Posted by Stephen Kuzner

By Stephen Kuzner - WFD Fan Correspondent

I am sick and tired of all the "is America ready to embrace soccer" or "will America finally become a Footballing Nation" nonsense that comes with a World Cup and following spike in soccer's popularity in America. America already had embraced soccer and was a Footballing Nation prior to 5 weeks ago.

Let's go back in time 4 years ago. In the 2006 FIFA Big Count of people playing soccer in the world it was estimated that 265 million or 4% of the world played soccer. The USA clocked in at #2 with 24 million people according to FIFA, double the average in the world. So at least in terms of participation the USA was and is a Footballing Nation. However, participation does not mean popularity or the following of sport. The cliché is Americans play soccer and watch the Gridiron. How accurate is this cliché? We can look at two things: attendances and TV ratings.

If you travel further back in time to 1994, we have the most attended World Cup in history. Where? The USA. We shouldn't forget this. When the rest of the world questions the USA's place in the world of soccer, I'd like to remind them of 1994. To host the World Cup, the US had to create is own league. MLS was founded in 1993 and hosted its first season in 1996. Here at soccer's 3rd birth in the USA (ASL and NASL are another story) we can see two measuring sticks for soccer's popularity in the USA: the International Team and the MLS.

How big has the MLS become? By 2009, it had the 24nd highest average attendance for all sporting leagues in the world at 16,037 per game and 3,608,359 total. However in soccer the MLS checks-in at #12. Right behind the US is the Scottish Premier League 14,915 per game and 3,400,567 total. Let's think about that. We hosted the most attended World Cup, have the 12th most attended league, and play soccer at double the rate of the rest of the world. This should put us on the map in the world, but does it put us on the map in the American Sporting Landscape?

How does the MLS stack up against the NBA and NHL? In average attendance the MLS's 16,037 per game compares well with the NBA's 17,390 per game and the NHL's 17,265 per game. The MLS falls well short in total attendance at 3,608,359 compared to the NBA's 21,389,899 and NHL's 21,236,255. MLS has a way to go to catch the NBA and NHL in total attendance, but bridging this gap in a generation or two may be possible if MLS continues to slowly grow.

The attendances in the 60, 80, and 100,000 ranges for international and club friends in the summer months would indicate a thirst for soccer on a large scale in America. Also, the large number of channels that broadcast soccer-related content can be a bit staggering. You have Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Soccer Plus, Gol TV, Telemundo, Telefutura, Galavisión, ESPN Deportes, Fox Sports en Español, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, and Comcast. At least these are the ones I know of. Soccer is available like never before in America. To quantify the amount of coverage overseas leagues get in America would be too much for this article. Regardless, the USA has a market for soccer consumption that ESPN finally started to realize was there.

What about TV ratings? The previous highest rated soccer games were 1999 Women's World Cup final at 18 million viewers, the 1994 World Cup final at 14.5 million, the 1994 World Cup Second-round match between the USA and Brazil at 13.7 million, and the 2006 World Cup Final at 12 million. How do these games stack-up to the NBA? What about a Game 7 of the Lakers vs. Celtics in 2010 NBA Finals? This Game 7 a few weeks ago got 28.2 million viewers.

This World Cup, the USA-England got 12,956,000 viewers, USA-Ghana got 14.863 million, and the Spain-Netherlands final got 24.3 million on ABC and Univision. Ratings-wise, the US Soccer does very comparable to the NBA a least in the big games. What would the rating be if the USA ever got to the Semi's or Final of a World Cup?

Does the USA measure up against England in viewership? Interestingly enough the USA does. The combined coverage of ABC and Univision Spain-Netherlands final of 24.3 million was about 6 million more than the combined coverage of BBC and ITV at 18.4 million. Yet, we still have to take these numbers with a grain of salt being that the USA's population is about 6 times that of Britain at 309 million to 62 million. Nevertheless, more people watched the World Cup final in America than in Soccer's birthplace.

These World Cup numbers would quantitatively confirm the USA as a definite Footballing Nation. And just as important, the ESPY award for "Best Moment" going to Landon Donovan in the World Cup vs. Algeria culturally validates American-Soccer's place in America's and the World's Sporting Landscape. We've been a Footballing National a little while now. Just a little while. The question now is, when does American become a soccer-obsessed nation?



Please send any feedback to skuzner@gmail.com.