Let's Talk About Soccer
Tomorrow is the World Cup final. Croatia, the unlikely underdog, will be playing against France, although not one of the four countries I associate with soccer (England, Brazil, Germany, and Spain) is at least not shocking to be in the final. And I will probably be watching? If I remember and get my butt in gear in the morning. Even though I definitely enjoy soccer, it is remarkably difficult, even for me, to remember to watch the most important game in four years. This begs the perennial question, why are Americans so indifferent to soccer?
When I think through it, it’s actually kind of surprising to me that so few Americans care about soccer. It’s certainly not a semi-obscure sport like lacrosse or rugby. After all, most of us millennials grew up playing soccer. Certainly I knew a lot more people growing up who played soccer than baseball. And very few kids played football. Granted, this was California, most people were swimmers and the sports people played expanded as I got older. But it’s not like children playing soccer wasn’t a widespread thing, especially in the ‘90s. Heck, “soccer moms” was a political term for a reason. Enough children play, or played soccer that their parents – were considered their own political constituency.
So there is a significant number of people who understand and/or have played soccer, and thus there is a significant potential fan base for soccer at the very least.
One argument I’ve heard against watching soccer is that it is “boring” or “slow.” And sure, it’s not the fastest paced game out there, but I’m a baseball fan. I know people who watch golf. And American football has so much stoppage time and so many commercials, it may as well be considered a slow-paced game. So objectively it cannot be a pace issue.
My personal theory is the lack of longevity. The US has a ton of professional sports that have existed for many decades. The MLS (Major League Soccer), the professional soccer league for the US, was founded in 1993. For context, the NBA was founded in 1946 and professional baseball leagues have existed since the 1870s. You can have 3rd or 4th generation Red Sox fans, but the MLS is younger than I am.
My other theory is the desire for American exceptionalism. We like to be the best, especially in sports. And the rest of the world is not only obsessed with soccer, they have tons of financial and social investment in it. The US has to effectively play catch-up with Europe and South America when it comes to soccer, rather than sit pretty on already being the best. And honestly, who doesn’t prefer things that they rock at to things that they are meh at? I certainly do.
A couple people I discussed this topic with mentioned the lack of financial incentives for soccer. There is a lot more money for an athlete in the US to focus their talents to become a baseball, basketball, or football player. So the US doesn’t grow that talent (I’ve argued the same thing about rugby – why play that in the US when you can play football?) There is also an argument that MLS isn’t promoted enough by the major broadcast networks, but Forbes reported in 2015 that domestic broadcast deals were pretty good. And I’ve absolutely seen commercials for DC United on TV.
Maybe we aren’t as indifferent to the world’s favorite sport as the media thinks. The US could be full of sleeper soccer fans waiting to burst forth, especially as viewership in American football is declining. Maybe in 20 years, when my generation’s kids are growing up, there will be second-generation soccer fans and the MLS will be a huge deal. I don’t know. But in the meantime, I will a phone alert for tomorrow morning so I can watch the World Cup final.
