How big is soccer in the United States?

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The USMNT have played in 11 FIFA World Cups and the female equivalent (USWNT) have been world champions 4 times. Much is said about the growth of the game in the US, but just how popular is it?
Seb Stafford-Bloor finds out, Marco Bevilacqua illustrates.
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#WorldCup

[@StriderDSC]

American here, fun fact about youth soccer is that SO many people play it growing up, it's just that everybody gets priced out of it pretty quickly as you move up the ranks. Travel / competitive youth soccer is EXTREMELY expensive, Zlatan Ibrahimovic said as much when he lived in LA, and the full cost is on the family while other sports are more subsidized by schools or other organizations.

[@surplusvalue5497]

This, 100%. It's a working class sport in the rest of the world, imagine if it had the same level of accessibility in the states.

[@mss11235]

Essentially, yes, for top players, pay-to-play is hurting, in a certain sense. It is important to contextualize soccer's "opponents" in the US though. There is little to NO barrier in basketball or gridiron football because those sports "feeder" leagues DIRECTLY and CLEARLY lead to the greatest respective leagues in the world. AND therefore high school basketball and gridiron ball is a big part of the culture in those places. Basketball gyms are MUCH cheaper to maintain, and high school gridiron Fridays, college Saturdays, and NFL Sundays are BURNED into a person's culture UNIFORMLY starting at age 14 because we all go to school. Killing gridiron football would create a vacuum culturally that could easily be replaced by soccer, but gridiron knows this and has been on a campaign silencing CTE research, expanding their sport overseas, and beginning to pay gridiron athletes even earlier in life (college pay recently becoming legal and giving college athletes more freedom to affect their own football career chances via transfer freedom). Soccer requires a field and, therefore, infrastructure unavailable because gridiron monopolizes it, so the "pay-to-play" is unfortunately a somewhat naturally occurring evil. Killing brain-damage gladiator ball, again, would fix this.

[@niggilywiggily]

especially travel being expensive af for tournaments cuz we actually need hotels w how big the usa is unlike the uk where u travel 2 hours if it’s far

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

@@mss11235 except not. Our High School Football stadium was also used for soccer games.

[@mss11235]

@@chickenfishhybrid44 But football has first priority during the part of the year soccer SHOULD be played instead

[@will6497]

So growing up in the US it becomes very clear that if you want to “move up in the ranks” you’re going to have to spend a good amount of cash until you even get looked at by scouts. Really limits the talent that comes in

[@bandeano3870]

pay to play

[@Ash20597]

May be it's just the system in the US that requires more money, in fact a lot of great footballers came from a poverty background.. especially those South American players, African players also

[@jstnrgrs]

In the USA, Soccer is a sport associated with wealthy suburbanites. Most of those kids will have more reliable opportunities than pursuing a career in soccer. Those from a poorer background are more likely to end up playing basketball.

[@peterparker9954]

Crony capitalism at its best America !

[@romancandle416]

That's changing, but it's certainly not changing fast enough.

[@frysknj]

I'm 46 and have been following the sport since the 1994 World Cup. I used to have to check the Premier League scores in the newspaper every Tuesday without any context or match reports. At one point I drove an hour to a bar in Queens, NY so I could pay a $20 cover charge and watch a USA WC qualifier. In the last few years the number of matches on TV has grown exponentially. It's incredible to be a fan now. I only see the sport continuing to grow.

[@alarikaguilar7543]

I am a born and raised American of Hispanic descent, and love that you’re widening your audience to include the United States. This was a well rounded video even including high school stats which are a good indicator. Hope to see more U.S. videos. Thank you.

[@fwtoro4]

North or South American?

[@lewis9797]

@@fwtoro4 south

[@austingates3623]

@@lewis9797 he probably means America as in USA

[@dennis771]

@@austingates3623 I think Oscar like most of latin american; take major offense when a person call citizen of the United States American, I am not sure but they take real offense to it; I was like don’t these people have something better to argue about? Then what a nation call its people?

[@Georgetown-OLOWO]

@@dennis771 America is literally part of the country’s name, everyone understands, sometimes people are just bored

[@janikowski264]

One thing that I think is a bit overlooked when talking about the growth of soccer in the US is the reason why more people are starting to play soccer instead of American Football. The risk of injury and scary stuff like brain damage is a lot higher in American Football. And those risks are just not worth it for a lot of young people who will probably never reach College or NFL level of play. More parents choose to sign their kids up for soccer instead of American Football. This certainly helps soccer’s popularity.

[@caesar_19]

concussion fear is over 10 years old and soccer has been by far the largest youth sport for decades and it hasn't translated to a noticable exodus

[@janikowski264]

@@caesar_19 I do think that it does make a difference. But I also think soccer will never overtake one of the American Big Four. Leagues like the NFL are just way too big to challenge and they are so embedded into the American culture.

[@seemymobot4987]

@@janikowski264 Watch this space....

[@richmahogany1710]

Apparently CTE is still a thing with soccer. Mostly from the violent head smacking into the ball, but other little things contribute like the frequent falling, and if you're a goalie the diving and slamming on the ground adds up too.

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

@@richmahogany1710 yeah has to be.

[@sgkraemer1]

Not true about only reaching the quarter finals. We reached the semis in the first World Cup and were third.

[@aledoessomething3722]

That was back in the 1930 world cup, there wasn't a quarter final only a group stage, semi-final, and final.

[@uriustosh]

@@aledoessomething3722 Can only play the games in front of you.

[@marcosbremermann870]

@@aledoessomething3722 Not really the US fault is it

[@hungchoonghow5857]

The first World Cup wasn't really that "worldly" at that time.

[@marcosbremermann870]

@@hungchoonghow5857 Can only play the teams that exists. Not really the organizers fault that the JFA for example didn't really exist. Or that the Egypt FA refused to go although they were invited. Having said that the geographical distances from the teams wasn't minor, and even more impressive that they all played together considering that the total travel overseas for most countries was like 3 months. Just, stop trying to apply modern standards of travel and globalization to an event that occured 92 years ago. Please.

[@IsaacIsDead1]

Real Football fans from the US just want our team to be respected

[@tredaviousbowser7931]

If the fans stop being cringey then we’ll respect them

[@IsaacIsDead1]

@@tredaviousbowser7931 all teams have “cringe” fans

[@tredaviousbowser7931]

@@IsaacIsDead1 liking your own comment? They’re all cringey

[@pjmathison9787]

@@tredaviousbowser7931 fight and win

[@xpotatohamster7051]

@@tredaviousbowser7931 nah, we'll just earn that respect by curbstomping you all

[@tobiaslarsen3861]

Even though football is not as popular in USA as the rest of the world, it has become much more popular in the recent 15 years.

