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Interesting opinion on soccer's future in the US.

On the otherhand look at where MLS was in 1996 and where it is now....not to mention FIFA not long ago acknowleged we have the #1 grass roots program...

College is not going to make soccer players for the most part in this country....Dempsey is the only big star that comes to mind who is a college graduate....

Drozz said:
But those tournaments have been around a long time.....I played in the Muscatine tournament back in 96 and 97 and it was the same way then....just packed.....When we traveled to places like KC or Texas or Arizona, you would have a hard time getting hotels because there were so many teams.....

Yes youth soccer is getting bigger, but its been pretty big for a while now....We start losing kids come high school time, where different parts of the country play club soccer and high school at different times, and then college, we lose even more players because a lot of kids just aren't cracked up for the academic side of college....
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Huskers57 said:
want to make a wager on this?
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It all depends on what your definition of a popular sport? If we are going strictly off ratings, here's what recent ratings have been for the major sports in the US:

NFL - averaged 17.5 million last year per game

NBA -1.863 million/game on ESPN, 2.498 million/game on TNT, and ABC averaged 5.4 million over 15 games (not including playoffs)
- http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/201...drops-on-espn-but-net-has-second-best-season/
- http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2012/04/2011-12-nba-regular-season-viewership/

NHL - Averaged 1.57 million/broadcast on NBC during the regular season, and Versus averaged 332,000....for the playoffs all networks are averaging 1.06 million
- http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/201...iewership-down-on-nbc-and-nbc-sports-network/

MLB - hard to gauge with so much being shown on regional networks, but they are up 20% on average, while National broadcasts on Fox are all down
-
- http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/201...set-record-on-msg-flyers-double-phils-sixers/

MLS - Hard to gauge, but everything i've read says 100k viewers is a good showing on NBC
- http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mls-nbc-sports-doing-good-not-historic-tv-173000489.html


On top of that, you have Nascar drawing around a 3.5 rating every week, including 5.716 million viewers this last Sunday night......hell, even the Nationwide Series draws 2.0 ratings for minor league racing....
You also have golf http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2012/05/golf-update-final-round-at-quail-hollow-up-28/


Aside from TV ratings, its pretty hard to judge popularity amongst these, as some are obviously easier than other to play as an unorganized sport.....For organized participation, soccer has already probably been the most popular for a while now when you include all the youth teams starting at age 4.....but its not even close as far as viewership.....
 



My point and has been throughout this thread was that MLS was giving away their product for FREE in 2006....not anymore....ALSO the league is only 16 years old and the growth has been amazing....just look at the state of the art stadiums....

To compare that against leagues that have been in place for 80-100 years is not a fair comparison....so really what you have tried to compare is not valid....

I will say it again go look at the growth of the league and the new stadiums tell you pretty much all you need to know....

From giving away a product on TV six years ago to two nice TV contracts in 2012.....

You are comparing apples and oranges and ignoring the point I have been trying to make....

MLS is growing in leaps and bounds and soccer in the USA has grown from pretty much college kids representing the USMNT in 1990 to one of the better teams in the world in 2012....its all there staring you in the face....

The future is very bright for the sport...



Drozz said:
It all depends on what your definition of a popular sport? If we are going strictly off ratings, here's what recent ratings have been for the major sports in the US:

NFL - averaged 17.5 million last year per game

NBA -1.863 million/game on ESPN, 2.498 million/game on TNT, and ABC averaged 5.4 million over 15 games (not including playoffs)
- http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/201...drops-on-espn-but-net-has-second-best-season/
- http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2012/04/2011-12-nba-regular-season-viewership/

NHL - Averaged 1.57 million/broadcast on NBC during the regular season, and Versus averaged 332,000....for the playoffs all networks are averaging 1.06 million
- http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/201...iewership-down-on-nbc-and-nbc-sports-network/

MLB - hard to gauge with so much being shown on regional networks, but they are up 20% on average, while National broadcasts on Fox are all down
-
- http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/201...set-record-on-msg-flyers-double-phils-sixers/

MLS - Hard to gauge, but everything i've read says 100k viewers is a good showing on NBC
- http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mls-nbc-sports-doing-good-not-historic-tv-173000489.html


