11th Most popular spectator sport?

Discussion in 'Soccer in the USA' started by forza_imps, Mar 29, 2008.

  1. forza_imps

    forza_imps New Member

    Jun 13, 2006
    Lincoln, England
    http://football.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,2269239,00.html

    Today's Guardian says that football/soccer is the 11th most popular spectator sport in the United States.

    This made me wonder. No obviously there is the "big four" leagues of the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, and the NCAA competitions for those sports.

    But surely the other minority sports are not tonnes more popular than soccer?

    Arena Football, Lacrosse and whatever else you have over there?
     
  2. art

    art Member

    Jul 2, 2000
    Portland OR
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    probably they're measuring college sports and pro as separate, so you'd have pro am football, basketball, baseball and hockey; college basketball and football; various kinds of car racing (NASCAR specifically but also IRL and CART); and i dunno...golf perhaps? tennis? that's 11 right there when measured separately. lots and lots of big sports here in the states, 11th most popular might be right from a certain point of view. but of course whats important isn't that number really.

    but whatever, its the guardian. spin to sell papers is their m.o.
     
  3. EvanJ

    EvanJ Member+

    Manchester United
    United States
    Mar 30, 2004
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't know what the Guardian did, but I don't think pro and college sports should count separately. Basketball and football are the only two college sports that are or could be more popular than MLS. The only sport I would count more than once is basketball with men in the NBA and women in the WNBA. Also I don't know how easy it is to compare the popularity of team and individual sports. Golf and tennis have major tournaments with much more attention a few times a year. NASCAR uses big venues, but even if the Daytona 500 is the single most attended sporting event of the year in the United States, the top NASCAR drivers are only at one race a week whereas MLS can have 7 games in a weekend, MLB has many days with 15 games, and the NFL can have 15 games on a Sunday and 1 game the next day. In terms of average game attendance I would expect MLS to do much better than the WNBA, Arena Football, lacrosse, etc.
    The article has an e-mail address to comment, so somebody could ask what source they used for the 11th most popular sport claim.
     
  4. MNAFETSC

    MNAFETSC Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Blacksburg

    Why shouldn't college sports be seperate? Theyre totally different entities from the pro leagues . When it comes to spectator sports that are relevant to Americans I would say the list look like this:

    1NFL
    2MLB
    3 C Football
    4 C Basketball
    5 NBA
    6 Nascar
    7 Golf
    8 Tennis
    9 NHL
    10 MLS
     
  5. DCUdiplomat96

    DCUdiplomat96 Member

    Mar 19, 2005
    Atlanta, GA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    well i know soccer and especially MLS is not in the top 10
     
  6. TabLalas

    TabLalas Member+

    Mar 29, 2007
    Jersey
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My list would be, (and I deff. think that College sports are their own entity)
    1. Pro Football (NFL)
    2. College Football (NCAA)
    3. Major League Baseball (MLB)
    4. Basketball (NBA)
    5. College Basketball (NCAA)
    6. Nascar Racing
    7. Hockey (NHL)
    8. Golf
    9. Tennis
    10. Ultimate Fighting
    11. Soccer (MLS and National Team)
    (and I would say National Team games over MLS because I know more people who will tune in for the Nats but won't watch the MLS)
    -When you see this list you realize how far soccer has to go in this country but can take solace in the fact that sports like Nascar, NHL and Tennis started out with a cult type following and grew into big-time ventures, especially Nascar. Even the NBA wasn't that big until guys like Dr. J, Wilt Chamberlin and Kareem Abdul Jabbar hit the scene. I also think that a sport really needs to grow out of big markets like L.A, N.Y, D.C and Chicago so I believe putting markets in Salt Lake City and Kansas City so early was a big mistake. I think if the MLS can work it's way into the no. 7 and 8 slots, bumping out the NHL and Golf then it is really doing well. But the jump from hockey up to Nascar is huge and you'll never, ever touch the top-5. The sport is simply too European to climb that high.
     
  7. DCUdiplomat96

    DCUdiplomat96 Member

    Mar 19, 2005
    Atlanta, GA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Actually if you take golf and tennis out, cause they are not exactly team sports. Soccer would be higher i think its more even with Arena Football and below the NHL. College Football and basketball are a brand as well here which also justifies why soccer is NOT and wont be (not necessary) a All yr sport.. spring and summer should stay the focus.
     
  8. EvanJ

    EvanJ Member+

    Manchester United
    United States
    Mar 30, 2004
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thanks to the large size and population of the United States, I would expect college sports to be more popular here than in most other countries. Also, college basketball and football have so many more teams than professional leagues therefore making it harder to compare. College sports are more popular with much more successful teams in many smaller cities than in New York City. Imagine a sport being popular in England with no good teams in London, popular in Russia with no good teams in Moscow, etc.
    Unfortunately my local newspaper devotes more space to local Arena Football than to local MLS and it doesn't list games on Fox Soccer Channel in the Sports on TV listings. It does post some scores from foreign soccer leagues with a possible article on Sundays.
    The four U.S. professional sports I watch the most are baseball, hockey, soccer, and American football (not listed in order).
     
