MLS Tied with MLB for Popularity Amongst 12-17 Year-Olds

[TheGreatGatsby]

Where is hockey? The sport is growing in popularity. I think baseball is dropping due to the fact that kids like everything fast and instant and baseball is anything it fast and instant. I still think football, basketball, hockey and baseball beat soccer!

I don't wholeheartedly agree with all of that; but to explain why soccer is so high is due to the increased Latino population. Soccer is their main sport. Probably 80-90 percent of that 18 percent are Latino.

 

[Merchant_of_Meh]

Why do people think this sport is unmanly? That it's only fit for women and children? It's incredibly demanding on the body and on the mind. There's a reason why 30 is considered the point in which most pro players begin to decline (except for goalkeeper). As I watch all other sports, I see players going strong well into their 30s, even 40s. This is extremely rare in soccer considering the toll it takes on the body.

Is it because it's not violent enough?

Would love to see specific reasoning behind that argument.

 

[Unkotare]

You have to be in better shape to excel in soccer than any of the other major sports imo.

I don't think you can say that with any credibility. There is a different sort of "in shape" for different sports and even different positions on different sports, so that kind of comparison is all but meaningless.

You have to run for the full 90 in soccer. No other major sport comes even close to that cardiovascular level of fitness.

And marathoners run for 2.5+ hours straight. And a professional soccer player could never keep up with an NFL receiver running a route, couldn't complete one round of boxing or one line change in hockey without being so gassed they need an oxygen tank, and in a competitive swim event would be lucky to get out of the water alive. And they don't need to do any of those things because those are different sports. Hence, my remarks.

 

[Toro]

Where is hockey? The sport is growing in popularity. I think baseball is dropping due to the fact that kids like everything fast and instant and baseball is anything it fast and instant. I still think football, basketball, hockey and baseball beat soccer!

Hockey is a niche sport in America. Nationally, it doesn't rate.

 

[Toro]

I don't think you can say that with any credibility. There is a different sort of "in shape" for different sports and even different positions on different sports, so that kind of comparison is all but meaningless.

You have to run for the full 90 in soccer. No other major sport comes even close to that cardiovascular level of fitness.

And marathoners run for 2.5+ hours straight. And a professional soccer player could never keep up with an NFL receiver running a route, couldn't complete one round of boxing or one line change in hockey without being so gassed they need an oxygen tank, and in a competitive swim event would be lucky to get out of the water alive. And they don't need to do any of those things because those are different sports. Hence, my remarks.

I agree that different sports have different characteristics but I disagree with your analogies. Soccer is a sport which requires cardio, quickness and coordination.

It's funny that you mention those sports. A good friend of mine growing up was a professional football player who played WR who was also a competitive swimmer and could have played professional soccer had he chosen that route, he was that good. He didn't play hockey but everyone else did. We played hockey in the winter and soccer in the summer. All of us hockey players weren't grasping for oxygen on the soccer pitch.

Soccer isn't a violent game like football, but it is extremely taxing on the body. The reason why there is no endless overtime play until someone scores like most other sports. It's because after 120 minutes, the body is shutting down. Also, its rare to find players playing at a high level when they hit 32. Most soccer players peak around 27-28 years. There are no MVPs breaking records at 37 or 38 like Peyton Manning.

 

[rightwinger]

Where is hockey? The sport is growing in popularity. I think baseball is dropping due to the fact that kids like everything fast and instant and baseball is anything it fast and instant. I still think football, basketball, hockey and baseball beat soccer!

I don't wholeheartedly agree with all of that; but to explain why soccer is so high is due to the increased Latino population. Soccer is their main sport. Probably 80-90 percent of that 18 percent are Latino.

I agree

I think the resurgence in soccer is due to an increase in hispanics and fans from other countries

 

[Toro]

Where is hockey? The sport is growing in popularity. I think baseball is dropping due to the fact that kids like everything fast and instant and baseball is anything it fast and instant. I still think football, basketball, hockey and baseball beat soccer!

I don't wholeheartedly agree with all of that; but to explain why soccer is so high is due to the increased Latino population. Soccer is their main sport. Probably 80-90 percent of that 18 percent are Latino.

