maybe in 40 or 50 years, but no time soon. Of course in that time my great grandkids may be posting 'do you think MLS will ever be as big as ice lacrosse?' The tendency is to think the sporting paradigm will never change, but of course we know it does. When I was a young sprout (early 70's) boxing and horse racing were desperately holding on to prominent places in the sporting landscape after dominating public attention since the beginning of the 1900's. The NFL was still 2nd fiddle to MLB, and the NBA was an afterthought, not much above the NHL (which was popular, but pretty much only in places where the lakes froze over in winter). So in 30 years the NFL has become the unquestioned king, the NBA zoomed past MLB, but seems to be fighting the adage that anything which goes up... MLB is enjoying lots of money, but the fan base seems to be aging (and the playing base is shrinking). So while old guys have lots of money for season tickets, the long-term prognosis seems worrisome. NHL, well who the hell knows what they're gonna do. There may not be any more ice in 20 years. the only thing I know for sure is that people who say soccer will NEVER be popular in this country are fools, because everything changes eventually and for the most part we don't have the foresight to predict how.
In every possible measurable statistic, MLB trounces the NBA. Merchandising Average Attendance Median Attendance Total Attendance Concessions Ticket Revenue Regular Season Ratings Playoff Ratings Finals vs World Series Ratings As for an aging baseball fan base, that may be one of the most incorrect sports myths out there. Baseball stadiums are overflowing with kids. Significantly more kids than in any MLS stadium or NBA and NHL or even NFL stadiums. The NFL has the oldest core fan base both in terms of TV demographics and people who attend games.
No. Nor should it. The US is a football nation in winter, a baseball nation in summer. How many places in the world can say the same? I would hate for that part of American culture to be diminished. The real question is whether or not MLS can become big enough to be talked about in the same breath as the NFL, the NBA, and MLB. I would prefer that to any one sport's outright and complete dominance, as soccer is in parts of Europe and South America. What a dreadful thing that would be if that ever if happened here in the US.
No and personally, I don't want it to be. Now hear me out. I'd like to see MLS be where the NHL was/is. Big television contract, lots of overseas and Canadian attention, attendance at over 90% capacity for most of the teams, and a dedicated fan base that knows what the sport is about. Maybe my experiences have been unique, but I find that hockey fans seem to care more about the team and sport than other fans. NHL fans seem a lot less likely to be bandwagon fans. They all seem to have a good understanding of the game. That's the kind of fan base I want to see for MLS. I don't want the Galaxy and DC United to become our Yankees and Red Sox, full of bandwagon fans and people who support them despite never having even been to those cities.
why is that? because if it was then it wont matter anymore if the natioanl team isnt the greatest? I know you all love a winner but dont be scared
No, a resounding no. As far as most non-soccer fans are concerned, the MLS is still in the "point and laugh" stage. Combining the fact that the NFL (as a league) is comfortably a billion dollar business, approaching the multibillion dollar mark. Between the tv deals, licensing revenue and all the other sources of income that the league itself takes in (not to mention the profits made by individual franchises), it's clear that the NFL is king in this country. Do you think MLS can achieve this? I believe MLS might get to that level eventually (thats a big if) but it will probably require at least 20-24 teams with a network TV deal (not just a cable station, even if it is ESPN) and EPL caliber kit sponsors. It's got a chance to overtake the NHL in popularity though, in fact, this is the best time for it to be blossoming. The NHL is down, barely on tv, attendance might be slowly rising after the lockout but it's still not great, MLS has a great opportunity to overtake them. I think for right now MLS should target passing the NHL and eventually MLB in popularity and financial strength. The NFL is too big a bite for them.
The rest of your points are valid, but this is wrong. NHL attendance is higher than it has ever been.
No I would never want MLS to be as big and self-important as the NFL is. Reasons why MLS won't be that big: Soccer fans will always be split between MLS, Euro leagues, Mexico, and SA leagues Soccer will never be the big-time sport in the US because it requires attention span to watch it, and most US sports fans don't have that much attention Too many other sports - it's not like football, basketball, baseball, or hockey will go away, and now the X Games is becoming a spectator sport Most of the kids who play soccer never seem to develop much interest in watching it - not sure why
If you expand the time scale large enough, sure, it's dynamic. And even then, some things remain in place. Baseball and football, to take two examples. They may fade in time, but that'll be a long, long ways away.
I think if MLS acheived an average of 28,000 fans per game, all the teams having their own stadiums, equal respect and mention in the media, the best league in the world, the highest salaries, then I would be happy and never feel like it needs to be anything more than that. At that level it wouldn't get polluted by too much hype and commercialism, the annoying casual fans would be few, and I wouldn't care less who or how many couldn't get their arms around the concept of the sport. We are not impossibly far from that right now. Oh and one more thing, we won't get there until the general American public are cognizant that we are the best Soccer league in the world. People should also remember that almost all NFL stadia is sold out in its cities. No soccer league in the world can say that. The BPL has tons of empty seats in some places.
kids? what age group? kids are there maybe because the dad or grandfather likes it. I think more important figure is age group 18 - 35 = young and who are willing to pay to go out of their own interests.
You're basically asking for everything under the sun. How is the league going to have an average attendance of 28k when the Revs are the only team that will be playing in a stadium with capacity over 28k (after teams get their SSS). Best league in the world? Are you serious? Unless European football collapses, we'll never be the best. If people thought we had the best soccer league in the world it wouldn't be polluted by commercialism or annoying fans? Think again. It would attract them more than ever. I think Bundesliga comes close. The top teams average full capacity all season. Not sure about the lower table teams.
Yes, I was referring to the lower level teams. They appear to draw less, negatively impacting the overall average. PS: When and if we put our financial might behind MLS the european leagues, while never collapsing, might be eclipsed.
I agree with one of the previous posters, the US is too big and too diverse to have just one sport. When MLS finally gets the airtime that the NLF, NBA, MLB, and NHL, then MLS (and soccer) has made it. It's going to take all of us to help bring MLS to mainstream sports. During the MLS season I'm constantly talking MLS and soccer in general at work, slowly but surely MLS is gaining one fan at a time.
I will say NO WAY! I am a realest, so i see us def. beating the NHL sooner or later, but the big giant NFL? NO WAY! I love soccer and would love to see it succeed here statesside, but that will never happen to the size where it topples the NFL. I could see our league also being comparable to the FMF in mexico but when people say our league will one day be the best in the world, or on the level of the top 3, no way. Soccer here states side has no history, and all the greatest leagues in the world and richest clubs have a rich history which give them the right to be so popular, we havent paid our dues so we will never be the best league. Maybe in another world.
WHO CARES? Hey like most of the people who reads these boards I'm a big time soccer fan (surprise!). However, I believe the way to go is not to steal someone's thunder but to bake a larger pie. In other words there's no reason to take an audience from anybody else. The US is a very big country with a basically unlimited number of new sports fans amongst young people, hispanics, woman and others. Almost all of whom have a connection to soccer. Additionally, who says there can only be three major sports in the US? Heck it wasn't untill the 1958 and the famous overtime game between the Giants and the Colts that the NFL reached major league status in America. Infact for most of our history baseball was the only truly national sport in the US. Again, I don't care how soccer compares to other sports in this country. I'm just happy to see the sport grow and the number of soccer haters decline on a daily basis. Perry