Is the World Cup big in America?

Question

I know you were in the finals, but was it actualy big news like it was everywhere else. I know you don't play it as much

Answer 1

I think the trophy is the same size no matter what country you're in!
;-)

Answer 2

Ratings for US-Italy game were three times that of the NHL Hockey Championship opening game, bigger than the final day of the US Open Golf recreation tournament and bigger than half the NBA Finals games.

So, in short, it is getting bigger, but by no stretch of the imagination is as big as American Football. I'm a huge fan of both Footie and American Football, so I hope to see soccer make it big in this country.

The problem with our country (the USA) we have some sort of sense of ignorant pride which does not allow us to support a sport we don't already dominate or haven't invented ourselves. Over time this will change, but it may take another 10 to 15 years.

Had the US team advanced as far as they did in Korea, it would have done wonders for the sport (especially considering the viewing times are much better for a European based event vs. that of an Asian one...I remember getting up at 2:30 AM to watch the Quarterfinal game vs. Germany).

Soccer also has a great opportunity with Major League Baseball circling the drain with all the drug problems and the NBA is filled with law breaking thugs. As soccer is now the #1 participation sport in the country I see it one day surpassing those two dying sports.

A good analogy would be how Europeans view basketball...yes, they like the sport, but hardly get excited over the World Championships or Olympic competitions.

Answer 3

I live in a city of 250,000 thousand in the United States. Like everywhere, it depends just where you are in the country, but no. There are die-hard fans. I am one of them. I have taped every single game (this requires hooking up vcr's to two different tv's for some games), seen every goal at least once, I regularly check the FIFAWorldCup.com website, etc. However, I am probably one of maybe twenty people across the country who have seen at least 50 of the games. In the newspapers, forget the front page, infact, even forget the front page of the sports section in my paper. On television, although theyve shown all the games for free, which is a first, and ESPN and ESPN2 have got a lot more viewers than last time, more people still watch regular season baseball, and when American Football pre-season starts in another month, I wouldnt be surprised if that got more or as much coverage as the tournament. The main reason for all those things is that most Americans are just incredibly ignorant, stupid people. Whenever I talk about soccer (football) casually among people, they often make fun of me, with replys such as "when does REAL football season start" and "When does that damn world cup end, so baseball is on TV more." When I reply that to over 90% of the countries in the world, soccer (football) is their favorite sport, they dont give a damn, because most americans dont give a damn about the other countries in the world. Most americans assume that because they are american, they are naturally superior to all other races/nationalities/religions/whatever. This is just MOST americans, not ALL americans. So, in conlusion, no, it is not, because we just dont care about the rest of the world, on the whole. And, on another note, I plan on moving, preferably to Canada, after college.

Answer 4

I'm Canadian but it's been huge here and it is getting great exposure in the United States as well. Average North Americans are watching the games and the tournament has been a hot topic of conversation here in Ontario since it started. So to answer your question, yes the World Cup is and has been big here across the Atlantic.

Answer 5

All over but the United States

Answer 6

Well mate I'm an English bloke that happens to live in Canada, very close to the U. S. border, and let me tell you, If you are European, South American, or African, you can understand the passion for the game. Most of the tossers over here ain't got a clue. They really don't understand football. What would you think of a country that calls it soccer?

Answer 7

Depends on what part. Here in San Francisco you find restaurants packed out with people watching the matches. Steps of Rome in North Beach is so crowded people stand on the street looking inside to watch the big screens. We're not typical of the rest of the country though. I have watched or listened to at least 80% of the matches.

Answer 8

THE WORLD CUP IS NOT THAT BIG JUST UNTIL THIS YEAR THAT IN ESPN AND ABC THE PASSED MOST OF THE GAMES WHICH IS REALLY COOL BUT THE COMMENTARY KIND OF BAD . BUT IT IS COOL TO SEE THAT AMERICA IS CATCHING UP TO THE WORLD'S PAST TIME AND WHAT MOST OF THE WORLD PLAYS . THE WORLD PLAYS SOCCER .

Answer 9

Actually, the people on side of the Atlantic are more interested in watching people driving in circles and hitting balls with sticks. If they're not doing that, they're running into each other at full speed.

Answer 10

It's catching up to the Professional Bowlers Association.

Answer 11

i really don't the world cup is a big deal in america...it will become huge when the team actually becomes a contender