[@PussianoGaynaldoPiuu]

No one cares if USA likes Football or not. the most important thing is that Football is popular in the five continents

[@tobiaslarsen3861]

@@PussianoGaynaldoPiuu I agree.

[@baccamau80]

Soccer popular not football

[@tobiaslarsen3861]

@@baccamau80 Football is the most popular sport in the world

[@UofLFan1224]

FIFA 13 is what got me into soccer. I still like American football more (I played it growing up) but soccer is number 2 now. The growth of MLS and 2nd division USL teams locally has also helped a ton here.

[@joshuaraminha8339]

@@vinsmokesanji7550 yes he said football is his favorite sport but thanks for clarifying.

[@blackfalcon1324]

For me it was football manager. I saw quill 18 streaming it and I got hooked on the game and then the sport.

[@thatissomeBS]

@@vinsmokesanji7550 Football is my favorite sport, and my second favorite sport is football. Wow, I should probably find a way to clarify that statement with common usage words in my native dialect. Here goes: Football is my favorite sport, soccer is my second favorite sport. See how we now all know exactly what I am saying?

[@AKUNJIG]

FIFA 04 For me. I brought it to Cameroon with me with my PS2 and that's how I learned about the EPL.

[@Joker-yw9hl]

I have tried so hard to like the NFL but just can't get into it. It's less fun to watch that rugby and is so stop/start. I can imagine it being good to watch IRL with buddies though with snacks and beers etc

[@JoYiSgUiTaR]

I’m a Mexican-American, born and raised in the USA to Mexican parents. I hope one day football can be as popular here as American football or basketball, but it will be such a task to get there. Maybe in 100 years I can see it happening

[@Tripps2564]

It'll take time for sure

[@feyenoorden03]

I have a feeling it will be way less than that. Next World Cup 2026 could be crucial for their popularity

[@polishherowitoldpilecki5521]

20 years to be honest. If the U.S actually implemented reforms like adding promotion and relegation, Cheapen youth football cost. The more competitively the U.S plays, the more viewership and fandom it will attract. U.S VS Portugal, World Cup 2014, attracted 20 million American viewers. The U.S tied with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. The USMNT can improve right now, if they were to sack Greg Berhalter.

[@thatissomeBS]

@@polishherowitoldpilecki5521 It was 20 years away 20 years ago. Although, it does feel like it's on the cusp. It's more accessible than ever to watch, and there are more kids playing every year. I could see it overtaking baseball and/or basketball in the coming years, but it's a steep hill to climb before it gets to American football levels.

[@peterparker9954]

It doesn't have to be Football is already the most popular sport on the planet

[@SylvanPaul]

So true about Fifa's influence in the States, Fifa 2005 made me interested in "soccer", and made me want to watch the 2006 World Cup, and it's been my favorite sport ever since!

[@theo_2949]

Football

[@TheCrazyCloon]

@@theo_2949 soccer

[@m3kkR]

I don't understand why people get mad about the word "soccer". Do those same people get mad when italians call it calcio? or when japanese call it sakka? what about when koreans call it chuggu? or any number of the other countries that don't use "football" (or "soccer")? this is such a stupid, arbitrary thing to get mad about. americans should say football but no one else has to?

[@theo_2949]

@@TheCrazyCloon America should not be allowed to compete. Teams like Iran or Wales, Jamaica, Mexico should advance in the round of 16 not Merica! Football actually plays a big role in their culture and this American war criminals come in with their blood money and brag when they do better after investing billions in every sport.

[@user-gz5be6cs6c]

@@m3kkR Everyone should say " football "

[@marscoriad213]

I think among younger people in Canada, soccer is starting to grow. I think right now the big 3 in Canada would be Hockey, Basketball, and then Soccer. Definetly, TV availability makes a difference.

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

And football and baseball

[@dr.wrinklebrain2667]

It’s not that gen z has such a short attention span that 90 minutes of soccer is all they can handle and the overtime of football and basketball push them over the edge, it’s that soccer has a youthful, international appeal and viewers aren’t flooded with ads like gen z is in every other area of online life

[@dennisgichohi5392]

Gen z are huge fans of football globally except maybe US so i think the generalization is a bit off

[@jayd0n-_-]

@@dennisgichohi5392 nah gen z in the US likes football/soccer more than every other generation in america.

[@loganleroy8622]

As a soccer fan, there are a few things that my friends dislike about soccer every time I try and enthusiastically show it to them. 1.) Soccer players are constantly diving to the ground at the slightest of touches. Instead of looking strong and trying to deal with the contact and push through, they just go down. It looks weak. 2.) Then they roll along the ground or put their hand over their face and grimace. It makes the other real fouls where you see a player go studs up into their ankle look much less vicious, and any sympathy that a fan might have for the player is gone, because the players don't look in any more pain than when had their jersey grabbed. 3.) If you aren't used to soccer then you don't know about the excitement of having a team you're rooting for score a go-ahead goal, so instead you watch people miss the goal routinely with the ball sailing over the crossbar for an hour, and then you have to tell your friends, that these EPL players REALLY ARE some of the best players in the world. 4.)The fact that after a foul you can actually go argue with the referee for a long period of time, or that the ref will give a stern "talking to" a player who has committed multiple fouls, but still refuse to card them. 5.) There isn't enough action if you don't know what you're looking for. You might see a counter attacking chance fizzle out because one player made too heavy of a touch on the ball in the final 1/3. They see someone who can't use their feet in a sport that is all about feet controlling the ball. 6.) Time wasting is so obvious and yet it isn't penalized. Sure there is a rule against time wasting, but it's so rarely enforced that it bewilders my friends. In popular American sports, the game gets most exciting right at the end when the clock and strategically using the clock come into play. In soccer the final 5 minutes of regular time see a side really take their sweet time after every stoppage. 7.) There appears to be no strategy. I know there is, but it doesn't look like it. They are used to plays in football and basketball that are drawn up to get a score, and then they actually score. Set pieces are the only time that truly happens, but it so rarely works that it makes the players look like they have no cohesion and just make it up as they go the entire time.

