Introduction
Soccer is one of the most popular sports globally because of the high number of individuals participating. Many countries and other individuals have invested a significant number of resources towards ensuring effectiveness in the sporting sector. Soccer is one of the major sports in which individuals have invested their financial resources. It has proven to be a worthy investment because of the large market in the sector due to the high number of lovers who are willing to pay to watch various soccer matches. Every country in the world has their own recognized soccer leagues that entail different teams with their supporters who make this culture grow. However, soccer has never been as popular in the United States as it is globally.
The U.S. is one of the richest countries and can develop world-class sporting facilities in different states. The government has pushed to ensure that the country is active in different types of sports domestically and globally. This has helped to encourage high levels of diversity in the American sports sector, which has empowered many young individuals in the nation. The approach adopted by the government has also helped in eradicating biases in sports finance allocation where some unpopular sports were being underfinanced for the benefit of the popular sports. This also helped enhance the growth of soccer in the United States of America.
However, the level of popularity of soccer in the United States of America is low as compared to other developed nations in the world. Some of the popular sports in America include American football, ice hockey, basketball, and baseball. The government and the private sector have partnered to steer soccer in America to a greater level. Still, the levels of popularity do not correspond with the efforts and investments put into the game. One of the main reasons why soccer is not popular in the United States of America relates to the various cultural aspects of the citizens. That being said, most Americans’ cultural aspects and various beliefs are significantly distinct from some aspects of the soccer world.
Importance of Global Influence
Most Americans do not get motivated when the topic of soccer is presented before them because they consider themselves to be in a position where they cannot comment on it since their nation is not ranked first in soccer globally. The U.S. has a significant global influence due to its strong economics and globalization strategies. The “world superpower” has made the American citizens possess a superiority complex in some areas such as the military, economic power, and great advancements in levels of development. Additionally, United States has major achievements in other sports such as basketball, baseball, and American football. However, when it comes to soccer, some nations are better than the United States of America. Most American citizens always want to be associated with the nation’s winning culture and be identified as the world’s number one in different sectors and sports. Compared to other countries, poor performance in soccer has discouraged many American citizens to invest in this sport and impacted the focus on other games in the American sports sector.
Additional major factor which affects soccer’s popularity in the U.S. is that American citizens tend to focus on big performances. Every sector within the economy of the United States is doing most of its activities in large economies of scale. Thus, the sports sector has only ensured the popularity of sports that have only big scores, such as American football and basketball. Soccer, however, is one of the sports in America that have the lowest number of scores and points being awarded to the teams.
Minimal scores in soccer made more Americans focus on other sports because they find this one to be boring and unjustifiably time-consuming. For example, in basketball, a team can win a match by scoring more than 100 points, while in soccer one can win a game by scoring only one goal. The American culture has also subjected most sports lovers in America to the notion that athletes should be individuals with the sized body. For example, most of the players in basketball, American football, and baseball are known for their well-built bodies with taller height. Most soccer players’ body structure and size are relatively small and composed in a natural response to the physical qualities required for deft movements and running.
Commercial Success and Athletic Opportunities
Sports is a significant sector within a nation’s economy since it enhances effective marketing for businesses, enabling most entities to increase their profit margins. A larger population of American citizens has distinctive interest in other sports, yet soccer is the most disliked sport. Profit oriented organizations invest only in sporting events that expose them to a larger market. Many organizations channel resources towards developing other sports in the country, and soccer has been neglected, leading to its stunted growth. Hence, the number of American football playing grounds and basketball courts in the United States of America is more than the number of soccer-playing grounds.
Lack of exposure and inspiration at a younger age is also one of the additional reasons why soccer is not popular in the United States of America. The American learning institutions put fewer considerations on soccer development within the schools’ sporting programs but invest resources towards sports like basketball and baseball instead. For example, most scholarship opportunities are reserved for students who are good in many popular sports apart from soccer. This has contributed significantly to many talented soccer players giving up on their dreams of being great athletes in the future. American graduates from various learning institutions have developed a negative perception of soccer which contributed to the lowering levels of interest towards this sport within the U.S.
Business profits and media coverage significantly impacted the popularity of soccer too. Broadcasting corporations in America are majorly profit-oriented and usually want to be associated with sporting events that enable them to record maximum profits. The number of individuals who follow various soccer events in America is relatively low compared to the number of American citizens following sports such as basketball and American football. Most broadcasting networks have opted to air live events of other sports that are welcomed with more enthusiasm than soccer. Such sporting events allowed most TV stations to gain more traffic, enabling them to conduct more commercials, which is their main source of revenue. The broadcasters neglected soccer partially because the game provides only one break during the halftime, while many other sports encourage better promotion opportunities. Media companies have opted to air and popularize other sports because they do not get lucrative marketing opportunities from soccer.
General Appeal
Such behavior as an excessive faking of injuries leading to unnecessary penalties during the game have also led to American citizens having a negative perception of soccer. Some of the loved sports in the United States of America are physical with excessive body contact and a great emotional attachment from the players. In American football, the players tend to be rough against each other throughout the game. Comparing the roughness levels in soccer and American football, some people believe that soccer players put on an act in order to appeal to the audience. This made many American citizens consider soccer as a game for the weak individuals, which has contributed noticeably to the lack of popularity in the U.S., since the American sports culture greatly advocates for aggressive and physical sports.
Lack of Initial Success
The correlation of a given time period and a sport’s growing popularity impacted the spread of soccer in the United States as well. Essentially, at the same time as soccer started to gain popularity in different countries, in the U.S. basketball and rugby were attracting the majority of sports public. Thus, a strong development base of other types of sports prevented soccer to gain as much enthusiasm and popularity, as the public was already significantly invested in other things.
Conclusion
In the end, the main factor which impacted the development and popularity of soccer in the United States is the public’s area of interests. Although soccer still progressed in the U.S. to a certain extent, due to the originally developed interest towards basketball specifically and some other types of sports the general sports audience did not pay as much attention to it on the initial stages. Naturally, more specific aspects, such as businesses, media focus and university opportunities became centered around the sports which attracted the majority of public from the beginning. Thus, initial poor success of soccer led to the continuous lack of opportunities for the sport to get the same amount of attention as other competitive games.