OT:Womens World Cup ratings Out do Final 4

[paulbl99]

Yeah, baseball is boring.

Yes indeed
If you are referring to the Buccos
The game on the North Shore last night had more great plays , real action and intrigue than soccer could produce ....ever

Boring....right

If near constant action is one's defining of not being boring.... As brilliantly pointed earlier in this thread by another poster

....... take up watching ping pong

 

[NTOP]

My God. And your definition of sport is?

This is a basketbal board right? You do realize that college basketball draws about a 1 or 2 share on a Big Monday, and then doesn't draw what the women's World Cup did until the Final Four...so by your definition college basketball isn't a sport.

FK....you are ignoring the fact that college hoops games are televised all over the country at the same time...easy to find 10-12 games if you buy packages. While we're watching Pitt vs. GT on Root....Duke fans are watching their team play at Miami. In the fall, I could watch 8 FB games on Saturdays, and I don't buy any regional or national package.
The NCAA final does worse because 320 schools aren't playing, and lots of fans lost interest. The Olympics get strong ratings, yet it's tough to get any coverage for T&F, e.g. Truly an apples-bananas comparison. Going up against Criminal Minds reruns and the local MLB team isn't that tough Great for the team & the sport, but be realistic.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

I get it NTOP. If you go back through this thread, you will see that I am completely objective as to why the ratings were what they were. 100+ posts later here we are, when in the OP I was simply drawing attention to a pretty impressive TV rating, especially for a game in which the players do not use their hands and stand around doing nothing...thus making it not really a sport. When you consider how boring the game is (notice I said game and not sport), it's teuly amazing that people tuned in at all.

I only used that example to debunk a ridiculous comment stating that soccer wasn't a sport. I have addtional thoughts but do not feel like getting into them, because Paul will then jump in and feel the need to tell us for the 30th time that he thinks soccer is boring. I do not understand why people feel that they need to share their opinion on soccer to the degree that they do. I can't imagine what life would be like for them if they used the same passion that they use for ripping soccer and used it toward something more useful.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

FK....you are ignoring the fact that college hoops games are televised all over the country at the same time...easy to find 10-12 games if you buy packages. While we're watching Pitt vs. GT on Root....Duke fans are watching their team play at Miami. In the fall, I could watch 8 FB games on Saturdays, and I don't buy any regional or national package.
The NCAA final does worse because 320 schools aren't playing, and lots of fans lost interest. The Olympics get strong ratings, yet it's tough to get any coverage for T&F, e.g. Truly an apples-bananas comparison. Going up against Criminal Minds reruns and the local MLB team isn't that tough Great for the team & the sport, but be realistic.

Ummm....where do I start? First off, the NCAA Final is the champion of its sport., If it draws low ratings, it is not because "320" schools aren't playing, it just means people really don't care. College basketball continues to lose its popularity mostly because of the NBA cannibalizing it.

As for your point, yeah...when there is a SINGLE WEEKLY EVENT, the attention much bigger, and in something like say NASCAR, where people tried to pass it off as the most popular sport (LOL) because 250,000 people attended a "race", they forget that on any given Sunday, there are 16 cities hosting NFL games, drawing over a million people and blowing out NASCAR in ratings.

All that aside, the TV ratings for the women's game was phenomenal. You can't minimize it.

 

[NTOP]

Ummm....where do I start? First off, the NCAA Final is the champion of its sport., If it draws low ratings, it is not because "320" schools aren't playing, it just means people really don't care. College basketball continues to lose its popularity mostly because of the NBA cannibalizing it.

As for your point, yeah...when there is a SINGLE WEEKLY EVENT, the attention much bigger, and in something like say NASCAR, where people tried to pass it off as the most popular sport (LOL) because 250,000 people attended a "race", they forget that on any given Sunday, there are 16 cities hosting NFL games, drawing over a million people and blowing out NASCAR in ratings.

All that aside, the TV ratings for the women's game was phenomenal. You can't minimize it.

Haven't minimized it at all.....but that doesn't mean WATCHING soccer is a BFD. Millions play it, butratings like this one game are the result of a lot of factors. What would the ratings have been for Germany vs. Japan, e.g.?? Take out the patriotic juices flowing....you've got, well, just another ESPN slot-filler.

