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And It All Comes Down To This!!!!
Jul. 18th, 2026 06:08 pmIt’s going to be difficult to avoid things related to The World Cup Tournament for the next day or two, so it seems like an appropriate time to discuss what we call “Soccer” and what most of the rest of the world calls “Football” and understand why just about every other country is fanatical about the sport and why the USA isn’t, but why that is finally starting to change.
Let’s start with our perspective. There are four big team sports that Americans follow with regularity: Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and our version of Football, with the yard markers and the oblong shaped ball. And there are rivalries in these various sports that help define each particular fan. The Yankees and Dodgers have met in the October Classic more than any two teams have (Yanks lead the tally, 8 to 4, though the Dodgers won the last couple - and are in town facing the Yanks right now). Competition in Baseball is world renowned. It seems like just seconds ago that the Knicks avenged their previous loss in the NBA Finals to the Spurs with a resounding victory over them on the hardwood. Knicks in 5. What about Michigan and Ohio State on the college gridiron? (And certainly there’s many college rivalries involved in all these various sports.)
Hockey is the sport that most resembles the game in question, and for most US residents, it’s also the fourth go-to choice of the four big sports. Of course Canada is steeped in Hockey, but that has to do with the climate of their country. It stays cold in Canada until May, and is frigid again in late September. Why wouldn’t they embrace a game that’s played on ice? And by proxy, we got involved with that game because our neighbors were so connected with it. How could we not at least have a mild interest in hockey when the country that shares our longest border is living that sport, practically year round?
But the NHL, MLB, NFL and NBA are all organizations with teams that have long, storied histories. By comparison, the MLS or Major League Soccer in North America got started in 1993, so not nearly the same legacy there. And really, it’s the pro leagues in the USA that gain the most attention, with the College sports following after that. So, if you don’t have a pro league that is well established and well attended, you probably aren’t going to get a lot of attention.
When you’re dealing with the professional teams in those big four sports, fan bases are often formed around the geography. Where you grew up is often the team you follow and support. You bonded with your father over a baseball or hockey game he took you to see. You went with your co-workers to a Monday Night Football game, or at least an after work viewing at a local bar or hangout. And as for College, you have the alumni of the various universities, so every school has an instant fan base. When it comes to wearing those big boy pants of fan support, American Soccer is still in Huggies.
From the perspective of the rest of the planet, football is a defining force, and a symbol of national pride. Most countries have clubs that play each other, just as our US ones do for the sports mentioned above, however there is a long standing history of this sport for those fans, just as there is for US fans of our team sports. So, that is a part of it. But The World Cup is, much like the Olympics, an opportunity for countries to prove to the rest of the world just how impressive they are on the pitch, how well they can defend and score and to give bragging rights to all others that they are the best in the game.
Sure, the Americans call it the “World Series,” but it’s not really, when you see that only one Canadian and twenty-nine US teams can ever play in it. It’s the same with the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup and NBA Finals. These sports are insulated. We only get to see a true world Basketball tourney in the Olympics. Major League Baseball is helping with the “World Baseball Classic,” (congrats to Venezuela for winning this year), but even that tourney is still getting tweaked and changed and still needs some work to become something that both Americans are excited about and that people from other countries can really start to understand!
No, clearly, Football is one of the true “international” sports. But there has been a vicious cycle that has held it from succeeding in the States.
Soccer has not been known as a major money making sport here, especially as compared to the Big 4. Which means that not only aren’t there the facilities to equal the amenities available in the other major sports, making soccer appear as “second rate” to potential fans, which keeps them away, which means less money available for those teams.
But also, athletes who might consider a professional career would not even consider soccer as an option, so the players that could potentially make the game even more exciting are playing other sports! The average salary of a Men’s pro US soccer player is 248,000 dollars, which doesn’t sound bad, but compare it to the average salary of a Men’s pro basketball player, which is about 3 million dollars.
But, believe it or not, I think this World Cup season has helped to make Soccer more interesting for Americans and the reason why: Television. With the HD coverage and the cameras that are available to cover the action, we are getting closer than ever to being on the field with the players. We can see their actions and reactions in a way that simply wasn’t possible during the last World Cup in 2022. And when it comes to sports, it’s about knowing the players, seeing their personalities, understanding what they’re trying to do and feeling the heart in their game. Now, we actually had a squad that have those qualities, and we have a way of letting the country view that from a better than front row seat!
This doesn’t work as well for American Football, because the players there are geared up in helmets and pads that don’t permit you to see them much of the time, so this sport has some hope for gaining some personality recognition. Even the president knows the name Folarin Balogun, and got FIFA to overturn his Red Card to play against Be4lgium (it didn't help, but thst's quite some clout).
Soccer is a sport we all played at some point in our lives, whether it was in grade school with classmates, high school in intramural or match play with other schools, or college against rival universities. It’s a worthy sport and a challenging one. So as you watch the Final of World Cup Tournament with Spain taking on Argentina, and you should at least watch some of it (at least that halftime show with Shakira, BTS, Madonna, Justin Bieber, Burner Boy and Gustavo Dudamel and the New York Philharmonic) understand the qualities of the game and the players of it. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a hint of what the folks in the rest of our Global Village have been rioting about for years!