On top of that, you have Nascar drawing around a 3.5 rating every week, including 5.716 million viewers this last Sunday night......hell, even the Nationwide Series draws 2.0 ratings for minor league racing....
You also have golf http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2012/05/golf-update-final-round-at-quail-hollow-up-28/


Aside from TV ratings, its pretty hard to judge popularity amongst these, as some are obviously easier than other to play as an unorganized sport.....For organized participation, soccer has already probably been the most popular for a while now when you include all the youth teams starting at age 4.....but its not even close as far as viewership.....
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I could not disagree with you more....you really need to learn the sport more before making comments like this....I expect to see it in my lifetime...



mjw11 said:
I dont see the US winning a World Cup in my great great great grand kids lifetime
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Red Reign said:
My pet peeve again.....'the MLS'.....I see allot of people say this....'The Major League Soccer'...it works with 'the NFL', 'the NBA' 'the NHL"......not so with 'the MLS' or 'the MLB'....

TV ratings are getting better every season....the league is only 16 years old....they gave the product away for free 6 years ago....not anymore....got big $$ in the scheme of things from NBC...so yeah people are watching on TV......NBC and ESPN do not give $$ away.....my only gripe to them is show a few games that don't involve LA or NY and somewhat less Philly.....

Other countries for the most part like, Holland, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France, Italy and yeah even England have only one major sport....so your point about other countries is not valid......and if you look at the talent we have coming up in the USA soccer is starting to get a decent share of the kids who play sports....

How many foreign players play in the NFL? I bet you could count them on one hand.....the NFL is just not that popular except in the USA and Canada....it tanked with their league in Europe....now the NHL would have been a better example.....

The US players that do play overseas do so for the $$ and not all of our best players are over their....Donovan, Beckerman, Gill and Shea come to mind....once MLS is fully realized and can pay the $$ the American players will stay in the USA....or once the European Leagues go bankrupt as they are trying real hard to do....the financial side of the game in Europe is a HUGE mess...not so in MLS....

Yeah like too many people think Mike Bradley only played for the USMNT because of his dad....or that Kyle Beckerman isn't good enough.....sadly wrong in both cases.....

With the influx of hispanic kids etc the game is growing and growing fast and its just a matter of time before it moves up....

Your last paragraph is the sterotypical answer you hear all of the time....and its wrong....go and look at the stadiums that are being built in MLS....that in itself is a tell-tale sign that anyone who understands the sport would relaize how its growing....and the USA is starting to jump on the bandwagon....its not a matter of if we win a world cup its a matter of when....
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Since we're talking about pet peeves now..... A Lot.....not allot....not even alot.....a lot....two words


And you sure do get butt-hurt when someone has a different opinion than you.....Since you mention Bradley again (in just about every soccer thread on this board btw), just for the record, I never said he was only on the team because of his dad.....but it is a fact that Bob made it known if you were riding the bench for you club team, than your chances of playing for the MNT were slim, but there was Mikey riding the bench for Aston Villa, yet starting in the Gold Cup....there were quite a few people who questioned that, with good reason.....And I still think Beckerman isn't MNT quality, irregardless what you say....nice MLS player? sure....great guy? if you say so.....Top midfielder for our country, not even close

But again, water under the bridge....Bradley got a good gig, and he's developed light years from where he was...good for him....I hope he can continue to help the MNT


As far as nice stadiums, you're right, we're building some nice ones....and like I said, the cities that have teams are showing up for the games....good for them and MLS.....it doesn't mean the sport is going to outgrow any of the top sports in the country, which was the original topic.....I know soccer is growing...I understand that....I see they have nice contracts for TV, but that doesn't mean people are watching.....and no matter how you slice it, 100,000 people watching a nationally televised 16 years after the league was created, isn't much compared to the millions the other sports are getting
 




Actually I have no problem with other folks opinions...Dotsee, 4ever, Porkchop etc. etc etc....we get along fine and have a great discourse...and have for the past 4-5 years...and we laugh and tease alot....then again they understand the game and have a keen eye for talent....

