When you think of the most popular sports in the United States, a few come to mind: Football, Baseball, and Basketball. Hockey? Maybe. Soccer? Ehh... not so much. Now you may not concern yourself as to why Soccer isn't as popular as other sports. But even if you did think about it, you couldn't figure it out.Youth Soccer is played by about 14 million kids in the U.S., while youth football is played by just over a million kids. So why is it that football is so much more popular at the professional level in the United States?
In other countries, especially European countries such as England, Spain, and Italy, soccer is by far the most popular sport. With teams such as Manchester United, Barcelona, and AC Milan, fans support their teams with a blind passion remiscent of a Raiders fan dressed up in full costume. In that respect, the arguement could be made that fans don't get excited for their local team in the U.S. because the teams aren't as good. But even the bad teams in England have their own collection of hooligans to cheer for them, so why wouldn't teams in the U.S.?
Another proposed reason for soccer's level of popularity (or lack thereof) is that we have a culture of playing baseball and basketball in america, just as England has a culture of cricket, soccer, and rugby. Which begs the question: can our culture change? Will we ever become a country where playing soccer is just as much of America as hot dogs and apple pie? Or will we forever look down at it as the sport all the other countries of the world play?