[@sussyfcdcdcdc6347]

It’s true for me too

[@okay1775]

I'm not American but I've always felt that

[@JT-rx1eo]

Your #7 "there appears to be no strategy" should be changed to "there appears to be no strategy to those who don't know enough about the game."

[@LightningWing11]

Long-time American Football fan here, but fell in love with association football during the 2010 World Cup when the US drew England 1-1 in Group C. The FIFA video games only amplified that love and I hope it becomes just as big as American Football one day.

[@Theneckofthrogs]

You mention how easy it is to watch EPL nowadays in America but failed to mention how hard it is to watch MLS 😕

[@xSoccerxCorex]

it's not all that hard, until next year when the apple tv deal kicks in

[@cummerchant542]

@@xSoccerxCorex 15 a month

[@bigglopez770]

Its all on paramount plus lol

[@ddgaxelnilsson7855]

lol just pirate it, the Spanish or Arab or whatever commentators make it better

[@aidanpearce9839]

People underestimate the power of the World Cup. Played proper football in school but after the 2014 World Cup was when I wanted to join a team and actually play. The 2022 World Cup and especially the 2026 one in America will bring a huge amount of support. And if we can just get rid of the pay to play model it will take off. Many parents just get discouraged because of the price to play which is in the thousands.

[@IceKumaX13]

Hey American here, I can say those of us about 30 or younger have a different view on soccer or futbol cuz many of us grew up playing it at a youth level but not too many care about the MLS but do care about the big clubs in England and Spain some of us watch the Champions League as well. I do think the US Women's national team's success at the 15 and 19 World Cups have really impacted the younger generation who witnessed those triumphs. I see in the next decade this sport going from number 5 in the US to about 3 behind only Basketball and American Football.

[@guida1480]

It has already passed hockey. Is #4 in the present time.

[@talkthetalk9247]

I don’t see why Americans call it “soccer or Futbol” it’s Football if you speak English

[@IceKumaX13]

@Talk The talk Here in the US we already have Football which is played in the NFL or in college but we call it soccer cuz it was the name we were told to call it by the English and we call it futbol for the Spanish speakers in our country.

[@talkthetalk9247]

@@IceKumaX13 good explanation, however it still infuriates me ahah

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

@@talkthetalk9247 most English speaking countries other than the uk say soccer

[@bboyle09]

That statistic about ice hockey and soccer fans growing since 2012 is interesting. In my opinion, the growth in fans of both sports is attributable to HDTV being widespread. You could always follow american football, basketball, and baseball, but it really makes a difference to have a wider angle and a much sharper picture for hockey and soccer. Obviously the fact we can watch english and european leagues on mainstream channels helps, too, but I think HDTV is a hugely important part of this.

[@jstnrgrs]

The big advantage soccer has is a consistent length and limited commercials. The number of commercials in an NFL game is maddening even for a hardcore fan. However, the constant diving and crying to try to get call from the refs is a big turn-off to many American sports fans. It's not that it doesn't happen in other sports,, but it just seems so much more prevalent in soccer.

[@okay1775]

Also American sports have historically emphasized toughness and strength. Soccer from the outside gives an impression of the opposite.

[@caesar_19]

A huge factor in all of this is college sports. American Football and Basketball get to double dip because people are fans of the pro leagues AND the NCAA. There are people that are diehard college fans that don't follow pro sports, and soccer does not have a footprint in that landscape, which is only going to worsen now that MLS has pivoted away from aquiring players from a college draft. Soccer is gigantic in the women's college sports landscape and produces many fantastic players every year. Pretty much every USWNT player was a college athlete

[@mohdshahariar5833]

Nepotism among the US soccer federation when it comes to football/soccer will be their downfall, nothing has been improving, even with the myriad of talents that the US mens team gets, even without poorer people playing, getting that much talent is a miracle, even then those talented players aren't utilized, until and unless a complete rebuild is done, like the canadian soccer, there won't be any good results from the mens side in the coming future

[@DJLeroy3]

A college draft doesnt work in soccer/football. These college kids would be older than the youngsters anywhere else. Development wise these other teams got 16 and 17 year olds, while the Americans with a college draft, youngest would be 19 years old

[@tobiogunsina8426]

@@DJLeroy3 I don't think that's a problem. The biggest problem is the reluctance of college sports to adapt to modern play styles. There's more in common with u13 academy games than college soccer

[@caesar_19]

@@DJLeroy3 The national team has benefitted greatly from the creation of the MLS academies. It is a much better way to develop young male players. But the fact that college soccer is not big or popular hurts the games appeal in the United States. In a perfect world, it would operate similar to the NBA before the one-and-done rule. Players are allowed to go pro whenever but can fall back on a college scholarship if they don't like their prospects at 18.

[@TuncOzturk]

I've been into US Soccer since 2010's and I know the past. Trust me soccer is growing like crazy fast in that country. Plus, MLS is super fun. :)

[@ethanparker324]

From an American and a longtime supporter of Paris Saint-Germain due to my Parisian heritage/ancestry, love the video and all the stats given. It's so encouraging to see football growing here, and the stat at 2:04 really shows why Madrid & Barca dominate the American market, with the EPL Big Six in second place and the Bundesliga probably in 3rd. I'd like to see Ligue 1 get on ESPN+ or NBC like all the other top 5 leagues have, Bein Sports is ridiculously bad here

[@alexwormleighton5838]

So your great great grandfather visited Paris on holiday once then?

[@ethanparker324]

@@alexwormleighton5838 love the optimism, is it so hard to think that the 3rd biggest country in Europe by population has some immigrants in the US? Many of my family members grew up speaking French, myself included. I even live in a city with a French name founded by French settlers 😂 not every football fan in America is Hispanic or English

[@marklanders39]

@@ethanparker324 i dont there are psg fans in the us is there many fans or only you ?

[@ethanparker324]

@@marklanders39 there are an estimated 1 million French-Americans in the US and I’m sure a decent amount support Paris. There are also 25+ PSG fan clubs in cities across the country. I’m the president of the fan club in my city, Seattle and New York’s fan clubs are huge, they have dozens of people there

[@Joker-yw9hl]

PSG are a plastic oil club full of mercenaries and egos but best of luck to you. If you have ancestry anywhere else I'd look into that haha

[@pjkerrigan20]

I’ve barely missed a Crystal Palace match on tv from here in the States for the last six or seven seasons. The game is growing a lot here and is only getting more and more accessible to watch (tho obviously still has accessibility problems with regard to youth development). The fifa videogames definitely play a role, but I think our younger generation here tends to be more open to the international community and just generally more connected to the world. Social media and streaming definitely play a big role in the increasing success of soccer here. It’s so exciting to be part of this American fan base that’s growing so rapidly right now. We’re getting to live an incredibly important moment in the development of the US into a true world footballing culture, and that’s super cool. Feels like slowly but surely more European fans are respecting us too. I know it’ll take time and some will be obtuse about us forever, but it does feel like a tide is turning.

