Football World Cup

[Bogara_ZO]

Originally Posted by alt+f4

You know the majority of Americans reading this thread are totaly lost.....I am included.


Its odd Soccer isnt more popular here.

Yeah I know it. That's why I was surprised when the commentetors said that in the States the level of the American Soccer League (?) is developping very well in the past 5-6 years, and it's strong enough at the moment. And it is shored up by the actual team, they play better than I/we expected..

[oasis]

Actually, soccer (as we call it) is very popular in the states. The two main obstacles against it here is (1) the best athletes usually gravitate to other sports, and (2) it lacks the local interest.

Now when I say "local interest," I am referring to North America as being "local." Baseball has its leagues. American football has its leagues. So does basketball and hockey. NASCAR will always be more popular as a whole than open-wheel racing because it is done primarily here. Except for Hawaii, all of North America is within three hours of itself.

One has to look no further than the television ratings of the Olympics. It is always higher if nearer to North America than Europe, and nearer to Europe than anywhere else.

I imagine Europe's lack of fascination with baseball and American football is for the same reason. Hockey rules not because of the NHL but because of European leagues.