Good article on soccer in USA

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Greaves357_bestever

Greaves357_bestever

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...s-for-soccer-and-every-bit-as-passionate.html

Which fans were the most passionate - why Spurs of course
'We're the yids in America', like it.

So pleased soccer is making big strides in the States. I've been wanting that to happen for decades and now it's happening. Best wishes to all proper soccer fans out there, especially ours :thumbup:

Yes, even the ones I've got on ignore :)

Well it is the season of goodwill and all that.
 
Joe Clash said:
No chance - not with the "Beckham rule" in place anyway.
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Always baffled me why they have that. Why would a league openly limit the number of top quality players it can have?

America tends not to like any sport it doesn't win. Hopefully they'll remain mediocre, for purely selfish reasons.
 
Jayc1 said:
Always baffled me why they have that. Why would a league openly limit the number of top quality players it can have?

America tends not to like any sport it doesn't win. Hopefully they'll remain mediocre, for purely selfish reasons.
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Would it be top quality players or players at the end of thier careers like Beckham whos milking it for his own promotion?
 
From my perspective, living in a mid-sized city in the great flyover between NY and LA, football is a niche spectator sport here. It's primarily viewed as a way for kids to get exercise. It's probably not that way everywhere in the US, and it is certainly more popular in immigrant communities. But, in my city (about 2.5 million people in the metropolitan area), there is exactly one bar that shows club football. During the WC, interest always spikes, especially if the WC is in the western hemisphere and the matches are at good viewing times. But, normally, there are very few people with whom I can talk football. For that reason, I am quite thankful for this forum, and I presume that's why there are so many folks on here are from the US. There should be no fear that the US is going to start poaching the top players in the world.
 
Greaves357_bestever said:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...s-for-soccer-and-every-bit-as-passionate.html

Which fans were the most passionate - why Spurs of course
'We're the yids in America', like it.

So pleased soccer is making big strides in the States. I've been wanting that to happen for decades and now it's happening. Best wishes to all proper soccer fans out there, especially ours :thumbup:

Yes, even the ones I've got on ignore :)

Well it is the season of goodwill and all that.
Click to expand...

You don't strike me as passionate - you strike me as a miserable old goat who is always moaning about our passionate fans, but one who is is happy to share in the reflected glory - hence your initial comments about the timing of the Burnley game. Please don't pretend you give a shit about our fans.
 
SoCalSpurs said:
Sooner or later it will happen
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Maybe. But, there have been constant predictions that soccer was going to become the next big thing in the US since at least the early '70's. The NY Cosmos were supposed to take over the world. I remember when the WC was here in 1994, everyone thought football would surpass hockey and maybe even basketball in popularity as a spectator sport. I've been patiently waiting for 20 years.
 
Joe Clash Joe Clash

Me personally? No I'm broke as a joke.

But seriously though, I say that because MLS is just continuing to grow. It's only been around for 20 years and already is something like the 8th most popular league in the world. It's the second most popular sport of people between the ages of 18-25 or something like that.* There is also a vast resource of untapped talent. Youth Soccer is HUGE is America but it fizzles out it seems after the age of 13. Combine the popularity of the sport mixed with the growing discontent with American Football and its injuries, it could be huge. And then once the corporations realize there can potentially be big money to be made that is when you'll see the billionaires come out under their rockstar dump money into the league. It might not be for 40 years, but it will happen sooner or later.

Doing shit like making up a team like New York Citeh Football Club is taking a step in the wrong direction if you ask me.

*There are sources to back up those stats but I'm on my phone so I won't look for them.
 
SoCalSpurs said:
Sooner or later it will happen
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In Europe and Latin America football is boss - your world cup stars are being flogged off to England for £2 million quid. America has tried to join the world party for the last 40 odd years, and it will never work out because of the popularity of other sports in the US.

December's MLS Cup final - the championship match of the league - was watched by 1.9 million television viewers in the US. During the 2014 MLS campaign, the games broadcast nationally in the US on ESPN and ESPN2 drew an average audience of 240,000 viewers.
While television audiences are up significantly from 2013, they are still miniscule in the US sporting television landscape. In 2014, the NFL's Super Bowl drew an audience of 112 million, college basketball's national championship 21.2 million, and the final game of baseball's World Series 16.2 million.

This is not to say that America and American players won't have an impact on world football, that has already happened, but to suggest that MLS will become the top league in world football anytime soon is a big claim.
 
Joe Clash said:
In Europe and Latin America football is boss - your world cup stars are being flogged off to England for £2 million quid. America has tried to join the world party for the last 40 odd years, and it will never work out because of the popularity of other sports in the US.

