Post by FreeKresge on Jun 20, 2018 5:49:08 GMT
This thread continues a conversation in the Shoutbox that I will copy here.
As one can tell by my first response and by ayanami's last response, it quickly became clear that this conversation is well beyond 256 character limit, so I moved it here.
The only inaccurate or misleading part of my response was the suggestion that I did not know the result of the Mexico-Germany match. Obviously, I knew even though I watched the Brazil-Switzerland match instead.
A hint to how little the United States cares about the World Cup would be on the front page of today's (June 19, 2018) Los Angeles Times sports section. There were five articles. Two were on baseball, one was on basketball, one was on boxing, and there was one article at the bottom on the World Cup. Specifically, it was on the Mexico-Germany match.
There are fans of professional soccer in the United States, but it is a niche market. Many of these fans watch European leagues (and, at least where I live, Mexican leagues). If I had to guess, I would say that many of them root for England, France, Spain, Germany, or Italy (well, not this time) depending on which is their favorite league, or they might root for the national team of a favorite player (e.g., Portugal if Cristiano Ronaldo is their favorite player). Also, many immigrants maintain loyalty to the national teams of their home nations. For example, the United States Men's National Team makes a lot of its money playing friendlies against Mexico. Even when the team plays in the United States, the majority of fans often root for Mexico, especially when they play near the border with Mexico.
I do not want to exaggerate. If the United States team made the World Cup, the ratings for their matches would likely be higher than for the other matches, and fans of European leagues would also root for the United States. Many immigrants would root for the United States at least as their second favorite. For example I watch the World Cup on a Spanish-language station. The announcers are clearly biased toward Mexico, but they are also biased toward the United States, at least when the United States makes the Cup. Also, I think that a lot of people were happy that we, along with Canada and Mexico, will host the 2026 World Cup.
I also want to say that women's soccer is different. A lot of people are aware that American women do very well internationally. In fact, I suspect that if casual sports fans were asked to name American soccer players, they would be able to name more female players than male players. Attending a women's soccer match is a common father-daughter activity, whereas fathers would be more likely to take their sons to baseball, American football, basketball, or ice hockey.
Speaking for myself, the only soccer that I watch are the men's and women's world cups and Olympic soccer. As far as who I root for, I would root for the United States if they made the World Cup. However, I am happy that Panama is happy. They probably appreciate it more. My ancestors came from all over Europe, but I am more Italian (specifically Sicilian) than anything, so I also root for Italy. I am probably more upset that Italy did not make the Cup than I am that the United States did not make the Cup. I will probably root for a nation that has not won a Cup yet, such as the Netherlands. Oops, I guess that they did not make it either. The United States is in good company.
I would be interested in what people in different parts of the United States think. My perspective may be biased by living in an area with a large population of people of Mexican descent.
ayanami —Out of curiosity, is anyone in the US actually upset that you guys didn't make the World Cup this time?
beren44 —guess your question got answered
ayanami—Soooo... you're all so upset that you don't want to talk about it? Gotcha!
beren44—talk about what? no news around here
Me—To answer ayanami's question, in the United States, what much of the world calls "football" and we call "soccer" is probably in fifth place in popularity among professional team sports, behind baseball, American football, basketball, and ice hockey. Many Americans view soccer just as something kids play. Where I live (Southern California), there are probably more people who care about Mexico's team than care about the U.S. team. By the way, I missed Mexico's first game. How did they do?
polgara —Mexico beat Germany, so you might not want to ask Ayanami, unless that was the point.
