Re: New York Times article on the London Broncos : Thu Aug 28, 2014 7:30 am  

gutterfax wrote:

Really? Tell me how well Soccer stacks up against the other mainstream sports in the USA in regards to the financials? Soccer is a growth sport, but in reality, it is a minority sport that relies on ex-pat interest for its TV audience

There are 4.2m men and women currently registered with US Soccer as actively playing in amateur and professional football clubs. There is an estimated 25 mil people playing soccer on a regular basis in the US which is way more than American Football and only bettered by Basketball and Baseball. Soccer is the third highest supported sport in the US and the MLS is the seventh highest supported football league in the world. Soccer is the second most popular sport for under 25's according to a 2011 survey.

I think the figures for those who watched the world cup in the US is around 25-30mil.

This is not a minority sport anymore, as for relying on ex-pat support, the entire US stems from immigrant population so it's hardly surprising. Last month a friendly game at the Pasadena rose bowl attracted 110,000. This is why European clubs want a piece of the action.

Re: New York Times article on the London Broncos : Thu Aug 28, 2014 9:37 am  

meliferra wrote:

There are 4.2m men and women currently registered with US Soccer as actively playing in amateur and professional football clubs. There is an estimated 25 mil people playing soccer on a regular basis in the US which is way more than American Football and only bettered by Basketball and Baseball. Soccer is the third highest supported sport in the US and the MLS is the seventh highest supported football league in the world. Soccer is the second most popular sport for under 25's according to a 2011 survey.

I think the figures for those who watched the world cup in the US is around 25-30mil.

This is not a minority sport anymore, as for relying on ex-pat support, the entire US stems from immigrant population so it's hardly surprising. Last month a friendly game at the Pasadena rose bowl attracted 110,000. This is why European clubs want a piece of the action.

Oh dear, now he's got you started on throwing statistics about, mel. Take care

Re: New York Times article on the London Broncos : Thu Aug 28, 2014 10:49 am  

Watch those stats meliferra, could set someone off.

The only thing that surprises me is that anyone is surprised by the rise of soccer in the US. There are whole swathes of the US where Spanish has replaced English as the lingua franca because of immigration from Hispanic countries, and the sporting tradition of Hispanic countries is soccer not gridiron.

Re: New York Times article on the London Broncos : Thu Aug 28, 2014 12:45 pm  

BroncOnIon wrote:

Oh dear, now he's got you started on throwing statistics about, mel. Take care

You're right
What a hypocrite I am. In my defence I was trying to be helpful by providing the statistics someone else was looking for.

Re: New York Times article on the London Broncos : Thu Aug 28, 2014 6:15 pm  

meliferra wrote:

You're right
What a hypocrite I am. In my defence I was trying to be helpful by providing the statistics someone else was looking for.

and very helpful they were too. ....but other than a friendly game attracting 110,000....(the aussies got close to that last year BTW), you offered none of the financials I requested.
Here's a re-cap:

Tell me how well Soccer stacks up against the other mainstream sports in the USA in regards to the financials? Soccer is a growth sport, but in reality, it is a minority sport that relies on ex-pat interest for its TV audience

You'll see that I have said soccer is growing, but is not anywhere near the "wonga" value of the other sports.

Oh...on the 110,000 "exhibition game"......we've been down this route in the UK before. US Gridiron teams filling wembley....the London Monarchs filling Wembley.......er.....the German/USA Military personel being the only ones interested....but that not being able to sustain the league. Don't get me wrong, soccer is most assuredly there to stay in the USA, but at present, it is a minority sport.......nice that you pointed out the growth of MLS though....that has taken over $1,000,000,000 of investment since USA94 to get that far.......THAT'S HOW YOU DO "EXPANSION"

25,000,000 (8%) watching FIFA14 is brilliant.....the French had 18,000,000 (27%) tuned into RWC11 and Rugby is well behind Soccer there......SOCCER in the USA is still a minority sport.

Re: New York Times article on the London Broncos : Thu Aug 28, 2014 7:23 pm  

Where does that put cricket in this country?
I'd never realised that it's finances determine whether a sport is a minority\majority one.

I guess football is a minority sport in most of the world because it tends to be played by poor people on the street rather than the elite and wealthy.

Re: New York Times article on the London Broncos : Thu Aug 28, 2014 7:59 pm  

meliferra wrote:

Where does that put cricket in this country?
I'd never realised that it's finances determine whether a sport is a minority\majority one.

I guess football is a minority sport in most of the world because it tends to be played by poor people on the street rather than the elite and wealthy.

Jumpers for goal posts and the romance of sport are driven by a desire to become one of the elite. I asked about the financials because as a professional sport, they are the driver to success.......the masses at hackney marshes are great but they have little influence over the balance sheets at top tier clubs.

Re: New York Times article on the London Broncos : Sat Aug 30, 2014 2:52 pm  

I refer you all to that old adage "ANY publicity is GOOD publicity!".

[brian2]

Re: New York Times article on the London Broncos : Tue Sep 02, 2014 5:29 pm  

as usual off thread. . just back from 3 weeks in states. football may be a minority sport but a fast growing one. whilst anecdotal, there is a fair bit of coverage in the media, crowds are growing and the World Cup played big in the USA.

Gutterfax's comments are just outdated stereotypical c***.

Re: New York Times article on the London Broncos : Tue Sep 02, 2014 6:22 pm  

brian2 wrote:

as usual off thread. . just back from 3 weeks in states. football may be a minority sport but a fast growing one. whilst anecdotal, there is a fair bit of coverage in the media, crowds are growing and the World Cup played big in the USA.

Gutterfax's comments are just outdated stereotypical c***.

Soccer sits behind gridiron, baseball, basketball and hockey in the USA.......it is a minority sport that I never denied wasn't growing, but a minority sport all the same.