 

[paulbl99]

The fact that more boys are playing soccer but did not translate into popularity growth at a major league level was the
point.
It's popular with little kids and now with 350m as a population, of course more older kids too.

But over those 40 yrs the popularity of soccer v football wasnt even worth measuring because it wasn't and still is not close.

And anybody thinking that it will anytime soon be more popular the top level sports in this country is dreaming.

And btw whatever Grandpa was trying to point out, he had no trouble whatsoever finding incredibly talented fb players to play for Dear Old STate...
Like so many other coaches as CFB skyrocketed in popularity.
Regardless how many played soccer.

I get it NTOP. If you go back through this thread, you will see that I am completely objective as to why the ratings were what they were. 100+ posts later here we are, when in the OP I was simply drawing attention to a pretty impressive TV rating, especially for a game in which the players do not use their hands and stand around doing nothing...thus making it not really a sport. When you consider how boring the game is (notice I said game and not sport), it's teuly amazing that people tuned in at all.

I only used that example to debunk a ridiculous comment stating that soccer wasn't a sport. I have addtional thoughts but do not feel like getting into them, because Paul will then jump in and feel the need to tell us for the 30th time that he thinks soccer is boring. I do not understand why people feel that they need to share their opinion on soccer to the degree that they do. I can't imagine what life would be like for them if they used the same passion that they use for ripping soccer and used it toward something more useful.

i think I posted 4 5 times before this
How many for you

And a couple were responding to baseball being boring.....which were posted well before my first

But I'm done this is too hot button for the uber sensitive soccer crowd

Not trying to piss anybody off actually

So seriously
Enjoy

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

But the rest of your post is so ignorant that I don't even know where to begin.

Surely you didn't expect anything different.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

http://www.statbunker.com/competitions/HomeAttendance?comp_id=507

Here are some interesting attendance numbers for 2015 Major League Soccer. I am not a fan of the league, but I think this shows that soccer isn't going away like it did in the 1970's. Much to the dismay of American sporting purists.

This for a modest and average product at best. Can't imagine what would happen if the worlds best players came here like they do in the NHL.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Don't need a poll. Soccer is not and will not (ever) be a Top 4 sport. In fact, my ranking (which most experts would accept) are as follows:
1.NFL Football
2.MLB
3.College Football (could be no. # 2)
4. NBA
5. NCAA Hoops
6.NHL
7. High School Football
8. High School Basketball
9. NCAA Baseball
10 World Cup Soccer (moves up to No. # 4 for 3 weeks every time USA mens' or womans' teams play in World Cup)
11. NCAA Hockey
12 NCAA Womans' Hoops

It depends how you categorize soccer. MLS gets very low ratings (but very good attendance, better than NBA and NHL). But, the EPL, World Cup, Champions League, Euros, get good ratings. So much so that now the Bundesliga will be on mainstream TV this fall (FS1). If we throw those events under the term "world-class soccer" and leave out MLS because it is not "world-class soccer," TV ratings would be as such:

1. NFL
2. College Football
3. NBA
4. MLB
5. World-class soccer
6. College Basketball
7. NHL/MLS (tie, but NHL playoffs draw more than NHL)

The other stuff you mentioned doesn't even register.

If the MLS was truly the #1 league in the world like the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL, it would be #3 behind NFL and College Football and perhaps #2. If you put Real Madrid's roster on the Riverhounds and move them to Heinz Field, believe me they'd sell out every game and interest in a league like that would be off the charts. That's what the MLS would like to do by 2026.

And this is why I say that if the MLS was t

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Once again, baseball is boring eh?

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Once again, baseball is boring eh?

It is.

 

[Consultant Panther]

It depends how you categorize soccer. MLS gets very low ratings (but very good attendance, better than NBA and NHL).

I think soccer is on the rise in this country, but your attendance argument doesn't make sense. MLS may have better attendance PER GAME than the NBA and NHL, but I believe they play MANY less games. They also play in outdoor venues that hold many more fans.

Like often happens on message boards, both sides of this are making silly exaggerated claims. It's pretty cleat that soccer's popularity is increasing in this country, it's also clear that it has a LONG way to go.

