I think they are more confused about the differences between sports like American Football and soccer.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Discounts MLS Season Pass
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
What makes you say that? Do you think Apple will want to bail or the MLS will want to bail?
I am not sure what you mean when you say "as many would like to believe" as it is really vague. But based on your assumption that it is only popular "in certain metro areas, particularly those with sizable immigrant populations" and that "everyone else" only gets excited about the World Cup, I think you need more context for the impact of Soccer in the US.
I will run down some facts, if you want to fact check anything it should be easy for you to find the info...Let's start with the overall popularity in the United States. Soccer is the fourth most popular sport based on many different polls including Gallup and others. Since "TV" has changes so much typically this is what things are based on instead of some sort of viewership numbers. Soccer places behind Football (1), Basketball (2), and then Baseball (3). Next, if you look at sporting attendance, the order changes. It is the third most attended sport in the US. Football again is first, then baseball, and then soccer. So soccer beats Basketball for attendance even though it ranks behind it in polls about popularity. Also, when you look at participation in the sport, it is actually second behind only football. Also, the demographics of soccer are the most diverse of any of the "big five" sports spanning not only gender but also ethnicity, geography, and even income levels. So really what many people who are tuned into the soccer community are seeing is that people who enjoy the sport go to events more, participate more personally or their kids do, and therefore it is growing in the US especially considering many other sports are seeing declines (basketball, baseball).
So while I am not sure who the "as many would like to believe" people are, nor do I know what they are saying about the popularity of soccer in the US, soccer is a growing sport in the US that is competing with the other 4 in the big 5. It wins in some categories and loses in others. Hopefully that gives a better perspective that someone saying it is "the most popular" or "the least popular" sport?
