Why is soccer not a popular sport in USA?

Answer 1

There is no easy answer to this question as there are several factors that, in concert, add to the complete query.
I use the term football, instead of soccer only because it is more familiar to me, however for purpose of arguement, these are interchangeable.
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Money.
Owners and investors want to see a return on their investments. This cannot be accomplished in the short, in a sport with a niche fan base. The revenue just is not here yet. In America, with it's, 'fast food economy' with a 'here and now' mentality, I cannot see most investors, taking the time to nurture a sport and expand it beyond its, estimated to be, limited fan base.

The exception here is: Lewis Wolff, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball club. He has entered into an agreement to bring back the MLS club, the San Jose Earthquakes.

Personal Familiarity.
Name the closest MLS club near you.
Name two players on that team.

Chances are, unless you are a fan, this is not common knowledge. It is generally not covered, in-depth, by even your local news station.

Under the same arguement:
You've heard of pick-up football (american), pick-up basketball game, right? When was the last time you heard of a pick-up soccer game?
(Hey, we got a side of elevens! Let's play! NOT.)

Particular Familiarity.
What is meant by the term, offside in football/soccer?
What are the different field positions in football?
What is a yellow card?

Most Americans have, if only, a passing familiarity with the particulars of football. They do not watch the game!
If you do not go to the game, you could watch it on the tube ... however ...

Saturation.
Name the last time you saw a MLS game on the tube.
Okay, now ... name the last time you saw a MLS game on the tube that did not involve David Beckham.

Other than the MLS, name any other football league in the world ... when was the last time you saw them on the tube? Even if you have subscription cable/satellite, you literally have to PAY to watch games. The majority of Americans are simply not going to pay to watch foreign league football. Ever. Duh.
I LOVE the English and Scottish Premier Leagues.
I WON'T PAY to watch matches!

What is odd.
There is a proliferation of youth league soccer teams across the United States.
Somewhere around 13.5 million American youths play the sport. Where does the breakdown from youth to pro, occur?
This again, I believe, all comes back to the almighty dollar. You cannot make money on a product that people will not come out to watch. And they will not watch it on the tube if you are holding them hostage to a monthly subscription fee for it. Unless your kid is playing it, you probably ain't gonna watch it local.

Bias.
More like sports spoiled/jaded. The NFL, MLB, NBA ... hell even the NHL. Professional tennis gets more exposure! As Americans, we pretty much have a plethera of professional sports leagues to choose from.
All of these leagues are competing for your dollar. (see Money)

Low Scoring.
Nah, some of the best and most rare baseball games are no-hitters and perfect games. Same goes for Hockey ... Lots of high scoring? No. Action? Yes. And guys fight every now and then, what a plus ...

Not enough action.
Nah, how many subtle nuances can you spot in an infield set-up during a MLB game? As a defensive shuffles to blitz during an NFL game ... This is another item to place under familiarity. If you know the game and pay attention to it, you can watch a team shift into position in seconds over an entire pitch (field).
That is effing cool.

Even places like Yahoo...
(Recently) The US Yahoo soccer page had a few problems with it. No score updates. Old information. Wrong or mislabled areas. I made a feedback report. Rest assured I received the form letter that "we take our customers bs quite seriously ... blah, blah, blah ..."
It took FOUR DAYS to straighten it out. And portions of it still are not right.
A major, world-wide sport and it appears even our very own Yahoo America doesn't care ...
As Americans, why should we?

And poor Martin Rogers talents are being wasted ...

Cheers!

