Are Americans Finally Embracing the Beautiful Game?

The round of sixteen is set to begin at the World Cup.  In a surprise development, one of those sixteen squads is the United States.  Surviving the “Group of Death” is no mean feat for a talented and gritty team.  The United States entered the World Cup ranked 13^th in the world, which signals that they have the ability to play with the best.

 

Belgium will test the United States and the country will tune in to see how the Red, White, and Blue perform.  Win or lose, but not draw since the sister kissing portion of the World Cup is over, the Men’s National team has sent the message that they are a legitimate threat in international competition.  This is welcome news for most U.S. sports fans but is already being misconstrued as a turning point in America’s soccer interest level.

Coverage of the World Cup routinely includes the cliché question: Has the U.S. finally joined the rest of the world and embraced soccer?  The particularly hipster commentators substitute futbol for soccer.  The answer is no.  Americans love to cheer for America, surprise.  Soccer continues to lag behind football, baseball, and basketball with hockey and auto racing more enthralling for the average U.S. fan than soccer.

 

World Cup interest and ratings have been high in Brazil but they were also high in South Africa.  The U.S. television market is embracing sports as a whole.  The DVR proof nature of live sports makes them an integral component in today’s Netflix world.  It is in the broadcast network’s interest to prop up the World Cup as a phenomenon.  The key is to ignore the hype and recognize the World Cup for what it is for the average U.S. sports fan, temporarily compelling.

The World Cup is a single sport Olympics.  The U.S. is competing for world bragging rights and viewers love that backdrop.  Swimming receives high ratings every four years during the Summer Games but no pundits claim that American audiences finally get it and are joining a global community.  Michael Phelps was a tremendous storyline and source of pride at Beijing in 2008.  He commanded the airwaves.  It did not result in a lasting interest in televised swimming stateside.

           Of course, Phelps was the favorite and Americans love the scrappy underdog.  Soccer provides Americans with the rare opportunity to be a considerable underdog, at least in perception.  Hockey also provided the U.S. with that opportunity in 1980.  Despite tape delay, the “Miracle on Ice” remains a treasure in the country’s collective sporting memory.  The U.S. may produce another treasure in Brazil, which will generate some soccer interest, but August is rapidly approaching and with it the NFL season.