[@EthanPricco]

Oh cool, a fellow Palace supporter!

[@jessefarnlof8367]

If 7% of Americans consider soccer as their favorite sport, in a country of 330 million, that is around 23 million fans. That is more than many European nations. The internet has allowed those spread out fans to become soccer-loving communities.

[@ronaldojohnny7774]

not to mentioned this statistic is by now 7-9 years old, so need to be updated. A lot can change in this time given social media and the explosion of MLS NWSL and the US Mens national team. The 7% needs to be dig a lot deeper and find out what exactly are the demographics, where they are, their age, their race, their income level, and maybe since when they follow the sport.

[@edwardkelly3280]

I’m an American but it does amaze me how soccer has developed over the past 25 years Getting EPL to ESPN and later to NBC ,NBC Sports(now defunct)and USA Network make it more accessible for average Americans. In the 2000s EPL and other European and even Asian soccer leagues(Ganbare which covered J League,AFC Champions League review show,and another show in the 2000s covered sports in Asia) was seen on Fox Sports World(later FOX Soccer).

[@cariopuppetmaster]

it should go back to the shadow were it belongs with eurosnobbery

[@derkaiser420]

Being an American football fan, I remember falling in love with the game by playing FIFA on PS2 and fell in love with Arsenal because they happened to be on ESPN one day. I used to have to look up scores in the newspaper because the games were just not on TV. It is nice now that I can watch multiple games as much as I want. And also the MLS is growing greatly (go Sounders). And I think football will dominate US viewership after the next World Cup.

[@Snookbone]

Funny that, I'm English and fell in love with American football playing Madden on PS2, and had pretty much the same experience you had with soccer

[@alexdimitrov5271]

@@Snookbone I wish more English people were like you and actually gave NFL a chance

[@Joker-yw9hl]

@@alexdimitrov5271 I have tried so hard to like the NFL but just can't get into it. It's less fun to watch that rugby and is so stop/start. I can imagine it being good to watch IRL with buddies though with snacks and beers etc

[@tubbyidk1474]

@@Joker-yw9hl im american, and american football is my favorite (to watch) of the big 4 american sports (NBA basketball, NFL football, MLB baseball, NHL hockey), but rugby is my favorite to watch over american football. all the cte, big hits, and scoring commonly to keep it interesting (soccer) yet not too much scoring to make scores not matter till late (basketball), plus less ads and no start stop is great. recently learned about MLR (major league rugby) and will watch all of it when it comes back on

[@Snookbone]

@@alexdimitrov5271 so do I, especially now I'm actually involved in the sport over here

[@aiden3936]

I am an american and my mother had never heard of messi until we went to a hard rock cafe where they sold a “messi burger.” She also didn’t know that Pele is a person and thought that it was just the name of a store. This is an extreme example but I doubt this happens in any other country.

[@rwalker0130]

I’d say 95% of Americans can’t name a single current player outside of Messi/Ronaldo and don’t understand offsides

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

@@rwalker0130 like 95 percent of Europe or the rest of the world are clueless of the NFL

[@charlesray9674]

@@rwalker0130 🙄 Those 95% of those Americans probably will say "Neymar"....

[@rwalker0130]

@@charlesray9674 even if you were right (you aren't) wouldn't that just help prove my point? ok so who is that 4th player most Americans can name? If you can't even name 4 players than you don't care about the sport

[@rwalker0130]

@@chickenfishhybrid44 I'm not defending it LOL I wish more of my friends cared about soccer so we could watch together and talk about it they just don't

[@joshuaworden274]

I started watching the EPL during the pandemic, having never watched soccer before. At the time, I was really just looking for a sport that wasn't playing a compromised season by changing the format of the competition like the NBA was, but a lot of things have kept me engaged since. I like the cosmopolitanism, and that international teams play all the time, and that fans actually care. Absolutely no American NBA fans care even a little about the FIBA world cup, if they've even heard of it, and they only care about the Olympics insofar as it's an event where they expect to win Gold. In club competition, I love that relegation gives teams at the bottom of the table something to lose, and separate tournaments give good teams out of reach of the title something to win. The number of games in a season is just right, unlike American Football (too few) or especially baseball (too many), and they are well spaced at 1 or 2 a week. The running clock is great, but also the fact that they don't interrupt the actual game with ad breaks is more respectful of my time and attention. Also, as an Arizonan, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice to be able to just pick a perrenial championship team and save myself the heartache. In general, most of the things I like about European Football share one common trait: they offer something different from what I was used to in the States. I was horrified by the Super League plans, and embarrassed by Boehly's assertion that the EPL ought to learn from US leagues. I guarantee that I would not still be watching soccer if it were just MLS with better players.

[@mahamedjmal2536]

Regulation and promotion would be terrible for American sports outside of the 6 major teams in epl the rest are not winning anything anytime soon.

[@pteranodon6612]

The NFL started in 1920 and it became the top U.S. sports league around 1972. 52 years after launching. If MLS follows a similar trajectory, we should expect it to become the top U.S. sports league around 2048. Even if MLS doesn't reach the top spot, there's a good chance that it will become a top 3 U.S. sports league.

[@EthanPricco]

As an American, I’ll be honest I never used to really care much for football (soccer). For my whole life American Football has been my favorite sport. But the 2022 World Cup really piqued my interest in football. Since then, I’ve started watching much more football, especially the Premier League and now I am really into the sport. I have even started cheering for a certain team and consider myself a fan of the club. American football is still my favorite sport and it probably always will be, but football (soccer) is definitely my second favorite now. I really think that more people in America need to get into football because it’s actually so fun to watch and play.

[@RDRevolver8282]

Im pretty sure there are tons of soccer fans in the US. The issue is that there aren't enough fans of the leagues and teams in the US which sort of stunts the growth.

[@JosuePerez-qm1be]

Didn't the USA finish 3rd in the 1930 world cup?

