Soccer in America

              

The worlds most popular sport is Football ( Or soccer) It is followed religiously in Europe and South America. The world cup in 2014 managed to receive the most amount of tweets this year, with over 670 million people talking about it. However, our brothers over the pond still haven't completely accepted the game of 'Soccer'. Many see the game as being boring as it has a relatively low score rate compared to their sports (NFL and NBA having huge scored compared) And in America Bigger is better. Compared to American sports, Soccer is a game which is now governed by money, the caps put into place in the US isn't seen in the major leagues of Europe or even South America. So is the real reason that soccer isn't big in america because of the fact that it is 'boring'? or is it more ideology based?

American sports always have a 'winner' and a 'loser' if the game is tied, the game goes into 'over time' and there will be a winner. This could be down to ideology. The Americans like to see someone coming out on top, they are a society build around 'winners' as the American dream states. If the underdog in England for instance gains a draw against the Might Might Man United ( Maybe not so much now but back in the day) they are hailed. But in America they would want to see that team be able to go one better and win or lose trying.

Americas top leagues are comprised of teams that are constantly changing. The Super bowl is never/rarely won by the same team, it is rare that the same teams are in the semi-finals. But in Europe, there are only 2-3 teams in each major league that can realistically win the league. In England, there was the 'Big 4' that included the 4 teams (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United) that were seen to dominate every competition. This also happens in the US. LA Galaxy have won 3 of the last 5 MLS cups. This predictability leads could lead Americans to lose interest, knowing that their team may not be able to complete in the next tournament the opposite to the tradition American sports where the weaker teams can strengthen ( Only really in the NFL)


It is true that the American interest in Soccer has increased. however, it is most popular in areas of mass immigration. The teams are based mostly on the west and east coast, immigrants from Mexico and Europe are the ones who follow Soccer like the average American follow Football or Baseball. The USA's success in the 2014 FIFA World cup united Americans to support their nation, however games haven't hit the same viewing heights.

Chelsea FC stadium Stamford bridge.

                                                                                      Seattle Sounders CenturyLink field stadium
The Chelsea vs Sounders game in the US attracted over 60,000 fans, 17,000 more than the capacity at Stamford bridge.

I believe it would have been interesting/beneficial to look at American sports in this topic as it give us a look at how the original American values have made their way into american society.