U.S. Media is to blame for lack of interest!

I think we are seeing that right now. Just at a much slower pace than any of us geeks would like to see.

Let's go back to 5 years ago.... how many UEFA Champions League matches did ESPN (ESPN!!!) cover? Now they cover em. Hell, I've seen Champions League matches covered on SportsCenter. That's a HUGE step forward. CBS and ESPN aired EVERY World Cup match live. I'm pretty sure that's the first time American TV covered every single match live. That's huge too! These companies aren't charities. They are doing it because it's working out for the networks. It's happening. Slowly, but it is happening.

 

There is no place for rational thought here. You need to get on board the "everything is terrible!" bus with everyone else.

 

The sad thing about it, is that ESPN has great coverage of soccer events but they are only shown in other countries. It's just horrible!

 

boy ain't that the truth.

 

Okay. Will do.

The Sky Is Falling! The Sky Is Falling!

I do agree with the poster talking about ESPN's non-english stuff...

I see the schedule of matches covered on ESPN Deportes, and often wish that I could speak Spanish. They have some excellent soccer coverage every now and then!

 

I certainly agree that the media most often looks to cover what the people want to read. It's in their self interest to do so. But, they are often slow to figure it out. I think NASCAR is a terrific example of this. The elite sports media dismissed NASCAR for years as bumpkins on wheels. Then they acted as if they discovered it. Yes, consumer interest fueled the initial coverage, but then the coverage fueled far greater interest.

[At the same time, the media often is not doing its civic duty (yes I know, how quaint) by just pedaling what people want to read. For example, after 75% of the S&L's failed might not have been the most productive time to start writing about the abuses. That story was there for anyone who wanted to write about it. Oh, was the public clamoring for stories on migrant workers before Edward R. Murrow brought public attention to the squalid conditions? Did his work not drive interest thereafter in the plight of migrant workers ?].

But, to my original point, I don't argue that the media has an obligation to promote soccer any more than I feel it's my civic "duty" to watch the WNBA. But, tell me what other sport is so often the subject of "why we Americans will never like soccer" articles (think Deford's SI article a few years back)? It's hard not to imagine that some of these old dogs fear they're about to be asked to learn a new trick. And, if you are from the DFW area, I give you Dale Hansen as my case in point

 

Maybe if you watched it more often, you'd pick up some Spanish.

I feel ya. But Murrow's dead. And the notion that the media has a civic duty probably died with him, or shortly thereafter.

Media's about making a buck. I have no problem with making a buck. Greed is good. Greed works. But let's be up front about it. The media is, first and foremost, going to do what makes it money, whether it serves the public interest best or not (see Smith, Anna Nicole).

 

I know what I'm about to say will ruffle Kenn's feathers a bit but I swear Kenn it's not intentionally aimed at you. It's something that I've believed and believe in more and more as the days go by. I truly believe that soccer coverage in the media is being suppressed. Think about it. Do you really think that the vested interests in american sports want to lose "customers/fans"? Of course not. Are the NBA, MLB and the NFL more powerful than MLS , ALLLLLLL DAYYYYYY baby.
Now ask yourself a question? Which of these sporting events would you want to see?

1. Superbowl or Champions League Final
1a. Superbowl or Champions League Final w/ your team in it
2. NBA Finals or Copa Libertadores Finals/Semifinals
3. 7 games of the World Series vs FA Cup
4. Yanks v Boston or the Copa America
5. MLB post season or any derby from ITALY, SPAIN, ENGLAND, BRAZIL OR ARGENTINA
6. Stanley Cup or US v Mexico



The decision is clear for me and gets clearer as the days go by. Baseball, Football, Basketball really don't hold the same enthusiasm as they once did. Yes I like those sports but I'm not into them anymore. I'll watch because I like watching sports but if a soccer game is on I'm going to be watching that no matter what language.
Soccer is more passionate and more stirring than american sports and I believe that the vested interests in american sports fear soccer increasingly as the days go by. They don't want to lose their customers. Aside from the heated Yanks v Boston rivalry where do you see such enthusiasm from the fans? Maybe some college football games but that's it. Where else are you going to find a fan screaming "DOS A CERO" in spanish to the Mexican National Team with a heavy American accent because he doesnt speak spanish other than "DOS A CERO". Yes at a soccer game. Soccer makes the fan part of the game more so than any other sport. Stand up and start shouting at a baseball game and everyone tells you to sit down. Stand up and chant at a soccer game and everyone wishes they knew the words! In soccer a wild, crazy loud and FUN atmosphere is 50% of the game. A soccer game is 90 minutes of INTENSE FUN and not 4 hours of (yawn) intermittent play.
Now let's look again at why the media always talks about why we hate soccer, why soccer isnt going to make it in America, why america cant be into soccer, blah blah blah. I'm starting to think that those articles are simply being paid for by vested interests in american sports. Call me a conspiracy theorist, call me what you want, but who stands to lose the most customers (fans) if soccer GROWS UP?