Let’s start with our perspective. There are four big team sports that Americans follow with regularity: Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and our version of Football, with the yard markers and the oblong shaped ball. And there are rivalries in these various sports that help define each particular fan. The Yankees and Dodgers have met in the October Classic more than any two teams have (Yanks lead the tally, 8 to 4, though the Dodgers won the last couple - and are in town facing the Yanks right now). Competition in Baseball is world renowned. It seems like just seconds ago that the Knicks avenged their previous loss in the NBA Finals to the Spurs with a resounding victory over them on the hardwood. Knicks in 5. What about Michigan and Ohio State on the college gridiron? (And certainly there’s many college rivalries involved in all these various sports.)
Hockey is the sport that most resembles the game in question, and for most US residents, it’s also the fourth go-to choice of the four big sports. Of course Canada is steeped in Hockey, but that has to do with the climate of their country. It stays cold in Canada until May, and is frigid again in late September. Why wouldn’t they embrace a game that’s played on ice? And by proxy, we got involved with that game because our neighbors were so connected with it. How could we not at least have a mild interest in hockey when the country that shares our longest border is living that sport, practically year round?
But the NHL, MLB, NFL and NBA are all organizations with teams that have long, storied histories. By comparison, the MLS or Major League Soccer in North America got started in 1993, so not nearly the same legacy there. And really, it’s the pro leagues in the USA that gain the most attention, with the College sports following after that. So, if you don’t have a pro league that is well established and well attended, you probably aren’t going to get a lot of attention.
When you’re dealing with the professional teams in those big four sports, fan bases are often formed around the geography. Where you grew up is often the team you follow and support. You bonded with your father over a baseball or hockey game he took you to see. You went with your co-workers to a Monday Night Football game, or at least an after work viewing at a local bar or hangout. And as for College, you have the alumni of the various universities, so every school has an instant fan base. When it comes to wearing those big boy pants of fan support, American Soccer is still in Huggies.
From the perspective of the rest of the planet, football is a defining force, and a symbol of national pride. Most countries have clubs that play each other, just as our US ones do for the sports mentioned above, however there is a long standing history of this sport for those fans, just as there is for US fans of our team sports. So, that is a part of it. But The World Cup is, much like the Olympics, an opportunity for countries to prove to the rest of the world just how impressive they are on the pitch, how well they can defend and score and to give bragging rights to all others that they are the best in the game.
Sure, the Americans call it the “World Series,” but it’s not really, when you see that only one Canadian and twenty-nine US teams can ever play in it. It’s the same with the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup and NBA Finals. These sports are insulated. We only get to see a true world Basketball tourney in the Olympics. Major League Baseball is helping with the “World Baseball Classic,” (congrats to Venezuela for winning this year), but even that tourney is still getting tweaked and changed and still needs some work to become something that both Americans are excited about and that people from other countries can really start to understand!
No, clearly, Football is one of the true “international” sports. But there has been a vicious cycle that has held it from succeeding in the States.
Soccer has not been known as a major money making sport here, especially as compared to the Big 4. Which means that not only aren’t there the facilities to equal the amenities available in the other major sports, making soccer appear as “second rate” to potential fans, which keeps them away, which means less money available for those teams.
But also, athletes who might consider a professional career would not even consider soccer as an option, so the players that could potentially make the game even more exciting are playing other sports! The average salary of a Men’s pro US soccer player is 248,000 dollars, which doesn’t sound bad, but compare it to the average salary of a Men’s pro basketball player, which is about 3 million dollars.
But, believe it or not, I think this World Cup season has helped to make Soccer more interesting for Americans and the reason why: Television. With the HD coverage and the cameras that are available to cover the action, we are getting closer than ever to being on the field with the players. We can see their actions and reactions in a way that simply wasn’t possible during the last World Cup in 2022. And when it comes to sports, it’s about knowing the players, seeing their personalities, understanding what they’re trying to do and feeling the heart in their game. Now, we actually had a squad that have those qualities, and we have a way of letting the country view that from a better than front row seat!
This doesn’t work as well for American Football, because the players there are geared up in helmets and pads that don’t permit you to see them much of the time, so this sport has some hope for gaining some personality recognition. Even the president knows the name Folarin Balogun, and got FIFA to overturn his Red Card to play against Be4lgium (it didn't help, but thst's quite some clout).
Soccer is a sport we all played at some point in our lives, whether it was in grade school with classmates, high school in intramural or match play with other schools, or college against rival universities. It’s a worthy sport and a challenging one. So as you watch the Final of World Cup Tournament with Spain taking on Argentina, and you should at least watch some of it (at least that halftime show with Shakira, BTS, Madonna, Justin Bieber, Burner Boy and Gustavo Dudamel and the New York Philharmonic) understand the qualities of the game and the players of it. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a hint of what the folks in the rest of our Global Village have been rioting about for years!