular among the population of the USA

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?

you're confusing the issue too much. The fact is that soccer is a popular sport among millenials and immigrant families. In the past, soccer was hampered by a lack of coverage. Nowadays all the major leagues are easy to watch live either on tv or streaming, and kids know who the major teams and players are. MLS may not appeal to you at the moment due to lack of money, but that will change. The MLS isn't the only league out there and the European and Mexican leagues do provide the riches that you state are the reason American kids gravitate towards other sports. As I stated before, there are already several Americans playing at top level in Europe and Mexico.
 
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?
This all of this, people always say the soccer lack a native based, when early 19th century league collapse didn't help, the issue is unlike gridiron Football or Basketball, Football Soccer never got that college support till much late when those two were already titans, heck people say lack a feeder league, college can become that one with regional college conference being those and being the main key a far different MLS in an alternate timeline.
 
I think most Europeans when they think about what US soccer should be is not MLS but a divisional system just like PL.
 
you're confusing the issue too much. The fact is that soccer is a popular sport among millenials and immigrant families. In the past, soccer was hampered by a lack of coverage. Nowadays all the major leagues are easy to watch live either on tv or streaming, and kids know who the major teams and players are. MLS may not appeal to you at the moment due to lack of money, but that will change. The MLS isn't the only league out there and the European and Mexican leagues do provide the riches that you state are the reason American kids gravitate towards other sports. As I stated before, there are already several Americans playing at top level in Europe and Mexico.

Things may well change in the future but right here and right now it isn't an important sport in the US. Even the European and Mexican league games aren't getting the numbers MLB and NBA games do in the US. The numbers simply don't support your statements. It may change in the future but it simply isn't making the money the big three are and it isn't even close. Until the MLS is gets at least NHL numbers it isn't going to be much.

Until AMERICAN teams get a lot of attention it will be second tier. People follow teams from their country the most and not just in the US. It may change but until MLS gets at least NHL numbers it will be considered a second tier sport in this country.
 
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I think most Europeans when they think about what US soccer should be is not MLS but a divisional system just like PL.

This isn't Europe, people want to watch only the best. Nobody will care about the lower tiers, only the top tier will count. Baseball has something similar with its farm system but no cares about the minor league teams outside the nowhere places they are located, only MLB teams count.
 
This isn't Europe, people want to watch only the best. Nobody will care about the lower tiers, only the top tier will count. Baseball has something similar with its farm system but no cares about the minor league teams outside the nowhere places they are located, only MLB teams count.

And yet the minor league teams are televised. I have seen kids leagues on ESPN America
 
I guess it's coming more and more with younger generations. Also, to make soccer even more popular in the USA:

*Games played 2x30 effectively
*Timeouts and powerbreaks (television timeouts)
*Stadiums with only sitting spectators

A lot of fans in European countries would hate a lot of these changes, and there the "conflict" begins. European countries are hesitant to let companies from the USA sponsor too much of soccer events.
 
I guess it's coming more and more with younger generations. Also, to make soccer even more popular in the USA:

*Games played 2x30 effectively
*Timeouts and powerbreaks (television timeouts)
*Stadiums with only sitting spectators

A lot of fans in European countries would hate a lot of these changes, and there the "conflict" begins. European countries are hesitant to let companies from the USA sponsor too much of soccer events.

It is certainly becoming more popular but that wasn't my point. My point is that it isn't there yet. Give it at least a decade or two.
 
I guess it's coming more and more with younger generations. Also, to make soccer even more popular in the USA:

*Games played 2x30 effectively
*Timeouts and powerbreaks (television timeouts)
*Stadiums with only sitting spectators

A lot of fans in European countries would hate a lot of these changes, and there the "conflict" begins. European countries are hesitant to let companies from the USA sponsor too much of soccer events.
I want to keep the lenght, so maybe three 25 minutes with 3-5 minutes breaks? that keep the 90 minutes more or less.

Stop the Clock when very serious fault or injury and with that add something soccer need...Chanlleged and mandatory automatic replay, after what happened yesterday and two weeks ago that is a must plus add that tension of the challenges.
 
I guess it's coming more and more with younger generations. Also, to make soccer even more popular in the USA:

*Games played 2x30 effectively
*Timeouts and powerbreaks (television timeouts)
*Stadiums with only sitting spectators

A lot of fans in European countries would hate a lot of these changes, and there the "conflict" begins. European countries are hesitant to let companies from the USA sponsor too much of soccer events.