 

[Pitt79]

It's not hard to figure out why kids get a little older and move onto better sports here in the good old USA....because we have them!
Hopefully the rapid growth of LaCrosse continues, that at least is worth watching v soccer.

Nil nil

That's where you live, where I live kids don't move on to "better sports" like football or basketball necessarilly. and they don't even necesarrily move on to "inferior sports" like baseball either.

Lacrosse. seriously, I'm getting to the point that if you need to wear helmets and shoulder pads or use sticks it's a BS sport. I love football, I played it, but growing up it seemed normal, now I'm not so sure. And yes, I'll watch every minute of every Steelers and Pitt game come September.

 

[Pitt79]

The kids they get from football are the ones that are WIMPS and can't cut it in football.

There are a lot of wimps in football who couldn't cut it in soccer, couldn't keep up with the running, lot's of fat guys who would be finished and have to come out of the game in 10 minutes or so totally gassed.

 

[Pitt79]

Yes indeed
If you are referring to the Buccos
The game on the North Shore last night had more great plays , real action and intrigue than soccer could produce ....ever

Boring....right

If near constant action is one's defining of not being boring.... As brilliantly pointed earlier in this thread by another poster

....... take up watching ping pong

But baseball has NOTHING, ZILCH, you can say there are a lot of great plays and "drama", but for the 5-6 dramatic great moments that take up 30 second of real time, you sit through 2 hours of guys standing around scratching their crotches staring into space.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Baseball surely wasn't boring last night and Saturday night. Man I had fun watching the Bucs and Cards. Then again, the game was an event. And Essentially the top two teams in baseball were playing. It was also my hometown team playing that I grew up watching.

But then again, baseball yesterday afternoon was an absolute snoozefest. I was remodeling a section of my game room and had the Orioles and Nationals on the tv. I almost fell asleep and fell off my ladder.

Growing up with a sport and with a team makes a difference. And even in this case, the sport can be really boring.

 

[Pitt79]

Once again, baseball is boring eh?

Extremely, I can barely sit through an at bat I am so bored by it.

 

[Pitt79]

Baseball surely wasn't boring last night and Saturday night. Man I had fun watching the Bucs and Cards. Then again, the game was an event. And Essentially the top two teams in baseball were playing. It was also my hometown team playing that I grew up watching.

But then again, baseball yesterday afternoon was an absolute snoozefest. I was remodeling a section of my game room and had the Orioles and Nationals on the tv. I almost fell asleep and fell off my ladder.

Growing up with a sport and with a team makes a difference. And even in this case, the sport can be really boring.

I grew up with the Buccos, Roberto and Captain Willie, the Lumber Company and the Cobra, the Teke and Sangy, yup, I was a fan, big time. I'm not sure what happened to me, I think I objectively started watching soccer more and more and realized, I love it and can't stand baseball. Last night's game was boring, EVERY baseball game is boring! i watched a couple at bats, I just can't focus, it's too slow. I think because we had no soccer and it was bashed into our heads that baseball is AMERICA'S PASSTIME, you almost felt obligated to like it.

 

[Pitt79]

Yesterday's MLS game on ESPN was NYC vs. Toronto FC in Yankee Stadium, I DVRed it and watched late while the Pirates/Cards was on, I'd switch over to the baseball about every half hour or so to see how the Buccos where doing-I still follow their results every day, even though I can't watch it that much. The soccer game was crazy, end to end action, constant drama & excitement, no chance to breathe, it ended 4-4. Wow, an interesting, fast paced sporting event in Yankee Stadium a place that is usually reserved for boring crap. lol

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I think soccer is on the rise in this country, but your attendance argument doesn't make sense. MLS may have better attendance PER GAME than the NBA and NHL, but I believe they play MANY less games. They also play in outdoor venues that hold many more fans.

Like often happens on message boards, both sides of this are making silly exaggerated claims. It's pretty cleat that soccer's popularity is increasing in this country, it's also clear that it has a LONG way to go.