I agree

I think the resurgence in soccer is due to an increase in hispanics and fans from other countries

The average MLS fan is white and from the suburbs. When the US national men's team plays, it's mostly white people in the stands (unless they're playing Mexico!).

The knock against the sport was that it was a kids game, and when the kid grows up, he'll go into football or maybe baseball or basketball. That's still true, but less true in the past. One reason why this happened was because there was no pro league to go into. MLS is now that league. The other issue is the 6'3" athlete may go into football, but what about the 5'8" athlete? You need to be a certain size to play most pro sports, MLB excepted. In soccer, it really doesn't matter. Most of the superstar soccer players are fairly small. That's not true in other pro sports. The small American athlete now has a platform to pursue a pro career in MLS if he so chooses.

 

[Unkotare]

You need to be a certain size to play most pro sports, MLB excepted. In soccer, it really doesn't matter. Most of the superstar soccer players are fairly small. That's not true in other pro sports. The small American athlete now has a platform to pursue a pro career in MLS if he so chooses.

You realize that won't last, right? That's what they used to say about baseball and hockey, but with rare exceptions most top pros in those sports are bigger and bigger men. Just the way of the world.

 

[Unkotare]

Soccer is a sport which requires cardio, quickness and coordination. .

So do a lot of sports. They are just different sports and require different things in order to excel.

 

[Unkotare]

Soccer isn't a violent game like football, but it is extremely taxing on the body. The reason why there is no endless overtime play until someone scores like most other sports. It's because after 120 minutes, the body is shutting down. Also, its rare to find players playing at a high level when they hit 32. Most soccer players peak around 27-28 years. There are no MVPs breaking records at 37 or 38 like Peyton Manning.

Players - in certain positions - are lasting longer now for a number of reasons. An important one is that now athletes take better care of their bodies over a career.

 

[rightwinger]

Ever since Pele came to play in the US during the 70s, I have heard that there would be a resurgence of Soccer in the US. After all, the rest of the world LOVES Soccer so it is only a matter of time before the US embraces the game

It hasn't happened. I don't think it ever will

Americans hate soccer. I don't see that changing

 

[Unkotare]

Ever since Pele came to play in the US during the 70s, I have heard that there would be a resurgence of Soccer in the US. After all, the rest of the world LOVES Soccer so it is only a matter of time before the US embraces the game

It hasn't happened. I don't think it ever will

Americans hate soccer. I don't see that changing

And what Americans hate more than anything is the "everyone else loves it, so you have to be like everyone else!" attitude; be it in sports, politics, or any other area of life.

 

[rightwinger]

Ever since Pele came to play in the US during the 70s, I have heard that there would be a resurgence of Soccer in the US. After all, the rest of the world LOVES Soccer so it is only a matter of time before the US embraces the game

It hasn't happened. I don't think it ever will

Americans hate soccer. I don't see that changing

And what Americans hate more than anything is the "everyone else loves it, so you have to be like everyone else!" attitude; be it in sports, politics, or any other area of life.

Every time the World Cup comes around I convince myself that I am going to try to watch. ESPN plays Soccer highlights and I am amazed by how athletic and exciting the game is. I gotta watch this!

Then I watch the games and am bored to the point of tears. You can say that I don't understand the game, but I understand the point is to get the ball in the goal. After 90 minutes of kick the ball to one side of the field and then kick the ball to the other side of the field, I reach the point where I understand why Americans hate soccer

 

[Merchant_of_Meh]

Ever since Pele came to play in the US during the 70s, I have heard that there would be a resurgence of Soccer in the US. After all, the rest of the world LOVES Soccer so it is only a matter of time before the US embraces the game

It hasn't happened. I don't think it ever will

Americans hate soccer. I don't see that changing

Americans do not hate soccer. They never really have. At the very least, America is quite indifferent to it. That a farcry from outright hatred.

Even this indifference is beginning to wane though. FOX Sports has aired the Champions League Final, which has steadily held an average of 1.5 million US viewers over the last 4 years with the peak of those ratings coming in 2011 when the championship featured Barcelona and Manchester United, 2 of the most popular franchises in world sports. 2.2 million Americans watched that match. That's astronomical for a country who apparently "hates" the sport.

