What Made This World Cup Different for American Viewers?
Going from apathy to “I believe that we will win!”
Soccer** is not a popular sport in America. A Desadspin article, written about a year ago by Patrick Burns, highlights a study of SportsCenter for an entire year. According to Patrick Burns’s research, 1.3% of all SportsCenter coverage in 2012 was dedicated to soccer. I’m sure that number will spike for 2014, considering ESPN covers the majority of the World Cup yet this study shows a typical year of soccer coverage (any data gathered during a World Cup year would need a major asterisk). There have been many articles and blog posts that try to explain why soccer is not that well viewed in America. This question brings a “chicken or the egg” type of debate. Networks do not broadcast soccer because Americans do not watch soccer; Americans do not watch soccer because the sport is not given the spotlight. Yet, every four years, soccer becomes ESPN’s top priority for the summer.
I can vaguely remember watching pieces of previous World Cup matches. I remember the name Van Nistelrooy. I remember the vuvuzelas of the 2010 World Cup. I don’t remember such an overwhelming amount of support from Americans. Something (or perhaps a variety of circumstances) shifted and Americans became invested in the 2014 World Cup.
The United States got placed in the supposed “Group of Death.” This placement made the United States an underdog, right from the start. America loves the underdog. Perhaps the USA soccer team does not live up to the underdog status of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, but it is not too far behind. Whether this Group actually proved itself to be the toughest group of the Cup is of little importance; if the USA made it to the knockout stage, it would prove they are international contenders.
True soccer fans likely are excited about the direction of the squad and coaching staff. Jurgen Klinsmann brings a certain charisma that has been missing in US teams past. He knows what it means to be a champion. He was part of the 1990 West Germany team that won the World Cup (you should really go read his bio on wikipedia. He is a fascinating man). Only six players from the 2010 roster remained on this year’s World Cup roster. It seems like Klinsmann is thinking about future. Some young talent got their feet wet in their first ever World Cup, that experience will do them well in 2018. The team itself, however, is not enough to spike the interest of millions. America’s plethora of news coverage and sports sites have been all-in, just as ESPN has, on the coverage of this year’s Cup.
Top sports sites such as Grantland and FiveThirtyEight have provided great insight to the game and how it is played (this Grantland article breaks down literally every part of the game, including positions). These sites have given casual fans the proper information to be able to watch and enjoy the game (I am a big hockey fan, and people tell me they don’t like it simply because it complicated and they don’t know what’s going on.) Local sports radio stations have discussed the games in-depth, and discussed the best places to go watch these matches. The coverage of the USA vs. Germany match reminded me of the hype for the Super Bowl; it might have been hyped up even more than this year’s Super Bowl (this is kind of a stretch, but remember, this game only had about four days of build-up compared to two weeks that the Super Bowl gets).
I’m not sure how this year’s flurry of support the US soccer team will transition over the next four years. I hope that NBC, who has US rights to Barcley’s Premier League, will go above and beyond in promoting these matches (hopefully they can focus on Everton, the club goalie Tim Howard plays for, now that he is an American Icon) Maybe ESPN will land a deal with the MLS. I have a fear that the World Cup will be treated like the Olympics. Every so often, the US plays some important matches, and then we sit and wait for it to happen again in four years. It takes twenty years to create a group of soccer players. With the proper consistency of coverage and an overwhelming support, America might just find a new pastime.
**I am using the “American” word for the sport because I have written several pieces about American football. I don’t want to cause any confusion.