You are right, they play less home games. 20 vs 40 (NBA, NHL). So, surely that helps their "average" attendance numbers but since they dont play 40 games, we have nothing to compare to. Their average home numbers are better................and for a garbage product (all due respect MLS). Ask yourself this, how well would the NBA and NHL draw if they had the 7th or 8th best leagues in the world instead of the BEST. Clearly, there is a pretty large niche market in this country for "garbage-league" soccer. The market in the US for world-class soccer would blow everybody's minds like I said. Move Man U to Pittsburgh, Chelsea to Philly, Barca to Cleveland, Real Madrid to Baltimore, etc and a league like that would EASILY EASILY EASILY surpass MLB and NBA.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I agree with you Zara about soccer being great for females. My appreciation for the sport grew out of my exposure on that side of things. But the rest of your post is so ignorant that I don't even know where to begin. I don't know if you live in western PA. If you do, check out a Peters/USC game or a Canon Mac/USC game. I assure you, it's not a game being played by the faint of heart. It's physical. It's intense. It's played at an incredibly fast pace. And it's played without pads. No "wimps"would ever see the field at that level. And then go watch a club game (soccers version of AAU ) and see it amplified x10.

When I was in college and played IM soccer, we looked down our nose at the real soccer players that we played against. Today? I respect the hell out of those kids.

Yea, this is another stereotype about soccer. Soccer is a very physical sport, especially they Americanized version. Europeans hate how physical American soccer is and they have a hard time adjusting to MLS when they come over because of it. Soccer players use a lot of the same principles as basketball players. The best way I can describe the physical-ness of soccer is an old-school Pitt/Dixon Big East game X2. Its more physical than that.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Yesterday's MLS game on ESPN was NYC vs. Toronto FC in Yankee Stadium, I DVRed it and watched late while the Pirates/Cards was on, I'd switch over to the baseball about every half hour or so to see how the Buccos where doing-I still follow their results every day, even though I can't watch it that much. The soccer game was crazy, end to end action, constant drama & excitement, no chance to breathe, it ended 4-4. Wow, an interesting, fast paced sporting event in Yankee Stadium a place that is usually reserved for boring crap. lol

After the Bucco game, I turned on ESPN FC, and I saw the highlights of that NYC Toronto game. That had to be an incredibly entertaining game to watch. I don't follow MLS at all, but if there is no sports option on a particular evening, I will watch it. And I didn't realize Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley play for Toronto? I will certainly check them out now when/if they are on. And once Lampard starts playing, I will certainly watch NYC. But getting back to your original point about that MLS game...I grew up playing baseball. I played at a high level. But if given the option today of watching the Orioles/Nationals, or Toronto/NYC MLS game, I would watch the soccer every time.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

After the Bucco game, I turned on ESPN FC, and I saw the highlights of that NYC Toronto game. That had to be an incredibly entertaining game to watch. I don't follow MLS at all, but if there is no sports option on a particular evening, I will watch it. And I didn't realize Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley play for Toronto? I will certainly check them out now when/if they are on. And once Lampard starts playing, I will certainly watch NYC. But getting back to your original point about that MLS game...I grew up playing baseball. I played at a high level. But if given the option today of watching the Orioles/Nationals, or Toronto/NYC MLS game, I would watch the soccer every time.

Toronto is rarely on TV in the US, even with Bradley and Altidore because there's no home TV market draw to appeal to. As much as I criticze MLS (and I do semi-follow and watch the league), it would be pretty awesome to see Bradley/Altidore in a 2 legged playoff series. The atmosphere in Toronto for that would be out of this world. Also, I'd love to see NYCFC make it with their dream trio of Villa/Lampard/Pirlo. Wow would that be fun. Nobody would watch it because its MLS but it would still be fun.

 

[IamHeisenberg]

After the Bucco game, I turned on ESPN FC, and I saw the highlights of that NYC Toronto game. That had to be an incredibly entertaining game to watch. I don't follow MLS at all, but if there is no sports option on a particular evening, I will watch it. And I didn't realize Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley play for Toronto? I will certainly check them out now when/if they are on. And once Lampard starts playing, I will certainly watch NYC. But getting back to your original point about that MLS game...I grew up playing baseball. I played at a high level. But if given the option today of watching the Orioles/Nationals, or Toronto/NYC MLS game, I would watch the soccer every time.

