Living in south jersey - didn't;t even know the Union were in the championship until the day of that match. Phillies and Eagles completely wiped them off the page.
OT: Popularity of different sports in USA
- Thread starter WhichReligionIsRight
- Start date
Yeah.. that "Google Trends" list is BS... at least in that it does not actually measure the most popular. Viewing.. yeah.. I think that would be a better indication. Maybe if they were specific about people PARTICIPATING in sports... maybe then I could buy the OP quoted list. But New Jersey having one of the lower interests in FOOTBALL? No.. I don't buy that.
Halftime: 50 most-watched sporting events of 2022 (so far)
Here is a look at the 50 best sports ratings of 2022 so far, with the NFL dominating the list more than usual.www.sportsmediawatch.com
And the TWEET is by an interested party.. MLS.. and it supposedly sources "ImaginaryDrawingsTwt"
IMAGINARY DRAWINGS?
Okay....
They are but still well behind. Back in 2016, my company had been hired to assist them with expanding their HQ's in NYC. They had pretty much doubled in size. We had to rework their network as well as build out 4 state of the art conference rooms.
No data but personal feeling - soccer is an easy sport for kids in America to join - parents are happy since the kid gets to run around a bit for little expense (not much equipment) and get some exercise and the kid is happy since his or her friends are on the team and there isn't nearly the pressure of making a mistake like in baseball for example (all eyes on you at the plate/on the mound). But there is very rarely any actual passion for the game or understanding (parents are clueless) of the game - once high school comes around the kid is on to other things.
getting kids to be playing at high levels isn't cheap anymore. need to play travel/club and not just rec and school. that gets expensive and very very time consuming, as is with all other sports.
Of course but we're just talking about general interest in the sport. As with just about any activity, the ones who specialize in it and perform it at a high level are in the minority. However, at least with hockey since that's what I'm most familiar with, local rec leagues are becoming extinct as rinks have figured out you can make way more money by taking the 12 kids that would be cut at tryouts and making another travel team out of them and entering them at a lower level. Now instead of charging them a few hundred bucks to play rec league, you hit them in the head for a few grand plus another few hundred for the uniforms, apparel, etc. Not sure if this is happening in soccer or other sports too, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Youth Soccer is also hangout time for parents.
I'm at soccer all Saturday morning (son 8:30-10:00, daughter 10:30-11:30).
Minimal parents really paying attention (note - it's 5 and 6 year olds so they aren't really doing much).
It's chitchat and coffee time.
Had one neighbor who's son quit and didn't want to play anymore.
She said "It really stinks because now I can't come hangout either".
Now I'm at the other end and maybe too involved - which is probably also not good.
My son gets there before the coaches usually and I'm warming him up
Did the same thing with t-ball last Spring.
I used to coach my 2 boys when they were playing in the beginner youth teams. Only knew the sport well enough to coach at that level but once they got older and then into travel soccer- would never miss it- assisted the Head Coach and enjoyed every minute of it. Neither wanted to continue into HS as they just didnt want to put that much effort it took to play at that level. Plus, at that point, it became a "who you know" club.
The younger years, you are right, it was just a hangout and a lot of fun. Once they start getting into the travel leagues- not just a hangout anymore- some parents were just nasty as hell.
But the best thing- outside of membership and cleats- almost no cost at all
Being a guy who played, coached, and has children playing it currently. It makes sense to me.
not sure why you feel this way unless you or your kids were really into Soccer and played through HS and later.
Kids can get into soccer cheap and need no real physical differences. The fat kid, short kid, tall lanky kid etc...all can get on a field and kick the ball around at 4-8 y/o without a huge talent gap. It is when you get into the higher leagues, is where the individual can't hide.
In baseball- you are always an individual. So, a kid that is not good- cant just go out there and have fun running around.
Football- size limits, basketball- you still can't really hide- the ball gets in your hand- all eyes on you and very quickly, the smaller kids are just out of competing.
There is vastly more passion for soccer in the USA than you and another poster are giving credit.
I'm a little older than most on this board and I can say with all honesty that I never played one minute of soccer at any level in my entire life. I never understood the game but I had all four of my kids play rec league as a social thing and I'm glad I did.
It wasn't until I became a high school AD (a long time ago)that I started paying more attention and learned a little.
It wasn't until I became a high school AD (a long time ago)that I started paying more attention and learned a little.
There is a huge passion but outside of WC and Olympics- most average Americans can name more hockey players than soccer players. I am not downplaying soccer- it just does not sell as well as the other 4 sports in the USA
I'll put it as simply as I possibly can. Take a random youth soccer team of 8 year olds. Include their parents if you want. 7 years later ask the same kids/parents how often they have watched a single EPL or MLS or Serie A or whatever match in the preceding month? What percentage will be zero? I say a lot. Of course there are a lot of people with great passion for the game- I watch EPl whenever I can - but it ain't a passion generally.