[@gunnerr91]

@@JasonExclusive I dont get that, are we saying the first world cup actually doesnt count because it had less teams? Also does it apply to champions league too then where Real Madrid won the first 5 times

[@paksta]

@@JasonExclusive Nobody's comparing, just wondering if it's an error.

[@mss11235]

@@JasonExclusive It still makes their statistic incorrect. All they had to say was "quarterfinals since the format became balanced." That would have alluded to a decent place during a garbage era yet still retained the main point that we, essentially, have never been to a proper semifinal.

[@danijelmarkotic4653]

No, US was 4th... due to strange rules.

[@civ27]

@@JasonExclusive There were 13 teams, not 11

[@MrGrombie]

As a guy in his 30s. I can tell you that the sport is grown by leaps and bounds. What is funny though, is that we will win a World Cup before England. 😂

[@okay1775]

England already won a world cup

[@subparnaturedocumentary]

im a 40 born and raised in the usa in the philadelphia area played soccer from age 7 till 18 its a really popular sport to play at least on point in your youth in the usa, i started actually watching soccer in the late 90s and it was because of the champions league espn or one of the channels we had covered it youd be able to catch the last half of the 2pm games after school or i actually got my own vcr as a present one year and actually started recording the game, i became a fan on man united as their games were pretty much always broadcasted in the usa, eventually i started getting into the premiere league as it started being broadcast more here but it wasnt live initially i recall being able to watch replays of maybe two selected games on a weekday night and as you can imagine back then united were always one of the teams selected.

[@NotRealKirby]

I hope in 2026 soccer/football will be very popular and be a football/powerhouse just like Brazil, Argentina, France, England & Germany

[@AceChampElite]

2:44 don’t get it twisted. Currently, La Liga and Bundesliga are exclusive to streaming only app ‘ESPN+’ which not nationally broadcast, then Serie A is exclusive on ‘Paramount+’ with about 90% of UCL matches exclusive to Paramount streaming. Also NBC/USA network broadcast only 1 Premier league match per time slot so we cannot just simply choose which of the 4-5 different 3pm (10amEST) match to watch on the tele as those are chosen by the network and the rest are paywalled on their streaming app ‘Peacock’. Basically if you want “legal” access to every Premier league match then you would have to pay for both a television service and Peacock streaming. You could argue you have to pay both for internet service and ESPN+ streaming for La Liga/ Bundesliga access but at least they have every single match on one platform unlike how NBC separates their access between broadcast and streaming.

[@xSoccerxCorex]

"Basically if you want “legal” access to every Premier league match then you would have to pay for both a television service and Peacock streaming." technically that isn't true but also isn't wrong. if you pay for xfinity internet (the name comcast/nbc gives for their internet service) you get peacock for free. so if you have another provider you have to pay for both anyway but if you have comcast it's only a one time purchase

[@mobogdan4683]

I think that a large portion of young people that watch sports are illegally streaming them, especially foreign soccer leagues that are hard to access.

[@DAZOMB13]

Liga MX is literally the most popular football league in the U.S. and we don't even a mention in this video?

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

In my experience Liga MX is generally only popular with Mexican community (who as the video mentioned certainly has helped the popularity of soccer) Meanwhile the EPL seems to be the most popular with the wide American soccer community

[@DAZOMB13]

@@banjoplayingbison2275 that Mexican community still lives in America and it doesn't change the fact that its still the most popular league in the U.S. It doesn't matter if you or your specific group of friends don't watch liga mx, the video is literally about the popularity of the sport as a whole. it's very weird to not even give a passing mention to the league.

[@blueknight5754]

When I was young I enjoyed the World Cup because it was during the summer and there was no American football. It wasn’t until I started playing the sport again (I played in school) in my early 20’s that I grew to love it and became a Man U fan..having nbc broadcast games are a MAJOR bonus!

[@williamthompson2941]

everywhere i go soccer pitches are replacing baseball pitches, and basket ball courts

[@ryanlikeshiking]

As a fan from New York, soccer is typically looked down upon because of the flagrant diving and perceived softness of the players.

[@Wokenstein]

In time they'll learn that it's the rules and refereeing that causes that. Same thing is happening in the NFL with roughing passer and pass interference calls btw

[@brennoarruda1520]

certainly if the players used ARMOR the players would be much tougher...

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

@@brennoarruda1520 unless you've actually strapped up and been hit full speed in football pads you have no idea what you're talking about.

[@charlesray9674]

@@Wokenstein Embellishment is not a problem in the NFL as it is in European football and bad calls by the officials happens quite often in every other sport....🙄

[@jaimel88]

It's true that some fouls in football ⚽ are soft, but nowhere close to as soft as basketball 🏀 as a rugby player and fan, the stop-start nature of American sports is annoying - I can definitely see why more free-flowing sports can have more appeal for younger audiences.

[@andrewperez7844]

As boomers fizzle out, and mls continues to grow in size and quantity, soccer numbers and impact here should grow. Thanks for making this videos and drawing attention to the stats.

[@okay1775]

You mean non Hispanics?

[@samy29987]

While the popularity of the sport may be growing due to all the coverage from European leagues on weekends and how amazing FIFA games sell in America, that doesn't change the fact that there is no soccer/football culture in the States. People just don't identify with teams in their cities to make it relevant enough and they don't play the sport either like traditional football is played in other countries such as Spain or Italy where football is almost played and consumed like a religion. There are other options first on the table compared to football and kids choose those. Also, soccer/football academies in the US are insanely expensive and only a select few have the chance to develop their skills and become pro while earning an amazing salary. Football in the US will never be near the top of interest, unless it's adopted fully by the culture there. And that seems like it won't happen anytime soon.

[@JimmyM205]

Is it still not possible since most American sports are franchised. How does a strong culture around the NFL form when it only has 32 teams in a country the size of the USA?

[@itwasnotmeipromise8654]

@@JimmyM205 People's passion for the sport, theres culture in almost every American sport city until the MLS

[@Poopopotamusgaming]

I agree with the culture aspect and people dont want to give up on american football culture. However football/soccer academies are NOT expensive. Most actual developmental academies under professional teams are FREE for those who are good enough to make the team

[@Card_lol]

@@JimmyM205 sports at the collegiate level make up for some of the locations that aren't usually covered by professional teams.

[@JimmyM205]

@@Card_lol whilst on a national level it's a franchise model, but on a statewide level it would be interesting if they had domestic leagues to improve participation

[@rokasgrajauskas4091]

The opening statement is incorrect - US reached the semifinals of the inaugural 1930 World Cup.