December's MLS Cup final - the championship match of the league - was watched by 1.9 million television viewers in the US. During the 2014 MLS campaign, the games broadcast nationally in the US on ESPN and ESPN2 drew an average audience of 240,000 viewers.
While television audiences are up significantly from 2013, they are still miniscule in the US sporting television landscape. In 2014, the NFL's Super Bowl drew an audience of 112 million, college basketball's national championship 21.2 million, and the final game of baseball's World Series 16.2 million.
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You're comparing the Super Bowl and World Cup to the MLS final?

One can't argue that MLS and the sport as a whole is getting more and more popular. Sooner or later big money will flow through it like every other sport.

America has seen a decline of viewership in basketball and hockey and an incline in soccer.
 
Baffles me how people can say football won't become big in America. Anything that can make money or that's remotely capitalist gets abused and conquered, eventually.

What do you need for a top league? Money.

What does America love? Money.

You don't need history. You don't need top stadiums. You don't need fantastic fans. You need high wages and big transfers.

All it takes is a few rule changes, a few more million viewers and players would flock there.."I've always supported LA Galaxy since I was a kid, they're one of the biggest clubs in the world" said a 33 year old Messi, after signing a 5 year contract, worth £25 mil.
 
SoCalSpurs said:
You're comparing the Super Bowl and World Cup to the MLS final?

One can't argue that MLS and the sport as a whole is getting more and more popular. Sooner or later big money will flow through it like every other sport.

America has seen a decline of viewership in basketball and hockey and an incline in soccer.
Click to expand...
MLS represents domestic American football/soccer - that is the league you think will be poaching the world's best players - I disagree. For the top players to play in MLS, first you have to remove the Beckham Rule, and secondly you have to raise the profile of the league to a status that has not been even remotely achieved in its short lifetime. I find that your initial statement - "It will happen eventually" smacks of arrogance and ignorance.
 
Joe Clash said:
MLS represents domestic American football/soccer - that is the league you think will be poaching the world's best players - I disagree. For the top players to play in MLS, first you have to remove the Beckham Rule, and secondly you have to raise the profile of the league to a status that has not been even remotely achieved in its short lifetime. I find that your initial statement - "It will happen eventually" smacks of arrogance and ignorance.
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The Backham rule can be changed tomorrow. You mention it like its an 11th commandment.

If stats didn't show popularity of soccer in America is on the rise. Pretty much what Jay said, popularity equates to big business, big business equates to money spent, money spent equates to top players in the world to bring in TV and ticket revenue.

It might be arrogance sure. I see nothing wrong with that. To be honest, I find it ignorant that you can't grasp that it could happen.

Like I said, sooner or later. It could be 20 years from now or 50 years from now. But I believe it will happen. Agree to disagree.
 
Joe Clash said:
MLS represents domestic American football/soccer - that is the league you think will be poaching the world's best players - I disagree. For the top players to play in MLS, first you have to remove the Beckham Rule, and secondly you have to raise the profile of the league to a status that has not been even remotely achieved in its short lifetime. I find that your initial statement - "It will happen eventually" smacks of arrogance and ignorance.
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I don't think anyone is saying the MLS will be the best any time soon; obviously not.

But just look at some of the players that have moved there. Beckham, one of the most famous footballers to have ever lived, going to LA Galaxy was huge for the sport over there and the quality of players is gradually improving. Defoe could have moved to many Premier League clubs and been a success; instead he went to the MLS. Quality is going up, money invested in the sport is going up, viewing figures are going up.

Meanwhile the quality in the premier league is in free fall, the stadiums are absolutely shit, fans are becoming priced out of the game and feel players have no connection to their club. When was the last time several English Clubs were competing in the latter stages of the Champions League? Hard to believe that the final was once two English clubs against each other. The future of the Premier League doesn't look all that great (despite record amounts of money being poured in) which will leave a big gap.

Great leagues come and go. Just look at Italy.
 
Greaves357_bestever said:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...s-for-soccer-and-every-bit-as-passionate.html

Which fans were the most passionate - why Spurs of course
'We're the yids in America', like it.

So pleased soccer is making big strides in the States. I've been wanting that to happen for decades and now it's happening. Best wishes to all proper soccer fans out there, especially ours :thumbup:

Yes, even the ones I've got on ignore :)

Well it is the season of goodwill and all that.
Click to expand...
The USA nation team will be a footbaling force sometime in the future Im sure. Whereas domestically they will always struggle. IMO. ?
 
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