Soccer has definitely grown, but I think it took a long time for the people marketing it to get smart. For years and years the more ardent soccer fans spoke of the inevitability of it becoming the top sport here since it's so big globally. But we have a different culture, and even with increased immigration of soccer fans, I don't think it's going to become the most popular sport here.

What the MLS people finally realized is that they couldn't just throw soccer in big American football stadiums, and basically wait for people to show up. They had to start building soccer-specific venues, and adopt many of the customs of Premier League soccer. I think they've now solidified and energized their fanbase, and I agree that it will likely grow in popularity as younger fans grow up in the sport, but I'm not sure it'll become #1. I also think that (somewhat like baseball) the in-person experience is much better than the TV experience, whereas I think football and basketball (while better in person, certainly) translate a little better to TV.

(07-14-2015 07:17 PM)LR Eagle Wrote:  I would argue that the US success in the women's game owes more to a well developed collegiate soccer system in the US than college soccer owes the World Cup. In much of the world, high level amateur athletes are the province of nationalized or privately funded academies to identify and develop players. The US model of collegiate sports is fairly rare and Title IX ensured the women got a much larger piece of the pie than they would have otherwise. It's no coincidence that many of top players from the other World Cup teams were either current or former collegiate players in the US.

I believe you nailed it. I know I was struck with the number of foreign players who played soccer here collegiately. Conversely, I don't recall hearing about the affiliation with pro or club teams of players from any country, including the US.

We are now on our third attempt to establish a women's pro league in America since our World Cup win in 1999. I doubt many people could name a single franchise in that league. And with a total salary cap of $500K per team that's going to be a part time exercise for all the players. I don't see this attempt lasting more than a couple of years.

(07-14-2015 07:17 PM)gassman Wrote:  Soccer is slowly taking over the sports scene in this country. The win in the WC will do little to speed that up.

If you look at how much soccer has grown in the last 40 years in this country it's mind boggling.

No other sport has grown so much.

It will be a long time before it's number 1. I am sure I will be dead by then. But it will eventually happen. It's unstoppable.

Eventually basketball and soccer will be the two dominant sports.

NPR had a story on this today. Discussed how no professional womens soccer league has made it past 3 years and the WNBA has for almost 20. Also discussed how many more young girls play BB than soccer. But as you said that is changing.

(07-15-2015 09:12 AM)Okielite Wrote:  

(07-14-2015 07:17 PM)gassman Wrote:  Soccer is slowly taking over the sports scene in this country. The win in the WC will do little to speed that up.

If you look at how much soccer has grown in the last 40 years in this country it's mind boggling.

No other sport has grown so much.

It will be a long time before it's number 1. I am sure I will be dead by then. But it will eventually happen. It's unstoppable.

Eventually basketball and soccer will be the two dominant sports.

NPR had a story on this today. Discussed how no professional womens soccer league has made it past 3 years and the WNBA has for almost 20. Also discussed how many more young girls play BB than soccer. But as you said that is changing.

A major factor in this is that the NBA is artificially propping up the WNBA. And even so, American players must also play in overseas leagues to make a decent living at it. Some even only play overseas because WNBA salaries are so poor.

Outside of tennis and golf, it's pretty hard for more than a handful of women to make a living playing sports, even in our sports obsessed culture.

(07-15-2015 09:51 AM)ken d Wrote:  

(07-15-2015 09:12 AM)Okielite Wrote:  

(07-14-2015 07:17 PM)gassman Wrote:  Soccer is slowly taking over the sports scene in this country. The win in the WC will do little to speed that up.

If you look at how much soccer has grown in the last 40 years in this country it's mind boggling.

No other sport has grown so much.

It will be a long time before it's number 1. I am sure I will be dead by then. But it will eventually happen. It's unstoppable.

Eventually basketball and soccer will be the two dominant sports.

NPR had a story on this today. Discussed how no professional womens soccer league has made it past 3 years and the WNBA has for almost 20. Also discussed how many more young girls play BB than soccer. But as you said that is changing.

A major factor in this is that the NBA is artificially propping up the WNBA. And even so, American players must also play in overseas leagues to make a decent living at it. Some even only play overseas because WNBA salaries are so poor.

Outside of tennis and golf, it's pretty hard for more than a handful of women to make a living playing sports, even in our sports obsessed culture.

The story pointed out how women will rarely pay to watch other women compete in sports. I thought that was an interesting way to look at it.

But there are women making a living playing all kinds off sports form skiing to MMA.

(07-15-2015 09:12 AM)Okielite Wrote:  

(07-14-2015 07:17 PM)gassman Wrote:  Soccer is slowly taking over the sports scene in this country. The win in the WC will do little to speed that up.

If you look at how much soccer has grown in the last 40 years in this country it's mind boggling.

No other sport has grown so much.

It will be a long time before it's number 1. I am sure I will be dead by then. But it will eventually happen. It's unstoppable.

Eventually basketball and soccer will be the two dominant sports.

NPR had a story on this today. Discussed how no professional womens soccer league has made it past 3 years and the WNBA has for almost 20. Also discussed how many more young girls play BB than soccer. But as you said that is changing.

I didnt mean it soccer would take over for just girls. It's taking over for everything.

If the same growth pattern continues for the next 50 years soccer will take over. It's that simple.

I'm not saying this as a soccer fanatic. Basketball is my game.

Even the WNBA has experienced something of a decline, and it's largely been kept afloat by the need for programming for NBA TV.

It declined when the Houston Comets got bad, then folded.

It would be nice to see a UCSB/Cal Poly men's game nationally broadcast on ESPN. Attendance for both games last year was listed at 14,345 in Santa Barbara and then 11,075 in San Luis Obispo. Seeing that kind of packed atmosphere would be a good start.

Akron draws well. Louisville, Maryland, Creighton, New Mexico, UNC - any of those schools works too.

The story as of recently is that US Soccer is working with the NCAA to make Soccer a Fall and Spring sport, giving it a schedule that more closely models European leagues.

Ultimately, if Soccer is going to be successful in the US, fans are going to have to adapt to the European culture of the sport. MLS has done a very good job of that in recent years, and more people in the US are watching The Premier League and Bundesliga than ever before, but that is going to have to continue for a while in order for true growth to be noticed. As of right now, Soccer is still not mainstream enough in the South to succeed.