Futbol in the U.S.

Of course with the 2006 World Cup going on, the question of "why isn't soccer popular in the United States" is asked again and again and again. And now it's my turn...

It's not that soccer doesn't exist in the U.S. Many people claim that more U.S. children play soccer than do little league baseball (I've seen this stat mentioned a lot but haven't seen a valid source for it yet). But at some point, our attention turns to the NFL, MBA, and NBA.

The first answer the usual American sports fan gives is, "Soccer is boring! Any game that ends 0-0 is a boring game!" I definitely think the lack of goals takes away from some excitement, but is soccer really that much more boring than baseball? Soccer is 90 minutes of non-stop play. Does baseball even have 90 minutes of actual action in a 3-hour game?

I think the issue is a little deeper than this.

If you look at the NFL, MBA, and NBA, it is often about individual champions. I'm not saying that an individual can win a game, these are all team sports. But in baseball, people go to games just to see the 4 at bats that Bonds will take (well maybe not anymore, but still...). In the NFL, we put so much attention on the quarterback (and if it's not the quarterback, it's the runningback, and if it's not the runningback...). And I personally think that basketball is the ultimate in celebrating the individual star. But take a look at the NHL - which doesn't do quite as well in the U.S.. Sure you have your stars, but the star might only play for 1/3rd of the game. Maybe this is part of the reason the NHL isn't as big as the other sports in the U.S. I think soccer is similar - just because you have a superstar on your team doesn't guarantee that you'll get to see that person shine in any given game.

Another thing about the NFL, NBA, and MBA is that it's easy to know when to pay attention. In soccer (or the NHL), a goal can happen at any time, requiring constant attention or you might miss the game's (possibly only) highlight. In the NFL, if all you want to see is your team's offense, you can tune out of half of the game. In the MBA, the offense/defense split is explicit, and you know exactly when your hero is going up to the plate. And while the NBA is less scripted, you know that if you miss the 1st or 2nd quarter, you're still guaranteed to see some points in the rest of the game.

Perhaps a final issue with soccer in the U.S. doesn't involve fans but does involve money and corporations. When else on TV can you watch 45 minutes without being interrupted by an advertisement (the only thing that comes to mind for me is a Presidential Address)? What incentive do television channels have to put on these 2 hour programs when they can't pull down major ad revenue? And if there's no money for the TV companies, will it ever really catch on in the mainstream media? One twist in this scenario: with all the television companies freaking out about people no longer watching television ads because of Tivo, soccer may provide the perfect opportunity to really perfect the in-program advertising idea.

As for me - well, I'm just bummed that the U.S. World Cup team kicks off their journey on a Monday while I'm at work.