Me—That was the point.
ayanami—Lol, yeah, I figured that that was the point. Ruuuude! But really, it's fine. Mexico was the better team over large parts of the game and even when the German team was pressing, they just couldn't find the damn goal. It was a well deserved outcome. But many of the "big" teams seem to be struggling in the 1st round so far, so we'll see how it goes. As to football ("soccer") in the US, I know that it's far from the most popular sport, but I also know that you had a couple of big fan viewing events during the last World Cup and many people supported the team. So I was wondering if the US not qualifying this time really registered with large parts of the public or not. I know Panama is having a blast right now!
beren44 —guess your question got answered
ayanami—Soooo... you're all so upset that you don't want to talk about it? Gotcha!
beren44—talk about what? no news around here
Me—To answer ayanami's question, in the United States, what much of the world calls "football" and we call "soccer" is probably in fifth place in popularity among professional team sports, behind baseball, American football, basketball, and ice hockey. Many Americans view soccer just as something kids play. Where I live (Southern California), there are probably more people who care about Mexico's team than care about the U.S. team. By the way, I missed Mexico's first game. How did they do?
polgara —Mexico beat Germany, so you might not want to ask Ayanami, unless that was the point.
Me—That was the point.
ayanami—Lol, yeah, I figured that that was the point. Ruuuude! But really, it's fine. Mexico was the better team over large parts of the game and even when the German team was pressing, they just couldn't find the damn goal. It was a well deserved outcome. But many of the "big" teams seem to be struggling in the 1st round so far, so we'll see how it goes. As to football ("soccer") in the US, I know that it's far from the most popular sport, but I also know that you had a couple of big fan viewing events during the last World Cup and many people supported the team. So I was wondering if the US not qualifying this time really registered with large parts of the public or not. I know Panama is having a blast right now!
As one can tell by my first response and by ayanami's last response, it quickly became clear that this conversation is well beyond 256 character limit, so I moved it here.
The only inaccurate or misleading part of my response was the suggestion that I did not know the result of the Mexico-Germany match. Obviously, I knew even though I watched the Brazil-Switzerland match instead.
A hint to how little the United States cares about the World Cup would be on the front page of today's (June 19, 2018) Los Angeles Times sports section. There were five articles. Two were on baseball, one was on basketball, one was on boxing, and there was one article at the bottom on the World Cup. Specifically, it was on the Mexico-Germany match.
There are fans of professional soccer in the United States, but it is a niche market. Many of these fans watch European leagues (and, at least where I live, Mexican leagues). If I had to guess, I would say that many of them root for England, France, Spain, Germany, or Italy (well, not this time) depending on which is their favorite league, or they might root for the national team of a favorite player (e.g., Portugal if Cristiano Ronaldo is their favorite player). Also, many immigrants maintain loyalty to the national teams of their home nations. For example, the United States Men's National Team makes a lot of its money playing friendlies against Mexico. Even when the team plays in the United States, the majority of fans often root for Mexico, especially when they play near the border with Mexico.
I do not want to exaggerate. If the United States team made the World Cup, the ratings for their matches would likely be higher than for the other matches, and fans of European leagues would also root for the United States. Many immigrants would root for the United States at least as their second favorite. For example I watch the World Cup on a Spanish-language station. The announcers are clearly biased toward Mexico, but they are also biased toward the United States, at least when the United States makes the Cup. Also, I think that a lot of people were happy that we, along with Canada and Mexico, will host the 2026 World Cup.
I also want to say that women's soccer is different. A lot of people are aware that American women do very well internationally. In fact, I suspect that if casual sports fans were asked to name American soccer players, they would be able to name more female players than male players. Attending a women's soccer match is a common father-daughter activity, whereas fathers would be more likely to take their sons to baseball, American football, basketball, or ice hockey.
Speaking for myself, the only soccer that I watch are the men's and women's world cups and Olympic soccer. As far as who I root for, I would root for the United States if they made the World Cup. However, I am happy that Panama is happy. They probably appreciate it more. My ancestors came from all over Europe, but I am more Italian (specifically Sicilian) than anything, so I also root for Italy. I am probably more upset that Italy did not make the Cup than I am that the United States did not make the Cup. I will probably root for a nation that has not won a Cup yet, such as the Netherlands. Oops, I guess that they did not make it either. The United States is in good company.
I would be interested in what people in different parts of the United States think. My perspective may be biased by living in an area with a large population of people of Mexican descent.