Bradley you were his worst critic on this board and were vocal about it.....and you were wrong and still won't admit it....

You do realize why Bradley was not playing at Aston Villa right? I'll be glad to tell you why if you would like....then again you should already know....

And he has developed light years since he left Aston Villia??....LOL....now thats rich....just admit it you were wrong....the only one questioning Mike Bradley was the Bob Bradley hating club....anyone who understands soccer knew why he was on the USMNT from the start....you are the only person on this forum who doesn't get that....and that is a fact....the other guys had it figured from day one....the guy is a stud....amazing how hatred for a coach will blind people towards the talent his son has...

Then again you were the guy who was all for Castillo, Orazaco-Fiscal and Bunbury too....when I tried to tell you and as did others.....heck Bunbury is not even starting for KC this year...go figure....

Beckerman your wrong about then and still are...best holding midfielder in MLS....and just watch the games weekly and hear what the announcers from other teams say about him....they do not agree with you either...

Based on your batting record of who should play and not play for the USMNT, I'll take what you say with a grain of salt because your wrong more than your right and its all on the pages of this forum to look at....-....and my advice again to you is start watching the leagues on a weekly basis....its pretty obvious you don't do that....your slamming of Bradley is a prime example....

Bottom line is your opinions are welcome even if we disagree....the banter I have with other folks is fine and we get along fine and learn from each other....Dotsee is the Bundasliga/USMNT expert....knows his stuff....Pork is a huge Chelsea/USMNT fan and knows his stuff too....4ever is involved in the game from his sons team to USMNT to MLS to soccer in Europe....knows his stuff too......as does HnC....and I could go on and on we have some great folks on here....)....have tons of respect for these guys and have learned from them and they know I do as I tell them all the time.....:)

Oh and thanks for the grammer lesson....:) My wife often reminds me of such stuff....so I appreciate it.....:)

I actually like you and the spirit you bring to the board....so no disrespect intended or given....peace...:)



Drozz said:
Since we're talking about pet peeves now..... A Lot.....not allot....not even alot.....a lot....two words


And you sure do get butt-hurt when someone has a different opinion than you.....Since you mention Bradley again (in just about every soccer thread on this board btw), just for the record, I never said he was only on the team because of his dad.....but it is a fact that Bob made it known if you were riding the bench for you club team, than your chances of playing for the MNT were slim, but there was Mikey riding the bench for Aston Villa, yet starting in the Gold Cup....there were quite a few people who questioned that, with good reason.....And I still think Beckerman isn't MNT quality, irregardless what you say....nice MLS player? sure....great guy? if you say so.....Top midfielder for our country, not even close

But again, water under the bridge....Bradley got a good gig, and he's developed light years from where he was...good for him....I hope he can continue to help the MNT


As far as nice stadiums, you're right, we're building some nice ones....and like I said, the cities that have teams are showing up for the games....good for them and MLS.....it doesn't mean the sport is going to outgrow any of the top sports in the country, which was the original topic.....I know soccer is growing...I understand that....I see they have nice contracts for TV, but that doesn't mean people are watching.....and no matter how you slice it, 100,000 people watching a nationally televised 16 years after the league was created, isn't much compared to the millions the other sports are getting
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Red Reign said:
And you base this opinion on what?
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Seeing how good the teams are that win the Cup and seeing the US team ....they are not close...now if we had our best athletes playing the game then sure we could be in the discussion but we dont and I think its pretty arrogant (not you) to think that our second tier athletes would be able to beat the best of the Spain's, Brazil's etc.
 
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Closer than you think....we made it to the Qtr Final in 2002 and had a horrible call not been made we would have moved onto the Semi Finals that year...

You have to also understand the team that will represent us in 2014 will be a much different makeup than that of 2010 (as it will be for other countries) and also that we have some very good youth players coming up through the ranks like Luis Gil....now I'm not saying we will win it in 2014 just that the future is bright for the USMNT....



mjw11 said:
Seeing how good the teams are that win the Cup and seeing the US team ....they are not close
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You are asking very good questions....keep doing so....great to see you somewhat onboard this thing we call football (soccer)

mjw11 said:
fair enough ...you know more about the game than i do
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