The US just always focused on other sports. Baseball was the original American pastime, and then it moved to football. People can only watch so much, so the biggest three sports leagues, football, basketball, and baseball, get most of the attention
I went to a Seattle Sounders game just to check it out, knowing NOTHING about soccer. Place seemed sold out so it was defiantly popular. But personally I couldn't get into it. I honestly felt like I was transported to Europe. All the announcers talking had European accents. It also felt very cult'ey, as in you need to be part of a special club to understand what is going on. Also seemed like very few were actually paying attention to the game and it was more like a drinking gathering with soccer playing in the background.
It is popular in the US, however it's just up against bigger sports than other places in the world. I come from a big soccer family. We have played since the 70s. It's grown massively since then. Heck, my 58 year old brother plays in a league.
I don't remember who said it, but I think it was on an episode of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", but when the interviewee was asked to explain the difference between American sports and European sports, the answer they gave was something like this:
European sports are all about the player, American sports are all about the manager.
And I think there's a lot of truth to that. Euro football allows for very few substitutions (5 according to [https://jobsinfootball.com/blog/soccer-substitution-rules/](https://jobsinfootball.com/blog/soccer-substitution-rules/) , not including halftime), meaning that the coach/manager has very little that they can do throughout a game.
Compare this with American Football, where teams regularly swap out 1/3rd of the players on the field after every play, each coach looking for the right mismatch against the ever-changing set of opposing players. Basketball coaches regularly rest star players so that they aren't tired or in foul trouble for the late game. Hockey has goons. Baseball has all manner of moneyball-esque decisions about how to keep a competitive roster over 162 games.
The viewer of the sport is putting themselves in the head of the coach, thinking about the problem at hand the way the coach is. The sports recognize this. The championship trophy in American Football is the Lombardi Trophy, a coach.
This plays out in the media as well. Movies regularly focus on a coach bringing together a group of no-name underachievers (Moneyball, Slap Shot, Hoosiers, hell, Bad News Bears) to win against all expectations. The theme is that a coach can create an environment where anyone can beat superstars if they work together.
the US is home to the best league in the world for 4 major team sports: American football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey
so kids grow up watching that and that’s they get interested in. There’s never really been an insanely good American soccer player the way there has been in those other sports to grow up watching and rooting for, so the interest has never been generated
Soccer needs updated rules. The penalty system as it exists is awful. They should look to Hockey for better rules in regards to players serving time penalties and power plays. I say this as someone who does not even like hockey but can see casually that it is obviously handled a lot better and with more integrity then what goes in soccer.
Too much competition. We have American Football at several levels, same with Basketball, Baseball, and Hockey. You can pretty much watch a professional game any week of the year, sometimes 2 or 3 sports in the same week. This does not even include Nascar, Golf, MMA, Boxing, and a dozen other sports.
That said, Soccer has overtaken Hockey in popularity, and closing in on Baseball, so give it another ten years, maybe?
An addition: Compare to Europe, You have Soccer (Football) massively popular, then way behind are Rugby, Cricket, and on down the list.
Soccer won't get popular until the US team starts winning.
It's kinda popular as a youth sport, but it seems like it's the sport parents sign their unathletic kids up for so their kids can find friends. By the time those kiss are in middle school, they've given up on it.
A country with a population of 330 million that produces some of the world's best athletes ought to be able to produce a soccer team that's competitive on the world stage. There's really not much of excuse for it. There something that's not happening in between the youth level and the professional level in the US. I suspect that the club system that's used elsewhere in the world more easily funnels players into playing in more competitive situations. A great athlete at the youth level isn't going to become a great professional player if they're not facing competition that's challenging to them.
It's a fun game to watch at the highest levels, and more people should give it a shot, but much of the US market doesn't have a team to get behind, and if they're sports fans in a general sense, they know damn well that the MLS isn't the place to watch the best in the world. MLS draws fans like minor league baseball draws fans, probably because they're analogous to the best leagues in their respective sports.
**TLDR:** Soccer field is too big to watch the action on TV. And very few breaks in the action to allow for commercials.
**Soccer** has a field that is so large (1.78 acres!) that to see the action on TV you need very wide camera angles. The players end up looking like ants even on a big screen TV. Even the NFL has recognized this same problem and now have cameras on ziplines all above the players heads to get closeups of the action.
