World Cup Brazil 2014

[Huckleberry Pig]

The TV exposure will help.  We would play before school, during recess, lunch then after school and then at night under the street lights with little goals we had made of re-bar.  On week-ends we would watch the Spanish league or go to local games.  When the WC came around, I'd buy a magazine with all the teams and would collect player cards that I would glue into the magazine...so I knew every starter for every team.  And the key is I watched them and the moves they would make or goals they would score, and then go out and try to imitate that on the field.

In the U.S. we do that with basketball, football, baseball, but not a lot of kids watch their favorite players - until recently they couldn't - but that's changing.

Whenever I talk to a kid who plays soccer I ask him who his favorite team is, and who his favorite player is.  Then I encourage him to watch and imitate.

spot on

[DukeOfPork]

That's what I keep trying to explain to folks.  Soccer isn't "there" yet, but it has more momentum right now than ever before.  Kids had nothing to connect with or get them interested in soccer in the 1980's and first half of the 1990's.  Now it's everywhere.  That alone will boost MLS over the next few generations.

Other factors like fan violence in South America and worries about football injuries will only help soccer's rise in the coming decades.

The momentum is undeniable.

Two major factors:

1.  We finally have a viable league with clubs that have a following.  And this creates an environment where an American kid can envision playing soccer professionally. 

2.  We have WAY more exposure to European Leagues now, so we can see the game played at the highest level.  I would not have become a fan of soccer 10 years ago if I didn't turn on the TV on Saturday morning and see Premiership clubs going at it.  The EPL was my "gateway drug".  And I think it is for many others, as well.

[Huckleberry Pig]

The momentum is undeniable.

Two major factors:

1.  We finally have a viable league with clubs that have a following.  And this creates an environment where an American kid can envision playing soccer professionally. 

2.  We have WAY more exposure to European Leagues now, so we can see the game played at the highest level.  I would not have become a fan of soccer 10 years ago if I didn't turn on the TV on Saturday morning and see Premiership clubs going at it.  The EPL was my "gateway drug".  And I think it is for many others, as well.

nothing better than waking up early, having a nice cup of coffee, and catching an EPL game.  can't think of a better way to start off a saturday morning.

[JayBell]

nothing better than waking up early, having a nice cup of coffee, and catching an EPL game.  can't think of a better way to start off a saturday morning.

I loved that MLS will finally have consistent broadcast time slots on Friday and Sunday nights beginning next year.  And I know it is difficult to get cross-network cooperation, but I was really hoping that MLS would have an afternoon game to follow EPL coverage.

As Duke said, right now EPL is the gateway to soccer interest in our country because it is the highest level and it is so visible.  I wish they would have had broadcasts right after EPL coverage every week so MLS, NASL and USL Pro fans could watch the main MLS match that day then go to their local team's match that night.

[Dr. Starcs]

What pe programs are you specifically referring to?

[JayBell]

This guy at the Guardian puts a damper on the notion that the EPL is the best league in the world based on World Cup results: http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jul/07/brazil-2014-premier-league-world-cup

Maybe us Americans, myself included, should re-evaluate our view.  Maybe we should stop trying to be like England and aim more at being like the Bundesliga and La Liga.

[DukeOfPork]

This guy at the Guardian puts a damper on the notion that the EPL is the best league in the world based on World Cup results: http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jul/07/brazil-2014-premier-league-world-cup

Maybe us Americans, myself included, should re-evaluate our view.  Maybe we should stop trying to be like England and aim more at being like the Bundesliga and La Liga.

Interesting, but I'm not ready to jump to conclusions to the degree that the author does.

"...This time around, based on last starting XIs plus returning suspendees, the 44 footballers who will contest the semi-finals are likely to be made up of 10 Bundesliga players, seven from the Premier League, six from La Liga, six from the Eredivisie, four from Serie A, four from Ligue 1, two from the Turkish league and one each from Russia, Brazil, Portugal, the US and Mexico.

Within this, Bayern Munich will provide the same number as the combined Premier League, while Real Madrid and Barcelona have six between them..."

So the only league that has more starters left than the EPL is the Bundesliga?  And almost all of them are Bayern players?  That is hardly a damning statistic about the Premiership, in my mind.  No one is going to claim that the Bundesliga is a better league from top-to-bottom. 