FK, please stop trying to convert some of these guys on this board. NTOP is who he is and his opinions are not always in the mainstream at all.

Honestly, I love the level soccer is in this country. I am guaranteed to watch every USMNT match on HD television somewhere. Most all USWNT matches as well. Can watch MLS if I want, but generally choose BPL. I can honestly say I probably watch more BPL in August, September and October than I do college football.

But I could care less if some of the people on this board would even watch a match. I think their hoops opinion are trash, so why would I care what they think of soccer?

I will say if I could get rid of one thing that would be diving. Its absurd.

On a side note I find it amazing that people look at American football as being so exciting. I have to laugh when someone gets a carry and goes one yard and the crowd goes nuts. Good god nothing happened.

Soccer is no more boring than other sports. Me personally I love to see the parrying and back and forth on trying to attack a defense. Since I got to see Meghan Klingenberg way more than I ever wanted to in Cup soccer I enjoyed the heck out of watching her take on forwards in her left back position. I had as many nerves watching her trying to make a tackle as I did with my own daughter trying to take the ball away from Meghan in Cup. Ironically, my daughter's team probably shut Meghan down more than any other team did in the regular season but she always found a way to score goals when it counted in the championship.

See you at Heinz for when the USWNT plays there in August.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Good stuff. Except I am not trying to convert anyone. These are deep rooted opinions that only they can overcome and nothing anyone says will change minds. My flip toward soccer came naturally over the course of years through my love for sports and by watching it every weekend from the sideline. It didn't happen overnight and because someone told me it was a great sport. For some reason, some people have such a deep weird hatred for soccer, it would be like trying to tell a 60 year Union head that he should be a republican. He needs to learn for himself and come to any realization organically. My last couple posts were conversational in nature and directed at the soccer people here. Anything directed at the others is primarily when something stupid was said (ie-it's not a sport, or its for wimps who can't cut it in american football)

 

[IamHeisenberg]

Good stuff. Except I am not trying to convert anyone. These are deep rooted opinions that only they can overcome and nothing anyone says will change minds. My flip toward soccer came naturally over the course of years through my love for sports and by watching it every weekend from the sideline. It didn't happen overnight and because someone told me it was a great sport. For some reason, some people have such a deep weird hatred for soccer, it would be like trying to tell a 60 year Union head that he should be a republican. He needs to learn for himself and come to any realization organically. My last couple posts were conversational in nature and directed at the soccer people here. Anything directed at the others is primarily when something stupid was said (ie-it's not a sport, or its for wimps who can't cut it in american football)

Got it. I played in an Over 50 league a few years back and never ached as much as I did doing that. It would take me five days to recover and I run 5 miles every other day. So, i can tell you even we near geriatrics are putting in more than five miles in an 80 minute game with free substitution. Unfortunately couldn't put my iphone in my shorts to track distance because the ref called me out on that.

 

[Pitt79]

You are right, they play less home games. 20 vs 40 (NBA, NHL). So, surely that helps their "average" attendance numbers but since they dont play 40 games, we have nothing to compare to. Their average home numbers are better................and for a garbage product (all due respect MLS). Ask yourself this, how well would the NBA and NHL draw if they had the 7th or 8th best leagues in the world instead of the BEST. Clearly, there is a pretty large niche market in this country for "garbage-league" soccer. The market in the US for world-class soccer would blow everybody's minds like I said. Move Man U to Pittsburgh, Chelsea to Philly, Barca to Cleveland, Real Madrid to Baltimore, etc and a league like that would EASILY EASILY EASILY surpass MLB and NBA.