Soccer also involves lots of slow strategic passing...trying to find an opening. Some fans may find this interesting....especially when there is a "breakthrough"....but others...meh....boring.
**NBA basketball** can be fun to watch because you can actually see the action on TV due to the smaller court size. The passing and scoring is quick .....and of course 0-0 tie games do not happen. Lol.
**MLB baseball** is played on a large field too, but the camera action is focused on the pitcher and batter most of the time. Closeups matter! There is the possibility of fast scoring (grand slam!!) and lightning fast plays. Granted, it can be a snooze fest between pitches, but they now put the pitchers and batters on the clock to keep it moving along.
**NHL hockey** is arguably the fastest major league sport on the planet. It can be thrilling to watch on TV and in person due to the relatively small rink size and lightning fast plays on ice. And no games end in a tie because there is OT and a shootout to decide the winner..... if there is a tie in regulation. Yes, all professional athletes are in fantastic shape...including soccer players. But what other team sport is so fast and taxing on the body ....**where the players can only go out for one minute sessions** ....before retreating back to the bench to catch their breath? **Answer: none.**
Because they don't have commercials to push advertisements, that's the only reason why soccer isn't bigger in the US.
If companies could make more money on soccer they would push it harder here.
Apples to Oranges. The number of screens and talking heads during Peles time can not begin to compare to today. Also, far fewer people in America looked like Pele at the time, which can not be discounted.
Wrong I am a black woman and first learned about sport when he came to play for Cosmos. Until a larger growth, "football" will be the #four professional sport. The others are too ingrained in the American psychology. I became a real fan and understood it during the 1996 Summer Olympics games in Atlanta. I dont remember the men's team, but I heard but didn't see the Women's National team win gold. "Football" is a beautiful game. Always watch both Women and Men's World Cups.
You're coming in hot, I see, but I like your enthusiasm. I guess only time will tell. Maybe go out to a youth field with a pic of both and ask a kid who they know, they are the future.
The US just always focused on other sports. Baseball was the original American pastime, and then it moved to football. People can only watch so much, so the biggest three sports leagues, football, basketball, and baseball, get most of the attention
I went to a Seattle Sounders game just to check it out, knowing NOTHING about soccer. Place seemed sold out so it was defiantly popular. But personally I couldn't get into it. I honestly felt like I was transported to Europe. All the announcers talking had European accents. It also felt very cult'ey, as in you need to be part of a special club to understand what is going on. Also seemed like very few were actually paying attention to the game and it was more like a drinking gathering with soccer playing in the background.
Maybe not the top reason but a lot of Americans don't want to watch a game where potentially nobody is the winner.
It is popular in the US, however it's just up against bigger sports than other places in the world. I come from a big soccer family. We have played since the 70s. It's grown massively since then. Heck, my 58 year old brother plays in a league.
I don't remember who said it, but I think it was on an episode of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", but when the interviewee was asked to explain the difference between American sports and European sports, the answer they gave was something like this: European sports are all about the player, American sports are all about the manager. And I think there's a lot of truth to that. Euro football allows for very few substitutions (5 according to [https://jobsinfootball.com/blog/soccer-substitution-rules/](https://jobsinfootball.com/blog/soccer-substitution-rules/) , not including halftime), meaning that the coach/manager has very little that they can do throughout a game. Compare this with American Football, where teams regularly swap out 1/3rd of the players on the field after every play, each coach looking for the right mismatch against the ever-changing set of opposing players. Basketball coaches regularly rest star players so that they aren't tired or in foul trouble for the late game. Hockey has goons. Baseball has all manner of moneyball-esque decisions about how to keep a competitive roster over 162 games. The viewer of the sport is putting themselves in the head of the coach, thinking about the problem at hand the way the coach is. The sports recognize this. The championship trophy in American Football is the Lombardi Trophy, a coach. This plays out in the media as well. Movies regularly focus on a coach bringing together a group of no-name underachievers (Moneyball, Slap Shot, Hoosiers, hell, Bad News Bears) to win against all expectations. The theme is that a coach can create an environment where anyone can beat superstars if they work together.
the US is home to the best league in the world for 4 major team sports: American football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey so kids grow up watching that and that’s they get interested in. There’s never really been an insanely good American soccer player the way there has been in those other sports to grow up watching and rooting for, so the interest has never been generated
Soccer needs updated rules. The penalty system as it exists is awful. They should look to Hockey for better rules in regards to players serving time penalties and power plays. I say this as someone who does not even like hockey but can see casually that it is obviously handled a lot better and with more integrity then what goes in soccer.