[@SuperRavensfan101]

I find it funny how so many people get angry over different countries calling a sport a different name considering Canada, South Africa, Australia, and Japan all pretty much call it Soccer as well lol. Good video Tifo.

[@raymax_1071]

And every major national team in the world calls it football or the direct translation of that word. Those countries call it soccer because most don't have a big football culture and were influenced by American media.

[@SuperRavensfan101]

@@raymax_1071 while this is true, It's clear that they all play the same game regardless of the name of said sport. It's almost a sense of entitlement with people saying, "No, you can't call the game that because we're better than you, therefore we decide what the game is named/called." I get that it's different from the rest of the world but people get so pressed over little differences its just so nonsensical to me.

[@raymax_1071]

@@SuperRavensfan101 I don't really mind that much, tbh, but the US is really obsessed with being different (why would you ever use the imperial system) and that can be somewhat frustrating.

[@sdeepj]

@@raymax_1071 other countries call it soccer, because there’s another code of football that’s popular there. Australia calls it “soccer”, because they have rugby union football, rugby league football, and Australian rules football. Because of rugby football, most Pacific islands call it soccer. Association football, rugby union football, rugby league football, gridiron football, Gaelic football, and Australian football are called “football” because the players are on their feet as opposed to being on horseback, ie polo

[@richmahogany1710]

@@raymax_1071 Last I checked, the US just tied England, Canada should have beat Belgium if not for refball, and Australia, Japan, and South Korea qualified. I'd say they are pretty major teams.

[@lifekickz2903]

The growth,exposure and tv distribution of soccer in America is simular to American sports in Europe..I remember growing up struggling to watch them.but now they are always at hand on stream services,sports packages and general coverage as well as them travelling to the uk..so its gone both ways with technology thabkfully

[@ldope3904]

What a phenomenal video compa Tifo. Saludos

[@viktorull]

Brazilian and SPFC fan here, it's so awesome to see the growth of soccer in U.S., MLS should adopt a pro/rel system to higher and lowest divisions to intensify the tournament and encourage teams! I hope that CONCACAF and CONMEBOL one day could join and have a tournament together also!

[@RDRevolver8282]

They probably should but don't need to, nor will they ever adopt pro/rel, at least not now.

[@zachludo487]

@@RDRevolver8282If football in the US becomes greater in popularity, like it surpasses the NBA and MLB, will pro/rel make more sense?

[@northwestthrills3453]

I'm an American, I'm a fan of both footballs and hope both fandoms can come to understand their both really good sports

[@williamhaglund5547]

Great video, I think the sport has a high ceiling in the usa and we are nowhere near the top… Couple things I think you overlooked: AYSO - American Youth Soccer Organization, majority of kids (where I’m from everyone) grows up and grew up playing soccer. Commercials - yes 90 minutes for a game is great but there’s only one break, basketballs last two minutes on the clock is 15 minutes of ads and football games are four hours of less than thirty minutes of activity.

[@steventorpy4567]

Say what you want about MLS, but if someone follows international leagues and MLS in the US, there also never a moment of pause compared to the offseasons of baseball, basketball, and American football. MLS plays its season from March to November while the European leagues go from August to May. For a US soccer fan, there is almost always some soccer/football on TV during the weekends.

[@mrXOwarrior]

Non-Hispanic, Gen X US soccer fan here. Thanks for the video.

[@SoulWipes]

I love Tifo, but the second sentence is incorrect. The men’s team made the semi-final of the 1930 World Cup and was later awarded a 3rd place finish - they had a better goal difference than the Yugoslavia team that lost in the other semi-final. The first World Cup third place game wasnt played until 1934. Sources disagree over whether a third place game was scheduled in 1930 and that Yugoslavia refused to play (because of refereeing complaints in their semi-final).

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

The US was given 3rd place based on Goal differential

[@SoulWipes]

@@banjoplayingbison2275 I said that in the first paragraph haha. Supposedly, there are people who claim a third place game was scheduled but that Yugoslavia effectively forfeited

[@MrEkirt]

Love the music so chillllll

[@augustonembungu6721]

The creation of MLS Next/Pro has increased the popularity of soccer in the US. MLS is actually a fun& unique league.

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

The playoffs are certainly what sets MLS apart from others The most recent MLS Cup final was very entertaining and exciting

[@indiekiddrugpatrol3117]

Sadly the rest of the world won't take MLS seriously until relegation is implemented

[@atomicbamboo2453]

Hearing Tifo say soccer is so weird…

[@simstander5471]

Don’t they have a “Pay-To-Play” system that is hampering its growth

[@davidsabillon5182]

Yes. It's mostly kids from well off families. The inner city kids are not playing soccer.

[@mss11235]

Essentially, yes, for top players, pay-to-play is hurting, in a certain sense. It is important to contextualize soccer's "opponents" in the US though. There is little to NO barrier in basketball or gridiron football because those sports "feeder" leagues DIRECTLY and CLEARLY lead to the greatest respective leagues in the world. AND therefore high school basketball and gridiron ball is a big part of the culture in those places. Basketball gyms are MUCH cheaper to maintain, and high school gridiron Fridays, college Saturdays, and NFL Sundays are BURNED into a person's culture UNIFORMLY starting at age 14 because we all go to school. Killing gridiron football would create a vacuum culturally that could easily be replaced by soccer, but gridiron knows this and has been on a campaign silencing CTE research, expanding their sport overseas, and beginning to pay gridiron athletes even earlier in life (college pay recently becoming legal and giving college athletes more freedom to affect their own football career chances via transfer freedom). Soccer requires a field and, therefore, infrastructure unavailable because gridiron monopolizes it, so the "pay-to-play" is unfortunately a somewhat naturally occurring evil. Killing brain-damage gladiator ball, again, would fix this.

[@simstander5471]

@@mss11235 thanks so much, that was very informative.

[@ZackeryStark-ji9ce]

just wish the book was available for purchase in the US... ya know, where we need it

[@ShedBricks]

Im glad soccer is finally popping off here. Love to play, love to watch. 🎉

[@sherv.h]

you forgot to mention Ted Lasso. For anyone in marketing and cultural influence, this is a very rich strategy to buy fans through emotions (as is any marketing strategy)

[@ryanhenderson8658]

The amount of youth clubs here compared to 10 years ago is crazy. The future is bright.