The thing is, I don't care about the quality of play at all, I watch GU14 like 20-30 games a year, and I like MLS. Maybe it's garbage league, but I can relate to the cities for one thing. I don't know how some people do it, "Get Excited" about rooting so adamantly for some English or Spanish city's team? I root for Olympiakos of Greece too, but I have family reasons as to why, I'm connected to their city in a serious way, I even lived there for 8 months once-but even they are a 3rd or 4th rate league. So I have an easy time rooting for DC United, I've been to their games, they are less than an hour from me, my local tv package has all of their games, and they come on in the evening, not at 8am on a Saturday or noon on a weekday... relating to the cities or easy access to broadcasts is more important to me than quality of the league. If I lived in Pittsburgh, I'd probably get Riverhounds season tickets and HAVE FUN now before it gets popular and gets expensive, lol. Hell, I even go to Baltimore Blast indoor soccer, just because WE HAVE FUN THERE, who cares if the players are 4th rate? To be honest, I think the soccer snobbery of fans that would rather watch "the very best" from the EPL rather than get into the MLS is what will keep the MLS as a garbage league for the long haul.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

But baseball has NOTHING, ZILCH, you can say there are a lot of great plays and "drama", but for the 5-6 dramatic great moments that take up 30 second of real time, you sit through 2 hours of guys standing around scratching their crotches staring into space.

Oh please and football is much different?

 

[Pitt79]

Oh please and football is much different?

Yes, absolutely, within every 40 seconds there is 5-10 seconds of action where most of the people on the field are active, which is way more than baseball.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

It's not that I am being a snob, it's just that I haven't followed MLS for whatever reason. I follow the EPL only but I am not sure why. I don't follow the Spanish League when in many ways it is a better on the field product than the English League. I have no doubts that if Pittsburgh had an MLS team, I would follow the league.

Whats up at DC United? I see in the info I provided above that the attendance figures are toward the bottom of the league. The team is good right? I know RFK is a dump. I have been there for a game. Is that why numbers are down?

 

[Fk_Pitt]

So I am heading to Oklahoma for the U.S. Youth National Chanpionships next week. Additionally, I am going to FedEx field to see the Chelsea/Barcelona game when I get home from Oklahoma. Any thoughts from a local on Fed Ex Field? Then I will be headed to Heinz Field for the U.S. Women. Looking forward to all of it. Maybe I am wrong with my love of the sport. In the last year and a half, I have been from Rhode Island to New Jersey, from Hershey (high school state final) to Rochester, from Raleigh to Vegas, from Columbus to Disney (x2), and from West Virginia to Oklahoma. Not to mention the multiple visits to South Carolina where my daughter is committed to play. Finally in September, they can pay for the visit, given she can officially take her official visit!!! I have spent way too much money!!!

 

[Pitt79]

Whats up at DC United? I see in the info I provided above that the attendance figures are toward the bottom of the league. The team is good right? I know RFK is a dump. I have been there for a game. Is that why numbers are down?

DC United is very established and has a hard core fan base, I've only been there twice in person, but they probaby average 15000, but it's hard core, the tailgate culture rivals the Steelers, except with 1/4th the people. But people out early and cooking up a storm and drinking beers, good atmoshpere.

I started following them a couple years ago, as good a team as any to follow I guess and convenient for me. Plus they are an original league team and a traditional power 4 time MLS Cup Champ. They are in 1st place right now, so a very good team at the moment.

I think they have a bright future, RFK is a dump, but the grounds been broken on a brand new soccer specific standium near the Nationals Baseball Park down near the National Mall, I think it's supposed to seat like 22000.

 

[Zaratoughda]

Hey... being active all the time is not that impressive when you are counting 'running around in circles' as being active. Hey, in ice hockey they are active all the time and it is a LOT more physically demanding than soccer.... thus the need to change lines every 5 minutes or so. So, if that is your criteria then soccer comes out second best to ice hockey.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

When I went to the DC game probably some 8 years ago, the first thing I noticed was the tailgating, smell of the grills and the fandom. It was very impressive.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

The thing is, I don't care about the quality of play at all, I watch GU14 like 20-30 games a year, and I like MLS. Maybe it's garbage league, but I can relate to the cities for one thing. I don't know how some people do it, "Get Excited" about rooting so adamantly for some English or Spanish city's team? I root for Olympiakos of Greece too, but I have family reasons as to why, I'm connected to their city in a serious way, I even lived there for 8 months once-but even they are a 3rd or 4th rate league. So I have an easy time rooting for DC United, I've been to their games, they are less than an hour from me, my local tv package has all of their games, and they come on in the evening, not at 8am on a Saturday or noon on a weekday... relating to the cities or easy access to broadcasts is more important to me than quality of the league. If I lived in Pittsburgh, I'd probably get Riverhounds season tickets and HAVE FUN now before it gets popular and gets expensive, lol. Hell, I even go to Baltimore Blast indoor soccer, just because WE HAVE FUN THERE, who cares if the players are 4th rate? To be honest, I think the soccer snobbery of fans that would rather watch "the very best" from the EPL rather than get into the MLS is what will keep the MLS as a garbage league for the long haul.

