2015 Soccer Thread

[JesusNEVERexisted]

LOL...MLS Cup came and went...and no one noticed! As usual!

[dmiles2186]

LOL...MLS Cup came and went...and no one noticed! As usual!

I did! I watched it! Every year! As usual!

[ComradeT]

LOL...MLS Cup came and went...and no one noticed! As usual!

Quite obviously, you have noticed. And we, the soccer fans, could not ask for more.

[dmiles2186]

LOL...MLS Cup came and went...and no one noticed! As usual!

93% increase. Spare me the BS about how it compares to NFL or 'even boreball?!@?!@#!@' in comparison to what the MLS has been pulling in, this is phenomenal. But you know, keep doing your thing.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... ign=Unpaid

Did you watch MLS Cup 2014 between the LA Galaxy and New England Revolution last Sunday?

If so, you were among nearly two million people in the US that watched the championship game, according to numbers released by Major League Soccer on Wednesday. The viewership numbers, combining television (both English- and Spanish-language broadcasts) and digital platforms, represented a 93-percent increase over MLS Cup 2013.

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About 964,000 people watched this year's title game on ESPN, and another 89,000 viewed it on WatchESPN. There were 678,000 tuning in on UniMas and 245,000 for the simulcast on Univision Deportes Network. The number of Spanish-language viewers was an all-time record, at 923,000 altogether. MLS Cup also was broadcast live on SiriusXM and ESPN Deportes Radio.

In addition, an all-time record 172 countries viewed MLS Cup on ESPN International and other networks throughout the world.

The TV numbers match the trends witnessed in the stands during 2014. The league set a new regular-season attendance record, averaging 19,147 fans per game, and an all-time high of 23,633 supporters per game attended MLS Cup Playoff matches and MLS Cup.

[JesusNEVERexisted]

LOL...half of those viewers don't even speak English. Do your bragging in Mexico.

[dmiles2186]

LOL...half of those viewers don't even speak English. Do your bragging in Mexico.

I'm not bragging. MLS has a long way to go to cut into the casual American sports fan's experience, but 2 mil for a supposed 3rd rate league is pretty good.

[JesusNEVERexisted]

I readily admit soccer is the biggest sport on earth by FAR but not in America. When even some mainstream American sports are having problems there is no room for soccer to grow THAT big.

If soccer was going to be big it would've happened a LONG time ago. League soccer will never be big in the USA however the World Cup does really captivate the nation! The womens more so than the men. In 1999 over 80,000 showed up to see the USWNT on a reguar basis, ratings were great, and Brandi Chastain was on the cover of Time magazine! In the 2000s Hope Solo was on the cover of SI.

The reality is if you ask most Americans what MLS is they will tell you it's the service realtors use for their listings!

[cprice12]

I readily admit soccer is the biggest sport on earth by FAR but not in America. When even some mainstream American sports are having problems there is no room for soccer to grow THAT big.

If soccer was going to be big it would've happened a LONG time ago. League soccer will never be big in the USA however the World Cup does really captivate the nation! The womens more so than the men. In 1999 over 80,000 showed up to see the USWNT on a reguar basis, ratings were great, and Brandi Chastain was on the cover of Time magazine! In the 2000s Hope Solo was on the cover of SI.

The reality is if you ask most Americans what MLS is they will tell you it's the service realtors use for their listings!

If/when, the best players in the world stay here or come here to play, then you'll see even more interest.
The fact is, is that MLS is the minor leagues for the big leagues overseas.
If the best soccer in the world were being played here, then you'd see a huge jump in attendance.
Americans like soccer...but like most minor leagues, the draw is only so-so.
MLB, NFL, NHL...those are the best leagues in the world. The best players in the world want to play in our leagues. If we can't have the best players, then blah...we don't really care about it unless it's a world cup or Olympics situation where we are competing against the best teams in the world in a worldwide competition. Then we can be the best by beating the best. But winning the MLS cup is like winning a minor league championship. Americans know it's not the best league, so it's hard to get to rah-rah behind it.

The reason why the women's team captivated the nation, was because they were among the best in the world. They were the team to beat. That there proves that if we have elite level talent, we'll watch it.
If our men's team was among the best (they are good...pretty damn good, but they aren't elite), they'd draw bigger than the women ever have. If the men's team made it to the World Cup final? Are you kidding me? This nation would be going nuts.

MLS is doing ok. And I'm pulling for it. If St. Louis had a team, I'd follow it hard. I love soccer, but it's hard to follow since sports outlets don't really cover it...and it's not front page stuff...so it gets buried and lost. Put a team in St. Louis and I'll get behind it. I'll go the games.

