Yeah, my interest tailed off after that season, too - and I've been a huge NHL fan for decades. Doesn't help that my local team have become a league laughing-stock post-lockout, either.
Hmmm ... coincidence that my interest in soccer (and EPL football in particular) increased at the same time? This past NHL playoff season, friends & family would ask me if I watched the playoff game the night before, and I'd be like "no way, Tottenham were playing Arsenal, dude!"
BUY STOCK IN FSC
Anyway, I love hockey too much to stop watching, and have been a Bruins fan too long to stop caring - but it's also nice to live in an area where I can go to a BC or BU game and see next year's NHL players play with passion and without pay, for less than 25% of the cost of a Bruins ticket. Lots of cute girls, too
SoI, can you EVER see a professional soccer league in America even rising to an NHL level of popularity?
The USA/Mexico final of the Gold Cup outdid any game of the Stanley Cup finals in ratings last month.
Granted, the majority of the viewers were watching the spanish-language broadcast on Univision, but that is still astounding, and a sign that one sport is on it's way up, the other on it's way down. And to answer your question directly, yes, I could see a soccer team - in California or Texas especially - being more popular (better ratings and higher ticket revenue) than the local NHL franchise. MLS games often draw larger crowds than NHL games or NBA games in some markets. Face it, we grew up looking at the sport as something completely foreign and marginal, but there is a whole generation of American kids who have grown up playing and watching the game. Things do change, you know.
SoI, can you EVER see a professional soccer league in America even rising to an NHL level of popularity?
The USA/Mexico final of the Gold Cup outdid any game of the Stanley Cup finals in ratings last month.
Granted, the majority of the viewers were watching the spanish-language broadcast on Univision, but that is still astounding, and a sign that one sport is on it's way up, the other on it's way down. And to answer your question directly, yes, I could see a soccer team - in California or Texas especially - being more popular (better ratings and higher ticket revenue) than the local NHL franchise. MLS games often draw larger crowds than NHL games or NBA games in some markets. Face it, we grew up looking at the sport as something completely foreign and marginal, but there is a whole generation of American kids who have grown up playing and watching the game. Things do change, you know.
You can't really attract masses of people without real talent though. It's true with any sport I think.
A Professional basketball league in Japan was made a few years back. Once the novelty wears off, the real hoop heads are gonna be asking? Where's the talent?
The new line from know-nothing American commentators is the same line many UK commentators have been saying for years: that he's not that good.
Agreed, you only need to look at his appearances for Real Madrid towards the end of their season to get a glimpse of his quality... Not many better passers or crossers of the ball than him on his day... Also, i saw that corny Victoria Beckham program, yeah loads of it was staged, but she actually is self deprecating, she's in the UK press constantly and she's been like that in every interview/show i've seen...
soccer in america wont catch till the talent level is competitive with that of european leagues outside of the big 3 (england, italy, spain). that means NO SALARY CAP. try building a team with about 10 mill + one exception....its a team game that requires many good players not one great player with mediocrity around it.
that said....WORST WEEK FOR SPORTS??? you sound like ESPN
And the MLS and David Beckham can't crack the front page.
thank god. who gives a fuck. his wife pises me of.
To be honest: his wife ain't half bad on TV. She comes across as pretty witty and funny, dare I say. I think she's definitely got the brains in that family.
uh-oh! you sound like you watched victoria's coming to america special on nbc last week. you know that stuff is all pr and staged right?
i remember when mick jagger had his on abc and they showed him in a limo coming from wyclef's studio and he was talking about rap on his celly. they tried to make him look good but that's a lot of work
Edith, I just spent the last 3.5 months making a reality TV show on making the cheerleaders; i know how to stage some TV, and what a producer and editor can do.
In all seriousness, though...she's good in front of a camera. There is only so much you can polish a terd, and she sure ain't a terd. I'm not gonna start TiVoing the shit, but given that the other team at my work is the NE Revolution, we've been following this story pretty closely.
Kind of good viewing but I really thought she came across as rude, stupid, self-obsessed and bitchy despite the fact that this was a PR puff from Simon Fuller. From direct experience I can tell you she is all of these. David has the brain synapse out of those two.
I could easily see Soccer becoming the fourth most popular team sport in this country, eclipsing the NHL.
That doesn't mean it will top NASCAR, Golf, or Xtreme Sports, though...That said, it is a good time for soccer to make moves, so go for it.
And, as for Edith and Jaymack's take on my take of reality TV...Dudes, no shit there are writers and shit is staged. Anyone who doesn't know that shit is living under a rock and/or doesn't want to know. Everyone should know that reality TV is the last place to look for REALITY.