I hate to diss MLS because I like it and I root for the league as a whole. I'm just pointing out that old people who look at MLS's low ratings as proof that soccer can never be big time aren't comparing apples to apples. Of course, MLS in its current form as the 7th, 8th, 10th, whatever best league in the world never will be mainstream in the USA. If it were first or second though, I'm afraid I have some bad news for all the old people.

Soccer in the US is a generational thing. Sure, there are fans such as yourself who have been exposed to soccer in a different way and have grown to love it but for younger Americans, its pretty much a mainstream sport, at least at the world-class level. So, guess what happens when these fans get older and have kids?

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Hey... being active all the time is not that impressive when you are counting 'running around in circles' as being active. Hey, in ice hockey they are active all the time and it is a LOT more physically demanding than soccer.... thus the need to change lines every 5 minutes or so. So, if that is your criteria then soccer comes out second best to ice hockey.

Every five minutes? Try every 45 seconds! Which is why I agree with you that it IS very demanding. I'd put the sports 1 and 2, in no particular order in degree of difficulty as far as fitness goes.

But don't kid yourself, they go in circles in hockey too. Just on a much smaller surface and on skates. Funny that you see circles in soccer but not hockey.

 

[Pitt79]

Hey... being active all the time is not that impressive when you are counting 'running around in circles' as being active. Hey, in ice hockey they are active all the time and it is a LOT more physically demanding than soccer.... thus the need to change lines every 5 minutes or so. So, if that is your criteria then soccer comes out second best to ice hockey.

Well if "physically demanding" matters, then baseball ranks a little behind carrying a golf bag on a 90 degree humid day. Lol. Nobody is running around in circles, you just don't get the game at all, you're obsessed with the idea that everybody is aimlessly running and there is no method to it and that every ten seconds somebody fakes an injury, which also isn't accurate.

 

[Zaratoughda]

I hate to diss MLS because I like it and I root for the league as a whole. I'm just pointing out that old people who look at MLS's low ratings as proof that soccer can never be big time aren't comparing apples to apples. Of course, MLS in its current form as the 7th, 8th, 10th, whatever best league in the world never will be mainstream in the USA. If it were first or second though, I'm afraid I have some bad news for all the old people.

Soccer in the US is a generational thing. Sure, there are fans such as yourself who have been exposed to soccer in a different way and have grown to love it but for younger Americans, its pretty much a mainstream sport, at least at the world-class level. So, guess what happens when these fans get older and have kids?

SMF... the problem is that football, baseball and basketball are all AMERICAN sports, while ice hockey was invented by the Canadians.

But soccer.... is a sport that foreigners play. You know, those backward countries outside of North America.

The chances soccer will catch on as a major sport in this country are like the chances that communism will catch on.

Ain't gonna happen.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Hey... being active all the time is not that impressive when you are counting 'running around in circles' as being active. Hey, in ice hockey they are active all the time and it is a LOT more physically demanding than soccer.... thus the need to change lines every 5 minutes or so. So, if that is your criteria then soccer comes out second best to ice hockey.

Hockey is a tough sport, no doubt, but you are selling soccer way too short. They have to be in great shape, not quite "marathon shape" like soccer players but close to it.

You have no idea how difficult it to sprint 80 yards, then a few seconds sprint 80 yards back, recover for 10-20 seconds, then continue your play. What you may not understand about soccer is that its constant movement so while its not all sprinting, you have to go from a sprint to a "run" with only a few seconds, if any, recovery time.

I'm not a hockey fan but I respect their fitness levels.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Are you aware of our border control? I have news for you, it's here to stay and it will only get bigger. You may want to pull an Alec Baldwin think about leaving.