I’m curious if American or European soccer fans on these boards can weigh in with their opinions on this matter.
If an American soccer team were to sign of big-name European or Latin American player (obviously David Beckham is unavailable, but you get my drift), would the sport continue to languish in relative obscurity here?
I note that Pele played for an American team for a while in the 70’s, but soccer was even more obscure in America then than it is now.
Since this is not The Pit, I ask that those who hate soccer or who are offended that the sport isn’t popular in America please keep their remarks to themselves.
Oh, and BTW, out MLS all-stars beat a Latin American team last weekend. :ccol:
Its hardly obscure. It just doesn’t interest people as much as the big American sports. Anyway, to be frank, I highly doubt any “big-name” star from Europe would be a “big-name” in America, and would likely have no influence on the ratings.
I think Beckham himself could come and it wouldn’t make a difference.
The NY Post ran a picture of him on their back page that said “This is the most famous athlete int he world” or something to that effect in a show of irony. Many people had no idea who he was.
I’ve heard of him and scene him in the clips of the Bend It Like Beckham movie, but I wouldn’t know him if he walked in my office.
IIRC, there already are some big-name Latin American players in MLS. I think the problem is those names are only “big” to soccer fans.
Would a big name European soccer star draw huge crowds if he played for an American pro soccer team? No, no a chance. David Beckham would draw some media attention if he played here, but as a celebrity- NOT as an athlete. None of Europe’s elite players would attract much interest from casual sports fans in America, and none could draw huge crowds to pro soccer games.
Now, there are undoubtedly some Latin American soccer stars who COULD excite and inspire Hispanic soccer fans living in the U.S., but those folks are already big soccer fans.
And there’s the rub. If a foreign star came to play for an American soccer team, he’d excite people who already love soccer, but he wouldn’t interest people who aren’t already passionate about the game.
It’s already been done.
Back in 1975, MLS signed the biggest name in the history of soccer – Pele. It helped attendance and did garner publicity, but ultimately, soccer went back to being a minor sport.
The same thing would happen if Beckham – who, though famous, has a long way to go to reach Pele’s totals.
People have been trying to raise the interest over here for (American) football and baseball for years. It’s on tv, it’s talked about in the sports pages, but with little or no results. It turns out the local football team (http://www.limhamn-griffins.com/# only Swedish text) plays a little less than a mile from where I live, and I had no idea. I doubt anyone but family members and close friends turn up making the total audience about 100 per game.
I think the reason soccer is failing in the US and football is not getting a big audience over here is related. There are only a certain amount of people interested in team sports. For ages, the big games here have been soccer (summer) and hockey (winter). Since soccer is a winter sport in England, fans in Sweden can catch the game all year. Basketball is kinda big here, but it can’t compete with the top two. So unless either sport starts failing miserably, leaving a vacuum where a new team sport can move in, we won’t see a change. And I guess the same goes for the US.
Pele was 35 when he played for the Cosmos, a good player but past his prime. He’s actually already retired in 1974 but they persuaded him to come back, so although he was a well known player, he wasn’t really one of the best players in the world at the time.
I’m sure a huge name on an MLS team would have a positive effect on viewers. I don’t know how much.
On a related note I was driving home from a weekend at the beach last night and traffic on I95 was bumper to bumper. Turns out the traffic jam was due to the first ever game played at the new Philadelphia Eagles stadium - Lincoln Financial field.
The game was between Man United and Barcelona, playing an exhibition, and it was sold out:
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=4&art_id=vn20030804110850670C893910&set_id=6
Soccer isn’t failing here. It’s nowhere near the big 3 +1 (and may never reach those levels), but it’s hardly failing. The MLS is healthy (new soccer stadia are being built), out national team draws bigger crowds than ever. There’s a lot of soccer on TV. And a gazillion kids are playing. It’s on the edges of the sporting public’s consciousness, but it’s not in decline. And as all the kids that are playing grow up, it’s “foreignness” will gradually disappear.
Actually, MLS isn’t that far behind the NHL in terms of popularity. I think it’s quite possible that MLS catches up to hockey within the decade.
I don’t know offhand how the TV ratings or average attendances compare, but even if they are close, there’s a couple things to keep in mind. There are something like 30 NHL teams (playing 82 games) vs. 10 MLS teams (playing less than 30 games). Plus, there are far more NHL games televised than MLS games so even if ratings are close, the NHL audience is bigger. Even if ratings & attendance is close, I’d still say the MLS has a lot of ground to make up to pass the NHL.
TV coverage is a major hinderance to MLS, too. I’ve never seen a MLS game broadcast on network TV (that’s not to say that it hasn’t happened; just that I haven’t seen it). The only MLS broadcasts I’ve seen have been on local and regional cable/satellite sports networks, like FoxSportsMidwest and FoxSportsChicago.