  9. cantona94

    cantona94 Member

    Jul 16, 2000
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They may be right if they are going by tv ratings or some sort of attendance...but interms of actual participants, soccer is in the top 3 or 4 sports. It's just some English rag trying to stir up sales
     
  10. #1 Feilhaber and Adu

    Aug 1, 2007
    Well put it this way. Soccer games are rarely broadcasted on National TV. They get close to no-respect from ESPN. Soccer needs to be on channel 2,4,5, or 7 and it needs to be EPL games every saturday. The people who have FSC(an Outdoor channel that you have to pay for) and finally watch a soccer game and its an EPL match,they fall in love with it, and a another spectator is born.

    And i wouldent worry about it , the most popular sport as in most played and registerd is soccer by a landslide. And this generation seems to be shifting towards soccer, as more and more are starting to watch and play.
     
  11. DCUdiplomat96

    DCUdiplomat96 Member

    Mar 19, 2005
    Atlanta, GA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I doubt EPL or any euro league would get decent ratings on free tv... american market is spare change in europe
     
  12. MNAFETSC

    MNAFETSC Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Blacksburg
    By low channels I guess you mean ABC, NBC etc.which if that's the case they can't show Premier League Games on Saturday mornings, as those time slots are dedicated to children programming, and correct me if I'm wrong but major channels are required to have a certain amount of time dedicated to children programming.

    As far as soccer being the most popular sport cause of participation I wouldn't look too deep in that. Running pretty popular among americans, but you still don't see track and field on anytime other than as a fill in slot. Hide and Seek was pretty popular when I was growing up, yet it never grew into a big time sport with a pro-league.
     
  13. cantona94

    cantona94 Member

    Jul 16, 2000
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Not even close to the same thing and your hide and seek analogy is idiotic
     
  14. MNAFETSC

    MNAFETSC Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Blacksburg
    Why? It seems like everyday someone here says soccer is the biggest youth sport in america and those kids will grow up loving the sport, but the sport has been the biggest youth sport since the 70s and that still hasn't happen. Which makes it seems like a kids game like tag and Hide & seek.
     
  15. cantona94

    cantona94 Member

    Jul 16, 2000
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You must be living across the pond bc trust me it is changing. It may not be very visible as yet or in regards to MLS but the US is becoming far more soccer knowledgeable and minded than it ever has been.

    Those that actually reside in the United States, know and see this everyday. Those that live overseas and rely on stats and op-ed pieces from journalists who are unfamiliar with what is truly happening will continue to think it is only a "kids game" in the U.S.
     
  16. MNAFETSC

    MNAFETSC Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Blacksburg
    I live in Virginia Beach where its easier to find a bunch of kids playing organized soccer than any other sport, and I'm only 23 so it wasn't that long ago I was one of those kids, but the fact is once they grow up they grow out of the sport. Even in high school I was one of the only ones who actually watched the sport, everyone else still preferred the NFL and MLB over MLS.
     
  17. cantona94

    cantona94 Member

    Jul 16, 2000
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They grow out of it...that doesn't mean they quit liking it or quit being fans of it.
     
  18. MNAFETSC

    MNAFETSC Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Blacksburg
    Oh yah they still like it of course, but not enough to be considered fans of MLS. I honestly don't think anyone I know actually has even a slight interest in MLS, that's of course assuming they know what MLS is.
     
  19. Danilo Luvano

    Danilo Luvano New Member

    Nov 6, 2007
    DFW, TX
    In My opinion, NASCAR and Golf shouldn't even be considered Sports....
     
  20. MNAFETSC

    MNAFETSC Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Blacksburg
    Why?
     
  21. Justin O

    Justin O Member+

    Seattle Sounders
    United States
    Nov 30, 1998
    on the run from the covid
    Club:
    Seattle
    The popularity of MLS is no where close to the popularity of soccer as spectator sport in the US. It's silly to speak of each as if they are the same thing.

    Also, a sport is a sport, not a league or a competition. If someone refers to "basketball as a spectator sport" that means mens, womens, college, pro, all of it. Just as refering to soccer as spectator sport means any and all leagues, international, mens/womens, everything.

    If you mean something different, you have to say something different.
     
  22. #1 Feilhaber and Adu

    Aug 1, 2007
    Probally becuase there is no Athletic qualities to them.

    I heard of this once:

    NASCAR= Non Athletic Sport Centered Around RedNecks.
     
  23. #1 Feilhaber and Adu

    Aug 1, 2007


    Whoops no bold for the N in Rednecks.
     
  24. TabLalas

    TabLalas Member+

    Mar 29, 2007
    Jersey
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, it doesn't take an athlete to be a race-car driver but Nascar is a team competition which is currently more popular in the U.S than the MLS or soccer. If anything, there is no way in hell that golf requires an athelete to play when guys like John Daly are competing.
     
  25. MNAFETSC

    MNAFETSC Member

    Feb 5, 2000
    Blacksburg
    I think Tiger Woods has shown the skeptics you need to be in peak shape if you expect to contend for various PGA event on a regular basis. Look at the rest of the greats of Golf, they were all in great shape and probably only got their beer belly, if they had one at all, after turning 40. John Daly is not even in the top 100 best all time golfers.
     

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