Not sure about these.

Baseball has no clock, American football is 60 minutes, and NBA basketball 48 minutes. I don't think the fact that soccer is 90 minutes hurts the game, especially since it can actually be played within 2 hours. Speaking of which:

A lot of fans tell me they like soccer because it doesn't have the endless timeouts that characterize other American sports (and make a 60-minute American football game take 3.5 hours). Those breaks are just an excuse for television to insert commercials. Fans aren't demanding them.

Also, many sports stadiums in the USA have areas where people stand all game (such as the student sections of college stadiums). I'm not sure why that would need to be forbidden.
 
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@funnyhat yeah but the main issue was that, Football-Soccer never got that cultural quote as was fumbled away of sucess because internal issues(the death of that league from the National League owner was a tragedy, have been sucessful that would make Football-Soccer as old and venerable as baseball, maybe baseball club would evolved into multisports one like the europeans ones?) so tha tis the main reason, is coming but without an early POD it will not be a phenomenon till the future.
 
Not sure about these.

Baseball has no clock, American football is 60 minutes, and NBA basketball 48 minutes. I don't think the fact that soccer is 90 minutes hurts the game, especially since it can actually be played within 2 hours. Speaking of which:

A lot of fans tell me they like soccer because it doesn't have the endless timeouts that characterize other American sports (and make a 60-minute American football game take 3.5 hours). Those breaks are just an excuse for television to insert commercials. Fans aren't demanding them.

Also, many sports stadiums in the USA have areas where people stand all game (such as the student sections of college stadiums). I'm not sure why that would need to be forbidden.

Without breaks for commercials I doubt that the TV networks would be as willing to broadcast the games as the big 3. Even if it gets better ratings the lack of commercials= less revenue. Unless televised the league will never get off the ground. For practical business reasons he is right.
 
Read the history of Ameican soccer. It was popular up until the Depression. There were two competing leagues that fell apart due to mismanagement. I think the US team even made the semifinals at the World Cup around this time. Even after world war 2 there were still some native followers that helped found AYSO in the 60s (or 70s), which directly contributed to its current popularity.

I blame FIFA.

OTL "Soccer" is growing quite large in the US right. I'm Irish, and yet I'm finding the MLS enjoyable to follow now that it's entered the "MLS 3.0 era" as it's referred to.

MLS 1.0 was the 90s era of the MLS, when the MLS tried to build off the World Cup being hosted in Atlanta in 1994. It was a very amateur era for the MLS.
MLS 2.0 began roughly in the 00s when David Beckham was signed to the LA Galaxy, kick starting the "designated player" era of the MLS, where the clubs were allowed make one major signing outside of the limits normally enforced by the league on wages. This era would be the era of much better infrastructure being introduced into the league, and star international players joining MLS teams for short spells.

We're now in MLS 3.0
MLS 3.0 is this wonderful new era of the MLS, where the teams are now highly professional, well staffed, and have awesome facilities and stadiums. What the MLS has discovered through it's history is that a proper stadium really makes a massive difference to potential fans, and it's now essentially a requirement for any team joining the MLS to have a large, modern stadium that's SPECIFICALLY built for soccer/football, and not shared with other sports, as was often down in the early days.

MLS 3.0 is noted for having better players and more support than ever before, particularly teams such as Orlando SC (owned in part by none other than a returning David Beckham), the Portland Timbers, and the newly founded Atlanta United, who in their very first game had an incredible attendance of 50,000 people (the 3rd highest attended football/soccer match that week anywhere in the world).

The MLS enjoys high popularity with middle class millennials who do not have long standing ties to NFL teams, and Hispanic communities, who continue to grow quite large in numerous states across the US. What I've been hearing in many cases, now that the MLS is quite professional, many young people who are new to an area love to get behind expansion teams that begin in their new home, as it helps them integrate into the community. So for example I'm hearing anecdotically Atlanta United has huge support amongst those who now live in ATL, but were not born in the city.

But besides the rapidly growing success of the MLS, I've been noting now for many years as a European the growing interest Americans have in the US men's national team. Again, soccer seems to quite appeal to young demographics, as I witnessed during the lass world cup via the internet. I was blown away by the support the USMNT had on the internet, particularly the support for goalkeeper Tim Howard. What I observed is that Americans seemed really, really intrigued by the international competition provided by the World Cup, which typically they don't get with domestic sports such as the NFL. They really liked the concept of an American team going up against the likes of England, France, Germany etc. It was a new, thrilling experience for them.