Soccer was big here in St. Louis. The Steamers outdrew the Blues for a few years back in their heyday. They were a big deal here.
I don't think it's near as popular here as it was 30 years ago. But I can see that changing easily if we were to get an MLS team.

[JesusNEVERexisted]

Yeah, I remember as a kid how the Steamers out drew the Blues for 2 or 3 years. I went to a few Steamers games back in the day and it was a blast the way they marketed it with music and smoke bombs and things like that! Back then Don Ebert and Slobo Illejevski were 2 of the biggest athletes in all of St.Louis! But in general the region lost interest in indoor soccer after the 80s heydey. I know we had the Storm and now the Ambush but it's nowhere near as big as in the 80s. I remember ESPN even had a contract with MISL and had a game of the week! Tatu and Preki were the 2 big stars remember?

The USWNT is in the group of death for next year's World Cup! But I'm sure they'll go to the finals again. Maybe another showdown with Germany!

[dmiles2186]

Hmmm...a lot going on here.

[tweet][/tweet]

[glen a richter]

Indoor soccer, I will admit, is a helluva lot more exciting than the outdoor alternative. If I wanted to watch an indoor sport that wasn't on ice I'd watch lacrosse instead. Of course that's the east coaster in me, we love our lacrosse over on this side of the country. I wish there could be a cohesive, SUCCESSFUL lacrosse league, like MILL used to be. Of course now it's called NLL and there's only 9 teams so not much of a league. It's a blast to watch as a nice alternative when the NHL isn't on, but somehow it never really took off in popularity.

[JesusNEVERexisted]

Is Amren playing in those jerseys?

[cprice12]

Indoor soccer, I will admit, is a helluva lot more exciting than the outdoor alternative. If I wanted to watch an indoor sport that wasn't on ice I'd watch lacrosse instead. Of course that's the east coaster in me, we love our lacrosse over on this side of the country. I wish there could be a cohesive, SUCCESSFUL lacrosse league, like MILL used to be. Of course now it's called NLL and there's only 9 teams so not much of a league. It's a blast to watch as a nice alternative when the NHL isn't on, but somehow it never really took off in popularity.

I love watching Lacrosse. I wish more people liked it around here.

[dmiles2186]

Indoor soccer, I will admit, is a helluva lot more exciting than the outdoor alternative. If I wanted to watch an indoor sport that wasn't on ice I'd watch lacrosse instead. Of course that's the east coaster in me, we love our lacrosse over on this side of the country. I wish there could be a cohesive, SUCCESSFUL lacrosse league, like MILL used to be. Of course now it's called NLL and there's only 9 teams so not much of a league. It's a blast to watch as a nice alternative when the NHL isn't on, but somehow it never really took off in popularity.

I love watching Lacrosse. I wish more people liked it around here.

Yeah, I love college lacrosse. One of my favorite days/games of the year is the middle-of-the-day NCAA Championship that happens on Memorial Day, I believe? I watch it every year.

[abc789987]

I was confused how a 2015 soccer thread was 5 pages long!

Sneaky changing the title

[dmiles2186]

I was confused how a 2015 soccer thread was 5 pages long!

Sneaky changing the title

Haha...yeah, I just figured I'd keep the good times rolling.

[ComradeT]

I realized today that I actually have two favorite teams, not one. The first is my beloved Manchester United. The second is whoever is playing Real Madrid. Anyone in the same boat? Any other teams you guys hate as much?

[JesusNEVERexisted]

I realized today that I actually have two favorite teams, not one. The first is my beloved Manchester United. The second is whoever is playing Real Madrid. Anyone in the same boat? Any other teams you guys hate as much?

ALL club sucker...err soccer teams.

[dmiles2186]

I realized today that I actually have two favorite teams, not one. The first is my beloved Manchester United. The second is whoever is playing Real Madrid. Anyone in the same boat? Any other teams you guys hate as much?

Liverpool. I also have grown to hate Chelsea even more this year (mostly because of Jose Murinho). I typically despise the big clubs in most leagues, including your Man U, and Man City of course. But Liverpool I have a seething hate for and typically want whoever is playing them to stomp a mud hole in them.

[ComradeT]

I realized today that I actually have two favorite teams, not one. The first is my beloved Manchester United. The second is whoever is playing Real Madrid. Anyone in the same boat? Any other teams you guys hate as much?

Liverpool. I also have grown to hate Chelsea even more this year (mostly because of Jose Murinho). I typically despise the big clubs in most leagues, including your Man U, and Man City of course. But Liverpool I have a seething hate for and typically want whoever is playing them to stomp a mud hole in them.

So... should Rams fans start collectively and wholeheartedly hating Arsenal if Kroenke moves the team to LA?