For years, football, basketball, baseball and hockey have dominated the United States.
But now “the beautiful game” is changing the status quo. Look at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup this past summer.
FOX estimated the women’s tournament would earn around $17 million in ad revenue, but the final total was more than $40 million. Compared to the previous cup in 2011, from which ESPN tallied a $6 million profit, advertisers are clearly flocking to the sport.
Those are just ads. What’s crucial is people actually watching, which will build any sports popularity.
25.4 million fans in the United States watched the U.S. women’s 5-2 win over Japan on FOX, according to FIFA.com. Those numbers translate to more viewers than the average of both the 2015 NBA Finals, 19.94 million viewers, and Stanley Cup Finals, 5.5 million.
I can hear the doubters now, saying the only reason those numbers are so high is because of American patriotism.
Honestly, that was why some of my family watched with me, but that doesn’t change the fact the sport is growing, especially in younger demographics.
A 2014 ESPN poll reported the MLS was the No. 2 sport watched by 12-17 year olds trailing only the NFL. Also, the survey showed the MLS has tied Major League Baseball with 18 percent of the same demographic claiming to be “avid” fans.
“MLS is in their generational DNA,” Rich Luker, who has been with the poll since its inception, said in an ESPN article. “It is phenomenal that in just one generation it has gone from zero adherents to tying MLB, especially when you recognize this is the first generation to only know the United States with a professional soccer league.”
Luker told ESPN just five years ago, the outcome would have been “crickets in response.”
However, it isn’t just children beginning to follow the sport.
The MLS’ growth on television has been a huge part of the sport’s success.
Just 98 MLS night-games were aired on TV in 2014, but this past season all 340 games were aired. Agreements with ESPN, FOX and Univision led to the increased broadcast numbers, which in turn led to larger fan bases for the league’s clubs.
Per-game attendance for the 2015 MLS season grew 12.7 percent from last season to 21,574 according to MLSsoccer.com. Those numbers included 10 teams averaging over 20,000, including the Seattle Sounders averaging a MLS-record of 44,247 fans per game.
The Sounders attendance puts them above Barclays Premier League giant, Liverpool Football Club, in global attendance rankings.
But it isn’t just the MLS gaining popularity stateside. An important part of soccer’s growth in America is the rise of EA Sports, a wing of Electronic Arts specializing in sports related video games, FIFA video game franchise.
Playing the game gets more people involved in the sport helping less knowledgeable fans learn the terminology, intricacies and players from around the world. That’s how I began following professional soccer.
I started the franchise with FIFA 2010 and was immediately hooked. The games were quicker than Madden games and more competitive, and little by little I started to develop a love for the sport.
FIFA became EA Sports, the industry’s leader in sports gaming, best-selling product in 2014, making up nearly a quarter of revenue.
The number of Americans that identify themselves as avid pro soccer fans has grown each year since 2009, according to ESPN.com.
By no means am I saying soccer has come or will come anywhere near the level of the NFL, but what is undeniable are the strides soccer has taken. The growth is huge and the sport is breaking records each and every year.
Consider this as a warning: Soccer has arrived.
Marc is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @Marc_TDR.