It’s only a matter of time until soccer is a mainstream sport in the U.S. There is only one reason soccer isn’t popular in this country – ad space. In a sport where there is uninterrupted play for 45 minutes, it’s hard to sell commercial time. Without commercials, soccer doesn’t make any money for the networks that broadcast the games. Thus, the chances of American networks covering soccer games remain slim. The traditional way that companies advertise during soccer is by sponsoring a club. For example, Red Bull paid enough to name a team after themselves – the New York Red Bulls. Samsung sponsors Chelsea, Emirates sponsors Arsenal, etc. and clubs generate some revenue through this medium. But this doesn’t benefit the networks, who broadcast the Samsung logo for 90 minutes simply because Samsung paid a lump sum to a third party, i.e. Chelsea. It comes down to popularity. The major networks have only just begun covering notable soccer matches because of the sport’s growing popularity in the United States. The networks give the people what they want, and the people want soccer. The surge in soccer popularity is concentrated in America’s youth. What used to be the sport of immigrants has become Americanized. FIFA video games are solely responsible for the game’s recent success here. FIFA has introduced American gamers to the sport of soccer, and just like Madden helped popularize football in previously uninterested groups, FIFA has done the same. This year’s UEFA Champions League final featured West London’s Chelsea FC pitted against Germany’s Bayern Munich FC. The event was covered by Fox and received 2.5 million viewers nationwide. The U.S. audience for this event has risen 676% in the past 10 years. As an avid Chelsea supporter, I was one of 2.5 million doing my part to make sure future soccer matches are more readily available on basic cable. Soccer is a beautiful game. You will not find better athletes in any other sport, simply because no other sport requires players to constantly run for nearly an hour. Football has timeouts, basketball has timeouts and baseball – well those guys hardly move. No other sport requires the sheer athleticism and finesse that is essential to being a successful soccer player. An impossible goal is nothing short of a work of art. Here is my prediction: As the older generation who favor traditional American sports starts to die off and the youth mature into adulthood, soccer will become increasingly more televised. Networks will work out a way to sell advertisements during non-stop play, perhaps with more rotating sideline banners. In American football, networks have tweaked yellow line technology in order to sell ads in the backfield prior to the snap. Right as Tim Tebow is praying that Ray Lewis won’t tear his head off, the Pacific Life logo pops up on the field. Soccer will likely do something similar. Networks will be forced to find better ways to sell ads during soccer because the sport’s audience will grow so large that networks basically have to show it. The networks won’t do it by choice, they will televise soccer because they can’t afford not to. The fever has been caught. Rest assured, it will spread.
Parker Cramer is a 21-year-old political science senior from Houston. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_pcramer.
 
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