But, as I said...She's sort of compelling. Compared to say...Paula Abdul (whose PR & Handlers shouldn't be fired, but shot) Victoria Becks comes across like Kate Hepburn. As I said...I don't watch the show. But, she can carry a show- she's good on TV, and smarter than a rock, as well as her husband.
SoI needs a sports board that is the equivalent of Waxidermy where he can talk about the MLS and NHL and hate on Fantasy Football which is only like one of the greatest things ever.
I don't know what people are talking about. Canada just had the world cup under 20's. It broke many attendance records. Something like 1.3 million tickets sold.
This is in fucking Canada for an under 20's tournament.
As far as soccer in the US goes...
They just had the CONCACAF Gold Cup a bit back and the game between the US & Mexico drew 41% more viewers than the Stanley Cup. And that was just on Univision.
Television viewership of soccer in the U.S. is at an all-time high.
It will be no problem taking over hockey in the US.
With how much it's played at a youth level. I have no doubt it will be big in the US in the next 20 years.
I don't know what people are talking about. Canada just had the world cup under 20's. It broke many attendance records. Something like 1.3 million tickets sold.
This is in fucking Canada for an under 20's tournament.
As far as soccer in the US goes...
They just had the CONCACAF Gold Cup a bit back and the game between the US & Mexico drew 41% more viewers than the Stanley Cup. And that was just on Univision.
Television viewership of soccer in the U.S. is at an all-time high.
It will be no problem taking over hockey in the US.
With how much it's played at a youth level. I have no doubt it will be big in the US in the next 20 years.
Americans dont think Mexican Mike/Zimbabwe Zeke/Portuguese Paul/Colombian Craig's viewership counts.
The new line from know-nothing American commentators is the same line many UK commentators have been saying for years: that he's not that good.
seriously this is the line that some of the commentators have been towing in print as of late, talmbout "here in the US he is known as one of the greatest to play the game, but those that know shit about soccer know he's actually not that great, is a one-trick pony, hasn't won shit in years, etc...."
I know, it's stupid.
Soccer and MMA will one day be on par with hockey and NASCAR (in terms of number of viewers, though less region-specific). But they will never achieve the status of football or basketball or baseball in this country.
As much as i am not a huge fan of the MLS current procedures (no point system, playoffs, salary caps, seasons not aligning with most of N. Hemisphere, etc.)
I do applaud them for trying to get teams into smaller stadiums. Denver & Toronto games look fun as hell, primarily because its 15K people in a 15K stadium, as opposed to 15K people in an NFL stadium.
Soccer will be big in the US one day soon. Too bad the SS masses don't realize that just cuz you ain't watching, doesn't mean that a lot of other folks arent paying attention.
Soccer will be big in the US one day soon. Too bad the SS masses don't realize that just cuz you ain't watching, doesn't mean that a lot of other folks arent paying attention.
They just had the CONCACAF Gold Cup a bit back and the game between the US & Mexico drew 41% more viewers than the Stanley Cup. And that was just on Univision.
I read recently that a college Lacrosse game had more cable TV viewers than a New Jersey Devils game.
Soccer will be big in the US one day soon. Too bad the SS masses don't realize that just cuz you ain't watching, doesn't mean that a lot of other folks arent paying attention.
SoI needs a sports board that is the equivalent of Waxidermy where he can talk about the MLS and NHL and hate on Fantasy Football which is only like one of the greatest things ever.
Comments
and I've been a huge NHL fan for decades. Doesn't help
that my local team have become a league laughing-stock
post-lockout, either.
Hmmm ... coincidence that my interest in soccer (and EPL
football in particular) increased at the same time? This
past NHL playoff season, friends & family would ask me if
I watched the playoff game the night before, and I'd be like
"no way, Tottenham were playing Arsenal, dude!"
BUY STOCK IN FSC
Anyway, I love hockey too much to stop watching, and have been
a Bruins fan too long to stop caring - but it's also nice to live
in an area where I can go to a BC or BU game and see next year's
NHL players play with passion and without pay, for less than 25%
of the cost of a Bruins ticket. Lots of cute girls, too
I dig the World Cup but that's it for me for Soccer. USA.
Heavyweight Boxing: I dig Klitschko fights. Hope he can unify the belts.
Hold tight, Rock, you can smell the pigskin....it's gonna be a great year.
The USA/Mexico final of the Gold Cup outdid any
game of the Stanley Cup finals in ratings last month.