[@heldersilva6672]

The fact that these guys actualy have a good, interesting (and Young) team in this World CUP 😯

[@_DAME_]

The VHS bit is factually incorrect. Im mid 30's so i can confirm in the 90's that PL was available and I would have to wake up at 6:45 am to set the VCR to record the morning matches so that my grandad and father could watch the matches with brekky. The consequences of not doing so was DIRE

[@ArmyofLove]

If the viewership gets to 10%, I feel that should be seen as a massive success and cannot be ignored nationally.

[@cuppiecupsters]

I’m American and I’m so sad at how underrated soccer is. Football and baseball get all the attention (at least where I’m from) and soccer is overlooked. It makes me especially sad when I say the name of a well-established club like Arsenal and everyone just stares at me blankly, not knowing what I’m talking about.

[@MG-wk2eh]

To be fair, it's the same for all major US sports in most of the world. If they've heard of a hotshot NFL or NBA star, it's not because of their performance in that sport, it's because their celebrity has crossed into other areas of popular culture (e.g. Michael Jordan and Lebron James) or they're married to someone else that's famous, like when Tom Brady was married to Gisele Bundchen, who was a top supermodel. Tom Brady is known in the US as an NFL QB legend with 7 Superbowl rings, in Europe/UK, he was just the American football star who was the husband of Gisele. Or they become known outside the US for all the wrong reasons... like OJ Simpson. I think the only reason David Beckham was known in the US was because he married a member of the biggest girl band ever and his celebrity went beyond soccer, then he went to MLS. He's not knownbecause he was a great soccer player, in fact, he wasn't really that great except in his early years at Man United. As for teams, yep many Americans haven't heard of even most major European soccer teams. The only one many of them seem to have heard of is Manchester United, MAYBE Real Madrid too, but then most Europeans have no clue who the New England Patriots are. They've heard of New York teams like Yankees and Giants and Jets, because.. well.. they're from New York and their branding is on a lot of clothing like baseball caps. It's not a diss at anyone or sad really, it's just what is popular in different places and what interests people. I can't name a single Aussie Rules football player and know next to nothing about that sport, but in Australia obviously, it's a huge deal. I know a bit about Rugby Union (like most people in the world, that's what the sport "rugby" is to me), but pretty much nothing about Rugby League, which is really popular in some places. Same with Irish/Gaelic football, etc.

[@cuppiecupsters]

@@MG-wk2eh Sure that’s all true, but knowing (American) football teams isn’t like knowing soccer teams. Football is just an American thing, whereas soccer is more popular globally and as a whole is more popular. It’s like the whole World Cup vs Super Bowl thing. The World Cup is watched more globally and interests more people, so it makes more sense for people not in Europe to know European soccer teams since it’s such a huge sport. And I’m mainly sad that no one I know outside of my family even cares about soccer.

[@okay1775]

​@@cuppiecupstersI don't live in the first world. Over here no one gives af about either athletes and teams. Point is, it's not a big deal.

[@cuppiecupsters]

@@okay1775 I understand it’s not a real problem, but I’m still annoyed by it

[@randomens14]

And all of this increased exposure and participation is multiplying the quantity and quality of American players, which in turn improves the national team and MLS, which in turn increases exposure and popularity, compounding all those factors over again to produce even more great players. The sleeping giant of football has awoken. 😈

[@Patrick61804]

Tifo immediately disrespecting our 1930 squad

[@omairbhore]

Accessibility to global leagues, subsidised youth academies, growth within the MLS and shows like Ted Lasso will help keep the soccer trend upwards.

[@nicholasperry4730]

I’m British living in Canada and youth soccer is big

[@amiteshsingh4165]

mistake in the first 10 seconds of the video... USA have been in a semi final once . You guys would have conceded in the first minute were this a football match lol

[@uncreative5766]

I was really excited when NBC centralized the Premier League rights. I remember in high school, a local Fox affiliate would have a scheduled game at 7:30, 8 in the morning Pacific Time, but it was so worth waking up for.

[@michaelwilliams-nq6zg]

Not true, our men's team has gone to the semifinals in 1930.

[@rustamtalibzade6989]

Before I came to study in the US, I thought no one cares about soccer here. Now I see that it is totally not the case. Soccer is still very popular, but there are just more popular sports, too.

[@JorgeM270]

And soccer doesn't need to be the biggest sport in the US for the national team to be a threat. The team is already quite decent, and that's with soccer being the 5th most popular sport. The population is just massive

[@liamjohnson8950]

The game is growing but the NFL is king for the foreseeable future

[@GeoAce777]

True, Sunday religion

[@superfrycook6360]

I hope the host nation USA will have a good run in the World Cup in 2026. USMNT has an array of young and energetic players that will cause massive upsets when they beat top ranking FIFA nations, starting with England and Portugal.

[@mind76]

I have an idea for future Tifo video. Do teams play significantly better in the World Cup that were hosted by country in the same continent ?

[@tubbyidk1474]

same reason why home teams do better in litteraly every other sport

[@Frostblaze207]

We’ve been to the semifinals of a World Cup, thanks 😊

[@ricardosobral1406]

You should do Canada 🇨🇦 as well

[@booboosnack]

Second this, the influence of Croatian, Italian, and Portuguese immigrants plays a huge role in the growth of youth academies, rep leagues, and overall footballing culture in Canada.

[@AphwSkwa]

00:10 actually the USMNT did finish 3rd in the inaugural Tournament even though they were only 16 Nation's

[@Makwayne]

Accessibility to the leagues has been a nightmare to someone who just moved. I don’t pay for cable and it becomes extremely hard to watch without pirating from online streams

[@AW-zk5qb]

