Topic: Why is soccer/futball so unpopular in America?

I don't get it. We have American teams in the World Cup, yet soccer is always riduculed by the general public.

With the huge success of the FIFA games, will things change? Will soccer become more accepted in America? Will we ever have our own nationwide professional soccer league?

Probably not. We've fought it off this long and I doubt a video game franchise will change that.

That's what I don't get. Why is the FIFA franchise so popular if hardly any Americans like soccer?

Maybe you should say this about baseball to Europeans.

Maybe you'll finally realize why Mario Super Sluggers never left NA & JP.

Because America has its own sports that suit its cultural identity more. Gridiron. Basketball. Baseball. Ice Hockey.

It's like asking why Rugby or Cricket is more popular in Australia than Soccer.

And soccer isn't unpopular in the US. Handball is unpopular in the US. Cricket is unpopular in the US. Soccer is at least a blip on the radar.

Why isn't Sumo Wrestling popular in America? It'd fit well right? _{I'm American, btw}

We have the MLS as a result of the 1994 World Cup being hosted in the U.S. The sport is growing but many Americans personally do like a more fast paced and/or high scoring game that the other sports provide. I personally have some hangups about soccer though I respect other nations' love for it.

Well, it's very unpopular in Japan these days, so perhaps it's time to move!

The sport is growing but many Americans personally do like a more fast paced and/or high scoring game that the other sports provide

Baseball and Gridiron have got to be the two slowest sports on earth. <_< Well, marginally more exciting than lawn bowls I guess.

The general TV audience in America prefers sports that have people getting hurt and beaten-up over people running around for a few hours. That's why Ultimate Fighting has become really popular recently and baseball has been becoming more obsolete, I guess.

Then why do we participate in the World Cup? Why do EA and Konami localize their soccer games in America? Soccer is a global sport. Rugby, cricket, etc. are UK sports.

Wow. You can only participate in a World Cup if the sport is in your top four or five sports now?

The US is also participating in the Rugby World Cup, right now. Is that a wildly popular sport in America?

I expect next year at the Olympics a new rule is passed that your country can only participate in a sport if every single person in the country loves it.

Soccer is a global sport. Rugby, cricket, etc. are UK sports.

Australia's on the other side of the world to the UK.

Cricket's actually played in around 80 countries through the world.

I think football is becoming more popular in USA. LA Galaxy have David Beckham and the New York Red Bulls have Thierry Henry. The more high profile players they persuade to go out there, the more popular it will become.

@tendoboy: He just said that soccer isn't unpopular in the US — just that other games are more popular. why continue to give him the third degree?
@TeeJay: dude i would totes watch an American Sumo league, no lie

Because there's plenty of people who care. You also have to realize we have a crap load of immigrants on visas, green cards,full citizens and a ton of annoying illegals too. People from those nations adore soccer/football and their love for it doesn't stop when they move here. That's a good reason why it is so well supported. You got those fans, you got people who grew up with it and did it through some level of schooling too as 'their sport' just like others who do baseball and stuff. Also, some who don't care about fast paced stuff and just like a game where not much action goes on (like golf) can sit back and enjoy the ride. And as stated, we do have Major League Soccer, it just isn't publicized anywhere near the level of hockey, baseball and the nfl(footlball) get is all.

Rugby and Cricket aren't localized to the U.K. And they localize the games because there is still enough games sold to make a profit, which doesn't necessarily mean they're that popular. According to VGChartz (which means take it with a grain of salt) Madden easily sells 5 times as well as the FIFA games in the US.

True, I guess I was exaggerating. Well, our schools educate kids on soccer and other global sports, yet when they get older they stick with the traditional American ones like basketball, baseball, and football.

So why do Konami and EA make soccer games for the US if the sport is just a "blip on the radar"? The market can't be that big.

Soccer isn't overwhelmingly popular in the US, but I wouldn't call it unpopular either; it's visibility has noticeably risen over just the last few years. ESPN often airs Barca-Real Madrid and EPL matches, and I'm under the impression that those all perform fairly well for them in the ratings. More and more often I see younger people openly state their support for various European clubs and national teams, and buying team merchandise. And I'm pretty sure soccer is still the most popular organized youth sport here.

It'll probably never overtake the general popularity of other other team sports that have were created in this country and/or have had fanatical followings here for a century or more, but that doesn't mean it hasn't earned a place on the sports landscape either.

We're not the only ones who get those games — other countries do too. they get released here in the US, but they're not solely made for the US market.

Oh I know that, I was just making a point that if the market isn't that big in the US, then releasing the games here wouldn't generate EA or Konami much profit, especially if Madden outsells it by a large margin.

My daddy loves soccer. He watches it all day long, watching it while he cooks, while he goes to the bathroom. He even watches old games if new ones aren't playing. He never has time to do anything else...anything
Goes to file the taxes