 

Actually, when I do that I'm usually told to sit down....at a soccer specific stadium.

 

Definitely soccer gets the most crap. For sure.

In fairness, we asked for it. Too many "soccer is the future of America" articles. Other sports don't claim to be the future. Soccer does. Especially in the NASL days, which is where many of the dissenters' beliefs were formed.

So people swing back. Can't blame 'em. I love to bash Super Y (a youth league) myself, because Super Y promoters spend their time telling me how it's going to be the youth soccer revolution. Just shut up and play. I don't want the revolution stuffed down my throat by eager marketers.

 

Jim Garrison: I never realized Kennedy was so dangerous to the establishment. Is that why?
X: Well that's the real question, isn't it? Why? The how and the who is just scenery for the public. Oswald, Ruby, Cuba, the Mafia. Keeps 'em guessing like some kind of parlor game, prevents 'em from asking the most important question, why? Why was Kennedy killed? Who benefited? Who has the power to cover it up? Who?

JFK, 1991

Deep Throat: Follow the money.
Bob Woodward: What do you mean? Where?
Deep Throat: Oh, I can't tell you that.
Bob Woodward: But you could tell me that.
Deep Throat: No, I have to do this my way. You tell me what you know, and I'll confirm. I'll keep you in the right direction if I can, but that's all. Just... follow the money.

All the President's Men, 1976

 

And who was the major catalyst for today's explosion of NASCAR popularity, when they started regular, consistent coverage in the 80s and 90s while no one else in the mainstream covered it other than the occasional race on CBS or ABC's Wide World of Sports?

That's right...ESPN.

 

True that ESPN was there for the final push from growing regional circuit to national phenomenon, but NASCAR was growing at a massive clip while still only getting the random network coverage, and certainly getting virtually no positive coverage by the mainstream print media.

 

Sports media is totally different from the news media. So to compare the reporting of soccer to the the reporting of the conditions migrant workers live in is apple and oranges.

 

Right, and now ESPN is making a similar commitment to mainstream growth of soccer with the enhanced USMNT match coverage as shown on US-Mexico, their coverage of WC '06, UEFA CL, and a dedicated night of MLS coming this season (Thursday night on the Deuce).

If they can bring in the ratings, fan support, corporate sponsorship and the buzz, the media will have no choice but to cover it, just like NASCAR.

 

Agreed.......and that "if" at the beginning of your sentence is what makes the original post of this thread wrong.

 

Then you need to get better fans! Or show those fans to the door!

 

Brilliant!!!!

 

MLS needs every single fan they can get, you can't afford to show any of them "the door"....unless "the door" is the way into the stadium.

 

Granted that MLS fans need fans but those aren't fans that will continuely support soccer. Those are the casual fans that come and go. They are there for the novelty and newness. If they knew anything about soccer or at the very least understood about soccer, they wouldn't ask you to sit down. They would appreciate that you are enjoying the game and adding to the "atmosphere" of the game!

 

Wait....only fans that stand up will continously support soccer?? Where do you get this crap? Have you actually been to a game in Europe before? Do you realize that about 75% of the crowd sits the entire time? You've got no basis for your position here. The fans that ask me to remain in my seat so they can see the game are just as valuable as the hardcore supporters who stand and chant throughout the game. Regardless of your particular fan evaluation criteria.

 

Watch it, tex, now we're going to get into the whole "true fans" debate again.

Personally, yes, I'm all in favor of bringing the Cosmos "brand" back. Go for it. Knock yourself out. And when they're drawing 15,000 a game and going 10-9-11 and half the people there have no recollection of the period from 1975-84 and the other half are saying "You know what? It's not the same," then come talk to me.

 

Does the fan exist? Does he pay for a ticket? Then he's as true as your gonna get in this day and age, brotha.

But is it really the Cosmos if there is no Studio 64? I mean, really?

 

No, No, No I'm sorry that's not the context I meant to put it in. I just didn't want to type out a long post. Yes there are some fans which prefer to sit and watch. And those fans pay just as well as the ones that jump up and down and scream and so on. Sometimes even more so. What I meant to say or express when I posted that earlier was that there are certain fans that go to MLS games which are there for the novelty and newness of soccer. They dont necessarily understand all the idiosyncrasies of the game. And while we need as many fans as we can get some fans are better left out.

 

STUDIO 54 lol lol lol

Pele was all over the city. My mom has a picture with PELE when he came to her job.