Answer 2

For soccer to reign supreme, like it does in pretty much the rest of the entire world, there will have to be some "converts". I myself am ripe for the picking. I grew up your average baseball/football guy.... but I like to think I have a broader view culturally. And since soccer is adored virtually worldwide, it falls in there. So speaking as someone that some MLS marketing guru is targeting right now, I think that there are some hurdles left to jump. They are, in no certain order: 1. All the falling down and faking injuries. This is a real downer. I don't particularly care to watch the Duke men's basketball team.... and I certainly don't want to watch it in some other sport. Penalties and/or cards for "faking" would be a welcome sight. 2. Officiating. If anything, the 2010 World Cup has put officiating squarely in the spotlight. Why is there no replay? Why can't rulings on the field that will affect the future be reviewed/changed after the game? Why doesn't the ref have to explain why they did/didn't call a foul? All of these questions are answered in the other sports.... why are the left to complain about in the "best game in the world"? 3. More stars will need to go overseas. This is sort of a double-edged sword. You want to keep your stars to keep the MLS relevant. I understand that. But I think it serves the MLS just as well to cultivate their young stars and ship the best of the lot over to the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, etc. and have them undergo a "masters course" in soccer. All the those stars that go across the pond (with $$$ coming this way in the form of transfer fees to keep the MLS afloat) will illuminate the name of the MLS that much more. Players will flock to the MLS, knowing that if they perform well they too could get a shot. All the transfer fees that this could generate could lead to higher salaries and better training.... which will attract better players. Come WC time, the US will be better served. 4. More exposure on mainstream TV. Most of us don't have Fox Soccer Channel or some other overseas cable channel to watch the European Leagues. ESPN, in recent years, has stepped up and broadcast a few Premier League games. They are just scratching the surface.... more airtime.... more exposure.... more interest in the game. Sorry for the long post.... I've just had this on my mind for a couple days.

Answer 3

I don't agree with Angus. While some of what he says may have some basis, I simply think the real reason is far from the list of items he provided. However, he did give this a lot of effort and is obviously what he believes. We have different opinions and that is fine, we can agree to disagree.

The actual reason soccor is not very popular here is because we were seperated from the European continent for a long period of time. While we were building this country, different sports took off. Baseball and football are the major two, but basketball is in there too.

If you think about it rugby is a sport played in Europe that is far less popular in the States than soccor. Soccor has its niche here in the states and most cities and towns have teams which play each year. We participate in the national games but just are not as talented as other countries.

Cricket is another game which just didn't take off here, and there are others as well. In order for a sport to become a National Sport where many different countries take part it must be one in which each country has an interest.

So, the major reason is that our football took the place of soccor while we were much less able to participate in Europes games. This is the major reason we are still playing catch up with soccor.

Another question would be why our football is not more popular in other countries than it currently is. Soccor is played far more than football is.

Football and soccor are two very different games and are not interchangable. We are the only country which does not call soccor football because we have a different game we refer to as football. We had to call it something else to differentiate the two games.

Answer 4

Because, soccer takes brains, which most Americans do not possess. They're much better at American football, where you hit each other just to get a ball to the other side of the field. Baseball, hitting a ball then running around in circles. Much more of these. I'm not saying that these sports are boring. Also, soccer is usually depicted as an "easy" sport in which little 5-year olds can play it and not get injured. Or, maybe it's just the wide variety of sports available in the United States.

Answer 5

We did not have a league for quite awhile. Now that we have MLS and they are bringing over well known players from overseas I think it will become more popular. Americans,in the past, were brought up playing baseball & American football so they weren't exposed to it and did not understand it. That is all changing now with soccer being popular in schools.

Answer 6

10 years ago Americans were not as exposed to soccer, as a result not as many people were playing. I think that its popularity will increase, I mean NASCAR wasn't nearly as popular 10 years ago as it is now. And by the way, Canada's soccer team is super good, or wait, can you play soccer on ice?

Answer 7

I think is about society. In the US, basketball, football or baseball players make a lot of money other than MLS soccer players except for David Beckham.

Answer 8

i'm not sure, but i find it ironic that pretty much every kid in america plays on a soccer team before the age of 10. then they all quit to play football, baseball, or other sports.

Answer 9

1. we're not that good at it.
2. we have too many other options for sports to play.
3. Soccer is boring to many americans.
4. there aren't great multitudes of stats to measure and analyze endlessly.

Answer 10

well, i love soccer. I think that americans think that there is too much running involed. Soccer is getting more popular in USA.