If soccer/football were the top sport in the US from the beginning and the US had a PROPER soccer/football CULTURE, where we understood the game is about technique and creativity and not athleticism, AND it was a WORKING CLASS sport in the US like it is in almost every other country, the US would have won multiple World Cups. I’ve literally explained this many times. It’s not saying the US would have people like Lebron dominating. We might have someone like Steph Curry, but it would be mainly guys we haven’t heard of who maybe played college 🏀 but would have been amazing ⚽ players. In the alternate reality where soccer ⚽ is always our top sport, our top players are guys who probably played high school basketball or American football but were 5’8-6’ and were too small to be in NBA or NFL. Because 🏀 and 🏈 are our top sports, our most famous athletes are in those sports and don’t have ⚽ body types. Our most famous athletes are people who don’t have soccer ⚽ body types but are the only ones we know, because they are in our top sports. If Spain only played 🏀, we’d never know about Iniesta, if England only played American football 🏈, we wouldn’t know of Phil Foden. Imagine an alternate reality where Spain didn’t play soccer much, only basketball. Their most famous athletes would be basketball players with basketball physiques. So if they said “we’d be much better if we always loved soccer,” people would say “you’re telling me Pau Gasol would dominate soccer?” That is where we are with the U.S. I’m talking about the what if scenario if soccer was the top sport in the US from the late 1800s, like in Europe. In that scenario, the US would have a proper soccer culture where we actually understand how to develop soccer players properly. At present we DO NOT have that because; 🏀 and 🏈 have been our top sports along with ⚾ forever, and they emphasize athleticism, so American sporting culture is more focused on athleticism and has no understanding about the fact that technique is what matters in ⚽. Another thing we have that holds the US back is pay to play. But pay to play developed SPECIFICALLY because soccer was always a fringe throw away sport in the US; and thus developed into a suburban upper middle class sport that was more recreational than serious. In popular sports in the US like 🏀 and 🏈, most of the top players came from lower class backgrounds, like Lebron James. Because we understand the sport we don’t have a pay to play thing keeping talented poorer athletes. If soccer were the top sport in the US from the beginning, we’d have that. Also, if soccer were the top sport in the US from the beginning, the US would have one of, if not the top league, because the US has so much money it would attract foreign players supplemented with American players. Therefore, every US World Cup team would be filled with starters and stars in a top league (US league in this scenario), like every big European team. And I’m not saying the US would have people like Lebron dominating. We might have someone like Steph Curry, but it would be mainly guys we haven’t heard of who maybe played college 🏀 but would have been amazing ⚽ players. Because 🏀 and 🏈 are our top sports, our most famous athletes are in those sports and don’t have ⚽ body types. If Spain only played 🏀, we’d never know about Iniesta. The U.S. would have a style somewhat like a France England mix except a much larger talent pool, using African American players before Europeans used black players, and would have won a couple of the earlier less competitive World Cups. My guess is US wins 2-3 World Cups by 1970 and 2-3 World Cups between 1970 and today, so 4-6 overall

[@thebrosscompanyinc]

The US actually has made it past the quaterfinals. They made the semi-finals in the 1930 world cup (first world cup)

[@mortichro]

also put into perspective that American Owners of European clubs and TV shows like Ted Lasso has brought more interest in Soccer in the States. Jerseys worn by US celebrities pretty much played a small part in the introduction.

[@_Super_Hans_]

What mic do you use, your voice sounds beautiful. Please respond.

[@condescending28]

By the way, I don't watch the MLS nor do I care for it. I'm not saying it's a bad product but it's not the best Players in the World playing each other. That is why I watch the English Premier League for most of the World Class Players flock to.

[@charlesray9674]

MLS IS a bad product 🤢

[@condescending28]

@@charlesray9674 LOL! Is it?

[@charlesray9674]

@@condescending28 I cannot stand it. It's Division V at best.

[@okay1775]

Bro every soccer league bar the top 5 best euro leagues are 2nd tier players playing against each other

[@firefliytv]

They came 3rd in the first World Cup I think doesn’t mean much but that’s the highest finish

[@juancodina7842]

It's even the highest finish of a no South American nor European team. So I'd say it's actually pretty decent

[@MrFraztastic]

I’m really curious what these stats look like post Ted Lasso and Welcome to Wrexham

[@mr.champion1770]

It's very big here in America youth wise and casual wise. Unfortunately as so many have commented it does not receive as much funding or respect from the federations and organizations like other sports. Fifa also made the sport popular and veery kid here has played it

[@suburbiawitch6757]

As an American I can’t express how much I love watching soccer because of the continuous clock and the lack of ads. I love American football and all, but going back to the NFL and Bowl Season after the World Cup was pretty jarring. Granted I don’t have kids, but I feel like it could be more accessible to youth athletes since height and size aren’t quite as important as in basketball or gridiron football.

[@muhammadsamiul7182]

Well, they played the inaugral world cup semifinals

[@Makwayne]

Love the statistics but what about the rest of the percentages? Like for favorite sports. Do the others like some other sports? The data is incomplete. Same for the other stats. Looking for some clarification.

[@darealpapajon]

Found out America has a third place medal in the World Cup

[@adam248]

I love MLS and I love being a soccer fan

[@thehawaiianpunch1769]

Soccer is my second favorite sport, American football will always be my #1 but soccer is my second favorite and I think a decent amount of people from Gen z have soccer as #2 for them

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

Hockey is my favorite sport, but soccer and American football are basically tied for my second favorite

[@GoTPLATANOS]

United States finished in third at the inaugural 1930 World Cup...

[@ValyrianPrince]

250 to 2bn is craaaazy!

[@theghostofspookwagen4715]

That thumbnail gives off really intense The World Ends With You vibes.

[@jupiterokachobee1532]

Madden has been grandfathered into the US culture but Fifa is by far the better game and is definitely a big reason for the increased interest in Football

[@brysonfrank6476]

You got a stat wrong in the first 10 seconds of the video. They made it to in semi finals in the first World Cup.

[@chompo5]

I think the growth is that lots of Latinos from Mexico and South America watch soccer for their respective countries leagues.

[@christopherzimmerman691]

“Which sport is the most popular?” is the wrong question. The US is a sports-crazy nation, and Americans are used to following multiple competitions, often simultaneously. It would be more insightful to ask what their second-favorite sport is. Or third. The NFL may still be #1, and college football is way up there, but those fans also follow baseball, basketball, hockey, and now soccer, which has become another major sport in the American market. That was not the case 25 years ago. Folks who watched the Rose Bowl would scoff at those who watched soccer. Now, Midwestern families will have two TVs going so that they don’t have to choose between monitoring Ohio State vs Michigan (a US Classico, for you Brits) and Argentina vs Mexico in the World Cup. (A true example from earlier today.) That’s the real measure of the way Association Football has been inexorably working its way into the American mainstream. It may never be “#1” in this country, but that doesn’t matter. There are well over 300 million of us, we’re affluent, and we’re obsessed with competitive sports. Ice hockey is a far less natural sport for the US, and we’ve already won Olympic gold. We gave the rest of the world a 100 year head start in soccer, so it’s taking a while for us to catch up. But we’re coming.