MVN - Most Valuable Network

10 Important Facts About Soccer’s U.S. Popularity

As we prepare for the kickoff to Major League Soccer’s 13th season this weekend, I thought it the perfect time to get you up to speed on the most recent data on the sport and league’s growth in popularity in the U.S. If you were reading this and did not know our MLS season kicks off this weekend, then that is all the more reason you should read this list: 10 Important Facts About Soccer’s U.S. Popularity…

1. Major League Soccer has a league-wide attendance average similar to the NBA and the NHL. The LA Galaxy - for many years the most popular MLS team by attendance - has had an attendance average higher than the NBA’s LA Lakers 3 out of the last 4 years, and higher than the LA Kings every year in this decade.

2. Soccer is watched on TV by more Americans than any other sport outside of the Big 3 major league sports, yet it is treated by most mainstream media as though it is of less interest than sports like golf, auto racing, tennis, ice hockey, etc. Again, pro soccer is watched on TV by FAR more people here in the U.S. than any of those.

3. The sports media in the mainstream are far behind the times in their omission of soccer as a major sport, and in their apparent misunderstanding in how this sport has grown here as a spectator sport.

4. Also, the entire English-speaking Latino population in the United States is being largely ignored and therefore underserved by those who choose to ignore or disregard the U.S. popularity, and the high numbers of Latinos in the U.S. Soccer is by far the most followed sport among Latinos in the U.S, and that includes print, television-watching, radio-listening, mobile and internet usage.

5. I have seen many reports linked which say they are statistical surveys or polls of ‘all sports’, and yet they omit soccer - even to the degree of not including it as an option in the poll or as research in the particular study. For example, I have seen stories about the most popular NFL jerseys in sales. These reports never mention that MLS Galaxy jerseys (and for an individual player, David Beckham), and USA national team jerseys are big sellers, and in the case of the former, they sell MORE THAN ANY NFL team or player name. Beckham’s Galaxy jersey has also been the biggest-selling of ALL adidas jerseys of ALL sports in the ENTIRE WORLD since it was first released.

6. The same problem exists when ‘most valuable sports team’ is named. Opinions differ on this, because the research criteria differs. However, the most valuable sports team in the world most years by any measure is a SOCCER team (i.e. Manchester United, owned fully by Americans), not a Major League Baseball or NFL team. FORBES and other U.S. data backs this up. Yet, when reported, the soccer teams are omitted by most.

7. We had another big USA v MEXICO match already in 2008, and here is yet another prime example of both the popularity and importance of soccer, and also of the degree to which is it ignored by far too many in the sports news media. Do you know that the TWO most-attended sporting events EVER HELD at Reliant Stadium in Houston are USA-MEXICO friendly matches - matches held in the middle of the week (Wednesdays) with no official importance of any kind ? In 2007, there were several other new regional all-time attendance records set; this included matches held at NFL venues including Phoenix Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium. The latter is expected to break that mark already this June, when Argentina visits San Diego. Also, Qwest Field, Giants Stadium, and Soldier Field are among other NFL stadiums with high soccer attendances who may set new records in 2008. All three of those have a pro soccer presence in their cities, as well. Seattle will have a new MLS franchise playing at Qwest Field, and they already have the USL Champion Sounders. Red Bull New York has their own venue under construction, and Chicago Fire’s soccer-specific Toyota Park sells out their MLS home games.

8. Of course, you all know that soccer is the top organized recreational sport in the U.S. Many of you do not know that this is a sport played by men at more colleges in the U.S. than ANY OTHER, and this has been true for at least 15 years, and it is also now true for women. There are also more NCAA teams for mens’ and women’s soccer than ANY OTHER sport, period.

9. There are millionaire MLS players now more than ever, and David Beckham is not the only big name or the only star player - although he is the most famous soccer player in the entire world. Did you know, that among Americans, he is as famous than any other athlete OF ANY TYPE in the general population; He has as much name recognition as Tiger Woods or Kobe Bryant, players who have been media superstars for MANY years. Beckham was ignored by U.S. media until last year, but many average citizens already knew all about him; he has been a star for over 10 years now. Other players so famous with soccer fans are STILL ignored by the mainstream sports media in general.

10. My last point is that since so many mainstream sports reporters are not soccer fans, the ‘big picture’ of soccer’s general popularity and interest in this country is completely missed by them. When marquee soccer matches can fill any number of huge NFL stadiums, break records for any sport held there in numerous cases, and these stories gets ignored, there is something wrong. When soccer can be available on more TV channels in one’s home than any other, and when there are more U.S. channels devoted exclusively to soccer than for any other sport, and this very important fact gets ignored by news reporting agencies and bloggers, there is something wrong. When adult players in recreational leagues, kids in school and entire families are outside enjoying this sport, and come home and don’t even have the possiblilty to get their daily dose of soccer news within the mainstream media, there is something wrong…certainly !

It is in their own best interest for mainstream media and all sports reporters to pay attention to this boom that has actually been going on for some time; it is their responsibility to inform the public, and that includes a huge number of individuals who are fans of soccer. Those millions will notice who is doing a good job of covering the sport, and conversely, those millions will not be using services of news outlets who do poorly.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 10:30 am and is filed under Soccer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.