Granted, the majority of the viewers were watching the
spanish-language broadcast on Univision, but that is still
astounding, and a sign that one sport is on it's way up, the
other on it's way down. And to answer your question directly,
yes, I could see a soccer team - in California or Texas especially -
being more popular (better ratings and higher ticket revenue) than
the local NHL franchise. MLS games often draw larger crowds than
NHL games or NBA games in some markets. Face it, we grew up looking
at the sport as something completely foreign and marginal, but there
is a whole generation of American kids who have grown up playing and
watching the game. Things do change, you know.
You can't really attract masses of people without real talent though. It's true with any sport I think.
A Professional basketball league in Japan was made a few years back. Once the novelty wears off, the real hoop heads are gonna be asking? Where's the talent?
THIS WHOLE YEAR MY MY YEAR.
The EXPOS were robbed!
Agreed, you only need to look at his appearances for Real Madrid towards the end of their season to get a glimpse of his quality... Not many better passers or crossers of the ball than him on his day...
Also, i saw that corny Victoria Beckham program, yeah loads of it was staged, but she actually is self deprecating, she's in the UK press constantly and she's been like that in every interview/show i've seen...
that said....WORST WEEK FOR SPORTS??? you sound like ESPN
Kind of good viewing but I really thought she came across as rude, stupid, self-obsessed and bitchy despite the fact that this was a PR puff from Simon Fuller. From direct experience I can tell you she is all of these. David has the brain synapse out of those two.
That doesn't mean it will top NASCAR, Golf, or Xtreme Sports, though...That said, it is a good time for soccer to make moves, so go for it.
And, as for Edith and Jaymack's take on my take of reality TV...Dudes, no shit there are writers and shit is staged. Anyone who doesn't know that shit is living under a rock and/or doesn't want to know. Everyone should know that reality TV is the last place to look for REALITY.
But, as I said...She's sort of compelling. Compared to say...Paula Abdul (whose PR & Handlers shouldn't be fired, but shot) Victoria Becks comes across like Kate Hepburn. As I said...I don't watch the show. But, she can carry a show- she's good on TV, and smarter than a rock, as well as her husband.
That's funny.
With the constant influx of immigrants to America its inevitable for Soccer to grow.
NBA & MLB are grabbib kids from all over the globe.
I dont know what the hell Football is doin.....oh yeah controlling their homegrown monsters.
dont look at me! i didn't bring up posh spice on tv
I was living in NYC when the Cosmos signed Pele and announced that Soccer had arrived in the U.S.
Not in my lifetime, I guarantee it.
(Yeah, yeah, yeah...I'm old and my lifetime may only be a few more years....damn young whippersnappers)
Remember the radio commercials.....dat dat - datdatdat - dat dat dat...COSMOS!!!
Yes, the New York Cosmos versus the Tampa Bay Rowdies...look it up.
"Dad, why do you hate everything you don't understand?"
"Bobby, I don't hate you."
"No, I mean soccer."
"Oh yeah...I HATE soccer."
It broke many attendance records. Something like 1.3 million tickets sold.
This is in fucking Canada for an under 20's tournament.
As far as soccer in the US goes...
They just had the CONCACAF Gold Cup a bit back and the game between the US & Mexico drew 41% more viewers than the Stanley Cup. And that was just on Univision.
Television viewership of soccer in the U.S. is at an all-time high.
It will be no problem taking over hockey in the US.
With how much it's played at a youth level. I have no doubt it will be big in the US in the next 20 years.
Americans dont think Mexican Mike/Zimbabwe Zeke/Portuguese Paul/Colombian Craig's viewership counts.
seriously this is the line that some of the commentators have been towing in print as of late, talmbout "here in the US he is known as one of the greatest to play the game, but those that know shit about soccer know he's actually not that great, is a one-trick pony, hasn't won shit in years, etc...."
I know, it's stupid.
Soccer and MMA will one day be on par with hockey and NASCAR (in terms of number of viewers, though less region-specific). But they will never achieve the status of football or basketball or baseball in this country.
I do applaud them for trying to get teams into smaller stadiums. Denver & Toronto games look fun as hell, primarily because its 15K people in a 15K stadium, as opposed to 15K people in an NFL stadium.
Soccer will be big in the US one day soon. Too bad the SS masses don't realize that just cuz you ain't watching, doesn't mean that a lot of other folks arent paying attention.
"Fuck Elvis, I'm listening to Perry Como!"
Soccer just needs more superstars in America.
I read recently that a college Lacrosse game had more cable TV viewers than a New Jersey Devils game.
Hockey is dead.
Soccer is the Perry Como of Sports
www.weirdsportsthatsuck.com
bicycling = tour de france disaster
are people following what has been going on this week??
the top rider just got kicked off his team for suspician of doping. dude had been leading the race for something like 7 straight days.