Look at the ratings for the WC 2010. It increased 40% from the 2006 tournament in the US. Outrageous for a country that "hates" the sport.

These are not mistakes, anomalies or flukes. Interest in the sport has been on a very steady increase. It will remain as such largely down to younger generations who will pass on this interest to future generations. The older generations that are indifferent to the sport are are on a rather quick road to becoming the minority.

 

[DGS49]

If your definition of "in shape" is limited to the ability to run all day, then maybe so. (Basketball and tennis fans may give you an argument).

But considering strength, flexibility, and athleticism, the top players in football, basketball, and baseball all make the soccer guys look pathetic.

How many pro soccer players could bench press 250 lbs? Now many could dunk a basketball?

Seriously, what do you think?

 

[Merchant_of_Meh]

Ever since Pele came to play in the US during the 70s, I have heard that there would be a resurgence of Soccer in the US. After all, the rest of the world LOVES Soccer so it is only a matter of time before the US embraces the game

It hasn't happened. I don't think it ever will

Americans hate soccer. I don't see that changing

And what Americans hate more than anything is the "everyone else loves it, so you have to be like everyone else!" attitude; be it in sports, politics, or any other area of life.

I personally no longer subscribe to the "The rest of world likes it, so America should too" bandwagon in terms of soccer. I no longer need to think like that as a soccer fan. The sport is winning people over on its own now. More parks now have soccer fields, more cities now have soccer complexes, larger cities are becoming more and more interested in having MLS franchises (a new team in New York and one in Miami are expected to join the league in 2015). That's down to how good of a job many of the best teams in the world have done in capitalizing on the largely untapped US market. That's where there is an international tournament that takes place all over the country every summer now where these teams come and play in various American cities.

So no one is cramming soccer down anyone's throat anymore. It's really not necessary because it now has a platform and a very successful strategy that is allowing it to grow naturally.

 

[Toro]

Ever since Pele came to play in the US during the 70s, I have heard that there would be a resurgence of Soccer in the US. After all, the rest of the world LOVES Soccer so it is only a matter of time before the US embraces the game

It hasn't happened. I don't think it ever will

Americans hate soccer. I don't see that changing

There has been a resurgence in soccer. There is a healthy and growing professional league, and the US is ranked in the top 20 in the world. NBC paid $100 million for the Premiership rights, and Disney paid a couple billion for the World Cup. Small peanuts compared to the big three leagues for sure, but evidence that it is certainly growing.

Soccer will never be as big as football, baseball or basketball. But hockey? Maybe one day.

 

[Merchant_of_Meh]

If your definition of "in shape" is limited to the ability to run all day, then maybe so. (Basketball and tennis fans may give you an argument).

But considering strength, flexibility, and athleticism, the top players in football, basketball, and baseball all make the soccer guys look pathetic.

How many pro soccer players could bench press 250 lbs? Now many could dunk a basketball?

Seriously, what do you think?

How many basketball players could strike a soccer ball at close to 80 mph from over 30 yards away from goal and accurately beat a 6'5'' keeper whose reflexes are almost cat-like?

How many football players could pull off a perfectly timed sliding challenge that dispossess an opponent of the ball without breaking their legs or earning a yellow or red card?

How many baseball players can accurately launch 40-50 yard lobbed passes up the pitch to a striker running into space beyond opposing defenders without underhitting to an opponent or overhitting it into the stands?

How many hockey players could thread a delicate pass through a congested, chaotic and highly combative midfield area without turning over possession or getting taken out by an opposing defensive midfielder?

I can play that game too.

 

[Unkotare]

Ever since Pele came to play in the US during the 70s, I have heard that there would be a resurgence of Soccer in the US. After all, the rest of the world LOVES Soccer so it is only a matter of time before the US embraces the game

It hasn't happened. I don't think it ever will

Americans hate soccer. I don't see that changing

Americans do not hate soccer. T.

Yeah, pretty much we do.

 

[Unkotare]

How many football players could pull off a perfectly timed sliding challenge that dispossess an opponent of the ball without breaking their legs or earning a yellow or red card?.

Would that be with or without falling down theatrically and doing a dramatic death scene from Macbeth right there on the field (it's a damn field, not a "pitch" your majesty).