I get that Kyle's content is engaging, but everyone needs to know that he's a Marketer who works on brand activations in sports, specifically soccer in the US............
30-40M Mexican-Americans but not every one roots for Mexico. But let's assume they all do. How many Anglos and Black people in the US? US has a total population of 340M+.
As an English emigrant to the US I supported England for a while then gradually assimilated and started following the USMNT. Not sure how great the US is at assimilating people from poorer countries. On the one hand it's a shame that Obed Vargas felt more Mexican than American, on the other hand the USA gives you the freedom to identify however you want. All the Turkish barbers in England, of which there seem to be dozens in every city and town, have England flags displayed in their windows because they feel pressured to do so.
What is he trying to engage? Most of us have agreed on other threads that the culture is what is lacking here in the US. Not that it is the lack of ProRel, pay to play etc. It's a cultural thing. I'm not saying USMNT numbers are bad, they are really good, but this only happens for World Cup games, unfortunately for us.
We have an American senator who isn't even Mexican-American put on the Mexico jersey, go to a watch party and support the Mexican National Team. I think there is an NFL player (that isn't Mexican-American) that went to a Mexico game to support them but didn't do so for USMNT.
When you go through his social media posts, it's very clear he's looking to get more clients. Yes, he has good information. It still needs to be viewed through the lens of a business pitch.
Nothing in that tweet assumes he wants more followers. He is just stating a fact. He isn't the only one stating that fact either.
Well if people can follow foreign clubs a different national team isn’t much of a leap from there. Seriously, If I have to accept that the best Americans in Europe can’t be expected to show up for the Gold Cup but for some reason that doesn’t apply to Mexico or Canada maybe I should reconsider.
What Kyle's numbers tell me is that a lot of folks are watching the Gold Cup. Yes, Mexico fans and England fans. But also casual fans. That was billed as one of the marquee matchups of the round. There's an audience for this event that can't be ignored. An audience that MLS, of course, is desperate to tap into. Cuz we all know once it does, then the money REALLY starts flowing around.
And your point is? A much higher percentage of Mexican-Americans root for Mexico, though many also root for the US. But we knew that. If one want to point to the fact that "only" 30+ million of the 340M Americans watched the US game, that's fine. But we also know that Americans tend to have very diverse sporting interests. It's still more than watched the World Series or the NBA Finals. None of this is new.
. It’s not about their grandparents’ citizenship. It’s about their community’s and their family’s engagement with soccer. In general, you for players to get really good, they need coaching from people who know the game well. Claudio Reyna got that from his dad, and Gio got it from his parents. Pulisic got it from his dad (and maybe his mom too?). Player development benefits immensely from kids getting knowledgeable and enthusiastic coaching, informal and formal. The more dads, aunts, cousins, and neighbors a kid has who know and love the game, they more likely they kid is to get really good at it. In contrast, when I played youth soccer in its various forms, most of my coaches were well-meaning parents who had not only never played the sport but had never watched a professional game, not in person, not even on TV. I mean, I was never going to be good enough to play professionally. Back then, I didn’t even know there were pro (or semipro leagues) in the US. But if you’d dropped five-year-old Gio or Christian into my upbringing, he probably would have gone on to have exactly the same professional career I did, i.e., none.
Which, if you’re a discerning client, is better than posts saying “pay me, pay me!” A lot of professionals build their images by posting facts or analysis of interest to potential clients so that those people’s first impressions are “that’s the woman who says smart stuff about my line of work” not “that’s the woman who keeps sending me sales pitches.” It works best when the facts and analysis are good, but it’s still a form of brand building
Carlos Vela refused to play a WC because he didn't want to. You didn't see Mexican politicians or fans wanting to support USMNT or other NTs because of it. My point is that we don't have the culture other countries have when it comes to soccer. That's the point. I even stated ProRel, getting rid of pay to play and all these other things experts say will make US soccer be big isn't the solution. Sure, great numbers for USMNT but fans usually tend to show up during a WC.
There are more than twice as many kids playing high school soccer as there were in 1994. Hopefully it will double again by 2068. We have 90+ professional clubs. We have cities across the US working to make soccer more accessible. It's all a work in progress.
Yeah, we know. It doesn't nullify that our culture is still growing and strong than it was last time around. I guess I just think these tweets are set up to be some big thing rather than something we already know.
There would be huge outrage in Mexico if a Mexican politician wore the USMNT jersey supporting them even if his constituents were Americans and if they weren't playing Mexico. Anyone remember Donovan and his commercial "My other team is Mexico"? Donovan, USMNT best player ever, supporting Mexico. Hugo Sanchez or Rafa Marquez would never ever in a million years do that. No wonder Mexico NT is more popular than USMNT in the US. Now even in the World Cup too.
Ask around in the Mexico board here in Bigsoccer. See what they have to say if that were to happen. The reactions from Mexicans living in Mexico would be worse. I think the one that has no idea is you.
I’m very confident that they would say, there’s no place in Mexico with lots of Americans. “What if Spartacus had a Piper Cub?”
I'm not really sure what the argument even is. A rising tide lifts all boats. Its fantastic that the Mexico game got huge ratings in the US. The USMNT games did too. We have all sorts of Americans wearing all sorts of different jerseys. What does it mean that an American is wearing a Haaland Norway jersey? It means that person is a fan of Erling Haaland. Or Messi. Or Mbappe. Or Harry Kane. it doesn't mean the person is a traitor. For Pete's sake.....................yes, Americans are allowed to wear Mexico jerseys. It is possible to be a fan of both Mexico and the US. I llived in Texas for a long time. I knew a lot of people that were. They were FC Dallas fans too. What is this event telling investors? That soccer is popular in the United States. That there's money to be made if you can tap into this community.
Adding this to the "if I ever setup sockpuppets coming back to like repeatedly" file... Funny how everyone who was "a natural" in my former club at the u6-10 level had european/south american/-cacaf part of our federation families. I always said I was the luckiest coach/president in my state, urban club that drew mostly from the universities that we were right next to, so steady stream of international parents volunteering to help teach the rest of us.
Just say you are afraid that they'll give you an answer that confirms what I say. That would've been an honest reply. We, the people that were born and raised here but come from Mexican parents, experience name calling from other Mexicans and Mexican-Americans because we support the USMNT (a freaking sports team) so I know precisely what I'm talking about. Not you. A Mexican politician or a Mexican top soccer player like Hugo Sanchez putting on a USMNT jersey wouldn't go well. It'll be much worse. You would hardly find Mexicans trying to justify what they did.
I think it’s true a lot of soccer fans in the U.S. will feel pressure at some point to show that they’re a real soccer fan who knows that the USMNT or MLS is lame/low quality/plastic, etc.