Think about the amount of soccer that is out there right now in the US. We have the MLS season, MLS friendlies, the Gold Cup and even a women's friendly. The amount of MLS friendlies against the very best of Europe has never been seen before. The crowd sizes of this year's Gold cup is HUGE. MLS regular season game attendance is decent considering the amount of dollars that have been dropped for soccer in this month. How much we are able to see on TV or the internet is also amazing. Has there ever been this much soccer available in the US? It looks like its all being well received don't you think?
I also forgot to mention the USL leagues... and they do count for something! USL has got some very good players in it as well and is definitely worth watching.
Year, and we also need to mention that the College/High School season is around the corner. By the way, MLS attendance's been improving. I'm just dissapointed with Colorado, New England, Chicago and even Columbus. I hope things get better now.
You forgot mention the soccer channels we have in the USA. FSC, Fox Sports en Espanol, Gol TV, Tyc Sports, Setanta sports plus the soccer games shown on ECUAVISION, UNIVISION, TELE MUNDO, GALAVISION, ABC, ESPN... Soccer is the most watched sport in the US no doubt.... we have like 5 channels dedicated to it 24 7...
Yeah but more ppl will see something like Norte Dame - (anybody) college football on NBC. Than any soccer showing that day on any of those channels.
I would have stated that soccer is probably the most shown sport on TV not watched, just look at the ratings. One Monday Night football game gets more viewers that 15 soccer matches. while saturation can translate into future fans, soccer still has a long way to go.
Further evidence of the bizarro-world that is "soccer on the tube" in the US: Last night I had 3, count 'em, 3 channels on which I could watch the FCD @ RSL match! My options for Wednesday's FCD @ Metros? None (afaik). Hopefully, one day I'll tell my kids how lucky they are with respect to their soccer viewing options.
And yet Disney couldn't make the numbers work on ABC and dumped MNF onto ESPN. It's a bit more complicated than just big ratings. Reaching the right audience at the right price counts for alot. The variety of soccer and fan bases in the States makes for a complicated narrative for any main stream break through.