Despite grandiose claims by the NFL, the estimated worldwide television audience for this year's Super Bowl was 166 million people, with only 1/3 of that audience being outside of the US.
By contrast, today's El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid was watched by an estimated 800 million people around the world. Some estimates are as high as 1 billion if you include people watching it on computers and tablets. It is the most watched annual sporting event in the world. Only the final of the World Cup, played every four years, has more viewers.
I have come to the conclusion that most Americans never will appreciate great soccer. That is not the game's fault. That is America's fault. What America missed was the two best players in the world and probably two of the three best teams in the world going head to head for 90 minutes.
Btw, Barcelona, a team I have been a fan of since 1974, beat Real Madrid 2-1. If you missed it, you missed something very special.
This post was edited on 3/26 5:23 PM by mike412
By contrast, today's El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid was watched by an estimated 800 million people around the world. Some estimates are as high as 1 billion if you include people watching it on computers and tablets. It is the most watched annual sporting event in the world. Only the final of the World Cup, played every four years, has more viewers.
I have come to the conclusion that most Americans never will appreciate great soccer. That is not the game's fault. That is America's fault. What America missed was the two best players in the world and probably two of the three best teams in the world going head to head for 90 minutes.
Btw, Barcelona, a team I have been a fan of since 1974, beat Real Madrid 2-1. If you missed it, you missed something very special.
This post was edited on 3/26 5:23 PM by mike412
