Americans and Soccer
So I saw on reddit that there was a link to some post about why Americans don’t like soccer like the rest of the world does. Well, the link didn’t work, but it’s a good question that’s been answered many times, so why not by me too?
Quite simply, in the USA we decided on American football a long time ago, it has taken the place of every-other-continent football, and, I think most importantly, there is a complete sports calendar for “superfans” anyway.
When America’s football season is over, there’s basketball, and of course baseball and NASCAR, hockey, the Olympics or what-have-you inbetween. Our American superfan archetype is sports polymath Howie Schwab, someone who follows not just a single team or sport but the entire American sports calendar itself. It’s a culture that’s reinforced by ESPN, sports talk radio, American sportswriting, and of course other superfans.
If you want to see a sociological point in America’s disinterest in soccer, look at the diversity and span of the sports of America. What does that say? We always have room for another sport, but devoted fans of one sport are going to be casual fans of several others, so you’re never going to see the same singular focus on soccer across America. But that’s great.