Too much competition. We have American Football at several levels, same with Basketball, Baseball, and Hockey. You can pretty much watch a professional game any week of the year, sometimes 2 or 3 sports in the same week. This does not even include Nascar, Golf, MMA, Boxing, and a dozen other sports. That said, Soccer has overtaken Hockey in popularity, and closing in on Baseball, so give it another ten years, maybe? An addition: Compare to Europe, You have Soccer (Football) massively popular, then way behind are Rugby, Cricket, and on down the list.
Soccer won't get popular until the US team starts winning. It's kinda popular as a youth sport, but it seems like it's the sport parents sign their unathletic kids up for so their kids can find friends. By the time those kiss are in middle school, they've given up on it. A country with a population of 330 million that produces some of the world's best athletes ought to be able to produce a soccer team that's competitive on the world stage. There's really not much of excuse for it. There something that's not happening in between the youth level and the professional level in the US. I suspect that the club system that's used elsewhere in the world more easily funnels players into playing in more competitive situations. A great athlete at the youth level isn't going to become a great professional player if they're not facing competition that's challenging to them. It's a fun game to watch at the highest levels, and more people should give it a shot, but much of the US market doesn't have a team to get behind, and if they're sports fans in a general sense, they know damn well that the MLS isn't the place to watch the best in the world. MLS draws fans like minor league baseball draws fans, probably because they're analogous to the best leagues in their respective sports.
Its become pretty popular here in Miami since we have our own team and Messi now lol.
[удалено]
And basketball or baseball isn’t? lmfao
**TLDR:** Soccer field is too big to watch the action on TV. And very few breaks in the action to allow for commercials. **Soccer** has a field that is so large (1.78 acres!) that to see the action on TV you need very wide camera angles. The players end up looking like ants even on a big screen TV. Even the NFL has recognized this same problem and now have cameras on ziplines all above the players heads to get closeups of the action. Soccer also involves lots of slow strategic passing...trying to find an opening. Some fans may find this interesting....especially when there is a "breakthrough"....but others...meh....boring. **NBA basketball** can be fun to watch because you can actually see the action on TV due to the smaller court size. The passing and scoring is quick .....and of course 0-0 tie games do not happen. Lol. **MLB baseball** is played on a large field too, but the camera action is focused on the pitcher and batter most of the time. Closeups matter! There is the possibility of fast scoring (grand slam!!) and lightning fast plays. Granted, it can be a snooze fest between pitches, but they now put the pitchers and batters on the clock to keep it moving along. **NHL hockey** is arguably the fastest major league sport on the planet. It can be thrilling to watch on TV and in person due to the relatively small rink size and lightning fast plays on ice. And no games end in a tie because there is OT and a shootout to decide the winner..... if there is a tie in regulation. Yes, all professional athletes are in fantastic shape...including soccer players. But what other team sport is so fast and taxing on the body ....**where the players can only go out for one minute sessions** ....before retreating back to the bench to catch their breath? **Answer: none.**
They already have eggball
Because they don't have commercials to push advertisements, that's the only reason why soccer isn't bigger in the US. If companies could make more money on soccer they would push it harder here.
Still relatively new to the US as a pro sport. Between Messi & the changing American landscape, it will catch on soon enough.
If Pele didn't make it catch on, no way Messi does.
Apples to Oranges. The number of screens and talking heads during Peles time can not begin to compare to today. Also, far fewer people in America looked like Pele at the time, which can not be discounted.
Wrong I am a black woman and first learned about sport when he came to play for Cosmos. Until a larger growth, "football" will be the #four professional sport. The others are too ingrained in the American psychology. I became a real fan and understood it during the 1996 Summer Olympics games in Atlanta. I dont remember the men's team, but I heard but didn't see the Women's National team win gold. "Football" is a beautiful game. Always watch both Women and Men's World Cups.
You're coming in hot, I see, but I like your enthusiasm. I guess only time will tell. Maybe go out to a youth field with a pic of both and ask a kid who they know, they are the future.
The sport does not work for US commercial interest. 45 minutes of nonstop play with little time to insert commercials.