On July 5, much of the United States found themselves sitting in front of the TV watching their U.S. women's soccer team in a decisive FIFA Women's World Cup final victory over Japan. As decisive as the match was, the TV ratings were even more so. The telecast shattered ratings records. With 26.7 million viewers, it was the most-watched soccer match (including men's) in U.S. history. In fact, viewership skyrocketed 77 percent from the Women's World Cup final match four years ago that featured the same teams. To put the final's ratings figure in perspective, it's about the same number that viewed game seven of the 2014 World Series.
With that said, one may now wonder, is the World Cup really that big to America and is soccer really growing in this country?
The answer is yes, the World Cup has become a must-watch event for many Americans, and it is slowly helping change the face of soccer in the states. According to an article written in the New York Post a year ago, the United States' quarterfinal loss to Belgium drew 24.5 million viewers, which was almost 10 million more than the average for the NBA finals and World Series viewers and almost 20 million more than the Stanley Cup Finals. According to an article written by International Business Times, a game that did not even feature the United States, the World Cup final between Argentina and Germany, drew nearly 26.5 million viewers on average in the U.S. The tournament has quickly become a major sporting event for Americans and has slowly increased their interest in soccer. The next question people may ask is why? For that, the answer is very simple, patriotism.
When the Olympics come around, it gives us, as a country, a chance to put aside our differences and root for the same team and hope that our country is the most dominant in that certain sport. Whether it be hockey, basketball, or even cross-country skiing, our country has a distinct arrogance about us that makes us believe we are the best in everything and need to win everything. Not a bad trait, it is just who we are. The World Cup is no different, and with watch parties around the country and the passion that goes into each and every game, patriotism is on full display. One may even say that the World Cup has grown to become more important to us than the Olympics in recent years.
The heightened interest in the past few World Cups may also be due to our success in these tournaments. Up until 1990, neither a men's nor women's national soccer team was seen in a World Cup for 40 years (the women's World Cup started in 1991). The MLS was created in 1994 in response to FIFA announcing that the USA had to create a domestic league to host the World Cup. With lack of talent, it was hard to see a lot of patriotism for a team that did not live up to the American standard and played a sport that barely anyone cared about. But now, with talent across the board and a domestic league that is slowly growing, it's hard for Americans to look past such an enormous event in which they get to show their pride and partake in one of the most exciting and emotionally exhausting tournaments on the planet.
Some may say that the World Cup is the only time that Americans sit down and watch soccer and that the sport has really no chance of growing in a country with so many other professional sports. That is certainly not true. Many people who watch the World Cup may have never watched soccer nor had an interest for it. Yet when able to enjoy a full match, people are amazed by the "beautiful game." A large number are immediately interested in the passion and fire that goes into every game and want to find out more. Many ask, does this happen at every game? Yes, yes it does. Any game played between the different leagues is extremely important, and the fans are just as passionate through it all.
The World Cup raises interest in the MLS. Business Insider published a graph (below) of the average attendance and total attendance in the MLS since 1996. After every year of the World Cup, there is a little jump in total attendance, the most notable being after the 2010 World Cup in which it jumped from four million to around 5.5 million in 2011. Nowadays, the Seattle Sounders draw about 44,000 fans for each game with a max of 65,000 fans. The World Cup continuously helps improve the domestic league. If the men's league can reach the heights of the women, national fan bases will skyrocket and make the MLS just as world renowned as Premier League and La Liga.
Soccer is growing in the United States. Americans are investing in clubs in England, and some of the world's most famous soccer players are coming to play in the MLS, like David Villa and Steven Gerrard. Every day there is a chance to put more money into the sport in the United States. Americans are finally warming up to the sport they refer to as "futbol" in other countries and are starting to realize what everyone else has cherished for a long time. Soccer is a wonderful sport and we need more of it in America. So sit back, enjoy the finale of the World Cup and know that this sport is taking over the lives of American sports fanatics.