New Media really, really seem to open their eyes up to soccer/football in a way where old media might be reluctant to. New media, especially during the World Cup, brought a lot of raw excitement about the USMNT, whereas I sense old media is reluctant to be as unabashed about it.

Personally I'm very curious about the cultural/anthropological effect of soccer/football on American culture in the next 20 years. In particular I'm SUPER curious about Atlanta United. The fact that ATL UTD is so popular already in the South, which once upon a time (and still is) would be been very, very steeped in American football, is so interesting. ATL UTD is owned by Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcon, and United share the Falcon team colours, which is rare and wonder moment of unity in American sports. My personal view is that if the MLS can plant a team as popular as ATL UTD seems in the south, they can do it anywhere in America.

I personally will be monitoring American responses to World Cup 2018 with intensity, because I really do feel the combination of the internet and the MLS' growing professionalism has really opened the door to success in the States.

Obligitory Mapfre stadium shilling.

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

It owns Canada?
 
Without breaks for commercials I doubt that the TV networks would be as willing to broadcast the games as the big 3. Even if it gets better ratings the lack of commercials= less revenue. Unless televised the league will never get off the ground. For practical business reasons he is right.

Soccer is currently broadcast all over the world, and television rights fees can be huge. The English Premier League has a TV contract worth about 10 billion pounds. Advertisers get their chance to air before the match, at halftime and after. This seems to work out for them.

The American professional leagues simply did not have the courage to stand up to the TV networks. They've bent over backwards to fill the broadcast time with commercials. They seem to regard their own fans as pigeons.

American football is a great sport but television breaks up the rhythm of the game way too much (touchdown, commercial break, kickoff, commercial break...) and makes games take too long. You can play 80 minutes of rugby and 90 minutes in soccer in under 2 hours, but need 3.5 hours to watch an American football game, because McDonald's gets to run the same commercial 17 times during the game.
 
I guess it's coming more and more with younger generations. Also, to make soccer even more popular in the USA:

*Games played 2x30 effectively
*Timeouts and powerbreaks (television timeouts)
*Stadiums with only sitting spectators

A lot of fans in European countries would hate a lot of these changes, and there the "conflict" begins. European countries are hesitant to let companies from the USA sponsor too much of soccer events.

About not standing: US also have no fan culture like the rest of the world as I have seen when i watched NHL-games(NY rangers have "You suck" and "Lets go rangers" but no more. Supporters for Swedish teams have 4-5 different songs to choose from)
 
Soccer is currently broadcast all over the world, and television rights fees can be huge. The English Premier League has a TV contract worth about 10 billion pounds. Advertisers get their chance to air before the match, at halftime and after. This seems to work out for them.

The American professional leagues simply did not have the courage to stand up to the TV networks. They've bent over backwards to fill the broadcast time with commercials. They seem to regard their own fans as pigeons.

American football is a great sport but television breaks up the rhythm of the game way too much (touchdown, commercial break, kickoff, commercial break...) and makes games take too long. You can play 80 minutes of rugby and 90 minutes in soccer in under 2 hours, but need 3.5 hours to watch an American football game, because McDonald's gets to run the same commercial 17 times during the game.

Whatever the case is that is what they have to compete with, they will have to play by those rules or not get on the air. You don't get to dictate the terms when you are the #5 sport.
 
It owns Canada?

That has 1/9 the population of the US. If Soccer becomes the number 4 sport in the US it is almost certainly going to be number four when comparing the popularity of the combined population. Canada is outweighed by a factor of nine so would be capable of preventing it from becoming the number four sport for only a short time if it gains that much popularity in the US.
 
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I guess it's coming more and more with younger generations. Also, to make soccer even more popular in the USA:

*Games played 2x30 effectively
*Timeouts and powerbreaks (television timeouts)
*Stadiums with only sitting spectators

A lot of fans in European countries would hate a lot of these changes, and there the "conflict" begins. European countries are hesitant to let companies from the USA sponsor too much of soccer events.
And that is the answer to the question no one ever asked : How do you think the most powerful sports association would change the century-old fundamental rules of the most popular sport in the world, in order to accommodate to the tastes of a country that is irrelevant for them?
 
And that is the answer to the question no one ever asked : How do you think the most powerful sports association would change the century-old fundamental rules of the most popular sport in the world, in order to accommodate to the tastes of a country that is irrelevant for them?

Does it need to? My guess is that the US starts its own league and doesn't give a damn what the rest of the world thinks.
 
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