Pragidealist Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Quick question. Who doesn't agree that soccer is growing in popularity in the U.S.? I'm simply arguing that it has a long way to go before its thought of as a major professional sport. Some of that is due to the fact Soccer wasn't invented by us and we have a complex as a Nation when it comes to that sort of thing. Secondly the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA are are pinnacles of their respective sports. I have a hard time watching MLS when I know from firsthand experience that the EPL and the South American leagues have way more talent and better quality play. MLS has to address this if it wants to complete with the other pro sports leagues in America. I think soccer may already be as large as some of those when you count in EPL followers. Its a hard metric to measure when you are talking international vs domestic leagues. What other sport has that problem? As for as the quality of MLS vs EPL- its obviously not there yet. The question is where does it have to be to get local following? Is it good enough for that? People follow college sports all the time and many enjoy it more that pros for a variety of reasons. I don't think there is a point blank rejection because its not the best in the world. I think the problem has been that previously it just wasn't good enough and then the problem is that is can be difficult getting invested in teams that aren't local and don't have good name recognition. The name recognition is something it seems to be doing well on. The expansion of teams should help some with that.. So then its about quality.. .a purely subjective judgement that can vary per team and per game. I think its an up hill battle. My dad is a big EPL fan but getting him into MLS is an up hill battle. I know a lot of soccer fans that just haven't invested in MLS yet. I think that movement is something the World Cup helps (especially with so many MLS players starting) but I have no idea how large an impact it will have. Another struggle for the MLS is developing a community of followers. I can talk Titans with just about anyone I meet. I can come on here and talk Titans. Talking MLS is much harder. There are forums but getting into a forum is as much about community as it is the team. There are lots of hurdles . My point is it is those hurdles that are more interesting and relevant for the growth of the sport than if I can convince a few ppl I know that soccer is cool to begin with. I think MLS and soccer in the US can take huge strides toward the main stream just by getting current soccer fans into the MLS. Getting the casual fan (imo) is something to be worried about later. There are more low hanging fruit that I think are more relevant and powerful to be concerned with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschool Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Good post Prag. Not much to argue with there. I think ABC did a much better job promoting MLS during the broadcast of this year's World Cup. You'll be happy to know I strongly considered watching the Seattle Portaldn match last night but said screw it when I saw it didn't start until 10 pm edt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamalisms Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 People love college football as well as the NFL. There's a place for non-pinnacle of their sport leagues... but that's a big barrier for the MLS. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschool Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Good point about college football and basketball.Those leagues are unique in sports in that people identify with Institutions and then convince themselves they are watching amateurs. I'm not a huge college football fan to be honest. I only watch to check out the pro prospects or if there is a great match up on. Pro Sports have a different connotation to them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
reo Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 The biggest problem w/ soccer for the mainstream in the US is attention span required imo. Baseball was in it's heyday during the radio era. It's the easiest sport to get a clear picture of via an announcer's play by play. TV came out and people realize just how damn boring it really is. Basketball is a great high energy sport but honestly you don't really have to watch it that close for 90% of the game. Keep an eye on it and as long as it's close, focus in on the last few mins. Football is a straight up made for TV sport. Do your own thing half the time. Drink. Whatever.. then pay attention every 10s or so for a play. Soccer? Look away and you could miss something. Exaggerated point but you get what I mean. That being said, soccer is definitely growing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 If I was given a choice of watching Toronto FC or the Vols take on the Gators , I'd cut up some orange slices, put some gel in the hair, and watch some FC yo! Soccer's pretty boring but it's not college football level boring. At least i wouldn't think so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamalisms Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Allegedly the Whitecaps are the Canadian team worth your attention, not Toronto's team. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I'm a homer and a sucker for punishmnent. Toronto FC is right up my alley. The support in Toronto has been impressive given how terrible they are. At one time they sold out the 20 000 seater they have regularly. Not sure how they do now but the Dafoe signing was big news. They have a cult following that is fervent. MLS is way bigger than the CFL in these parts. Toronto is very ethnic which helps I'm sure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pragidealist Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Toronto is actually quite good now with several new players and a new Gm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.