Bayern could easily win the Premiership, I have no doubt.  And the heavyweights of La Liga certainly match any club in England.  But top-to-bottom, I still think that the Premiership is the toughest league.

As for who MLS should model itself after, well, I don't think it has the ability to model itself after ANY world league.  It is just a different species all together.

The financial structure of MLS, the lack of promotion/relegation, the limited number of clubs, the enormous travel distances between clubs, the geographical isolation from other leagues (no Champions League connection to Europe), and the 4th or 5th tier status of the sport within our borders makes MLS a completely different enterprise.

It really is an oddity in world soccer.  I think it just has to grow in its own manner.

[Hogsooey]

TV numbers for the WC final. 9.7. Pretty good from what I can tell. Third highest rating ever for a WC match on ABC/ESPN in the USA. The other 2 were from the 1994 WC played in the good ole USofA. NBA finals averaged a 9.3 this year for a somewhat comparison. My current city came in at 13.4... pretty good for a noon start time.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/07/14/germany-argentina-world-cup-final-espnabcs-third-highest-overnight-rating-ever-for-a-fifa-world-cup-match/282551/

Additionally:  "An estimated 26.5 million people in the U.S. watched Germany's extra-time win on Sunday afternoon, the Nielsen company said. The game had 17.3 million viewers on ABC and another 9.2 million on the Spanish-language Univision. In addition, just over 750,000 people were watching the game during a typical minute online through services provided by each network."

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/26-million-watch-world-cup-final-us-24557515

[redeye]

That's what I keep trying to explain to folks.  Soccer isn't "there" yet, but it has more momentum right now than ever before.  Kids had nothing to connect with or get them interested in soccer in the 1980's and first half of the 1990's.  Now it's everywhere.  That alone will boost MLS over the next few generations.

Other factors like fan violence in South America and worries about football injuries will only help soccer's rise in the coming decades.

I'd argue that the late seventies into the early eighties was decent.  People used to credit that period for the initial interest for soccer in this country.  There was the NASL with Pele and I can remember around a hundred kids attending a training camp in LR one year.  When I visited family in St. Louis, they were already playing indoor soccer by the late seventies.  But as the eighties progressed, interest seemed to dwindle quickly from my perspective.

I've always believed that initial interest was responsible for our appearance in the '90 WC, but that's just a guess.

[JayBell]

I've always believed that initial interest was responsible for our appearance in the '90 WC, but that's just a guess.

That's probably right.  The US was extremely young at Italia '90 and only slightly less young in 1994.  There was no logical reason that a bunch of nobodies could compete with the best in the world, but they did.

Honestly, that's why you see statements from Wynalda like he made a couple of weeks ago.  In terms of pure talent, that first group was far more talented than they'll ever get credit for.  Tab Ramos and Eric Wynalda may still be among the top 5 most talented US Soccer players ever.  Then you had Cobi Jones, Earnie Stewart, John Harkes, Alexi Lalas, Thomas Dooley, Marcelo Balboa, Paul Caligiuri and on and on.  It's a Who's Who of American soccer history.

[dj shanon "Notshavin" smeya]

That's probably right.  The US was extremely young at Italia '90 and only slightly less young in 1994.  There was no logical reason that a bunch of nobodies could compete with the best in the world, but they did.

Honestly, that's why you see statements from Wynalda like he made a couple of weeks ago.  In terms of pure talent, that first group was far more talented than they'll ever get credit for.  Tab Ramos and Eric Wynalda may still be among the top 5 most talented US Soccer players ever.  Then you had Cobi Jones, Earnie Stewart, John Harkes, Alexi Lalas, Thomas Dooley, Marcelo Balboa, Paul Caligiuri and on and on.  It's a Who's Who of American soccer history.

Claudio Reyna, Joe Max-Moore, Brian McBride, Preki.

U.S. Soccer owes these guys a lot.  Many of them didn't make much $ or get the recognition they deserve.  They went and played in hostile environments, and were successful for our country for the first time in decades.  Most of the ones on that list rarely(if ever) experienced playing in front of a "home crowd".  There were usually more fans for the opposing team, even in the U.S.