Soccer stronger than hockey in Canada

[member 305909]

Serious professional sport is a relatively new thing; 100 years or so or even less than that. Sports such as baseball managed to be established in North-America before soccer hence soccer has appeared to the majority of North-Americans as a foreign sport.

It is all about what you grow up watching and you'll watch that always. Americans dont grow up watching soccer, we Europeans do.

Works the other way round too. On the very few occasions I have watched baseball I really cant see what is appealing about that sport but I'm not American.

Same with cricket. Since I'm not British nor Australian I dont even understand the rules of that game.

 

[Jumptheshark]

According to Jim Toth from TSN 25.8 million Canadians watched the FIFA World Cup on CTV, TSN & RDA accounting for 72% of the Canadian population.

But "only" 24,6 million Canadians watched Stanley Cup play-offs 2018.

This is very surprising for me...

is the world cup held every year or every four years?

 

[Albatros]

Serious professional sport is a relatively new thing; 100 years or so or even less than that.

Depends on how you define serious professional sport, as such did exist in ancient and medieval times already.

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

We've been hearing about soccer's rise since I was a little kid. Still hasn't happened, despite generations playing soccer as youth.

 

[member 305909]

As I'm a relative newcomer to this forum I haven't noticed whether this topic has been discussed a thousand or a million times before but I'm sure nobody can add anything which wouldn't have been said countless times before.

However, let's go again; the reason why soccer hasn't broken through in America (or Canada for that matter) is because the sport- market is saturated. It is saturated because soccer "wasn't there" when professional sports began.

Why wasn't soccer there then? I don't really know for sure but because it wasn't there Americans had since developed their own sports and therefore to them soccer has to this day been as a foreign sport.

The constant bickering Americans get from the rest of the world, Europe in particular, asking why don't you guys love real football(soccer) has helped the Americans to develop an attitude that liking soccer is somehow un-American.

 

[Hoek]

Soccer was there actually, it just self destructed over stupid wars between rival leagues and then the Great Depression dealt another blow.

History of soccer in the United States - Wikipedia

 

[Inkling]

As someone who has been a lifelong soccer fan but who grew up in Canada, it's been impressive how much soccer has grown into the mainstream. I remember having to go to a local Italian soccer club to watch the 1992 European Championship Final on closed-circuit TV (TSN existed but the Euros weren't on back then). Finding merchandise of EPL or Serie A clubs was pretty difficult and when you saw someone wandering around the streets of the city wearing a soccer jersey it was pretty unusual. Now, even discounting the Internet, soccer is all over TV, you can find merchandise in mainstream stores and it's pretty normal to see people walking around wearing jerseys. The big stars like Messi and Ronaldo are as well known as North American sports stars. MLS still has a lot of room for growth but it used to be that people would debate whether it would survive, now you don't really hear that and the debates are more around if and when it will ever eclipse the NHL or other sports. MLS's challenge is not really the same as soccer's challenge, it's more an issue of it being perceived as a lower level league (like CFL) while people gravitate to the big names and brands. If it can reach a critical mass at some point in the future, that might change.

It's a long, slow process but I can totally see soccer continuing to grow and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes bigger than the NHL in North America within a generation. In Canada I don't think hockey is going anywhere but I can see soccer being the main summer sport.

 

[YEM]

We've been hearing about soccer's rise since I was a little kid. Still hasn't happened, despite generations playing soccer as youth.

English Premier League games get better US ratings vs. many NHL broadcasts on the same channel

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Really?

Have you looked at the price difference between playing the 2 sports? That has a large factor aswell, not all families can afford to put their kids into hockey.

 

[DJJones]

Have you looked at the price difference between playing the 2 sports? That has a large factor aswell, not all families can afford to put their kids into hockey.

I can't believe soccer is not even doubling hockey.

I would have guess soccer had triple the amount of people playing that hockey.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

According to Jim Toth from TSN 25.8 million Canadians watched the FIFA World Cup on CTV, TSN & RDA accounting for 72% of the Canadian population.

But "only" 24,6 million Canadians watched Stanley Cup play-offs 2018.

This is very surprising for me...

You do realize the wolrd cup happens once every 4 years?

 

[Coinneach]

English Premier League games get better US ratings vs. many NHL broadcasts on the same channel

This is not correct.

NHL on NBC >> PL on NBC

Stanley Cup play-offs >>>>>>> PL on NBC

The most watched NHL game this season - 6.9M.

The most watched EPL game this season - under 2M

Only EPL games on NBCSN are more watched, but many NHL games are blacked out.

 

[YEM]

This is not correct.

wrong
you admitted as much: "Only EPL games on NBCSN are more watched"

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

wrong
you admitted as much: "Only EPL games on NBCSN are more watched"

you do understand the effect local blackouts have on a national game's rating, right?

notice how the NHL crushes the EPL on NBC, which is where NBC gets exclusive rights to the NHL game.

 

[Uncle Rotter]

As someone who has been a lifelong soccer fan but who grew up in Canada, it's been impressive how much soccer has grown into the mainstream. I remember having to go to a local Italian soccer club to watch the 1992 European Championship Final on closed-circuit TV (TSN existed but the Euros weren't on back then).

The 1992 Euro Final (1988 as well) was on TSN. The 1984 Euros were shown live on CBC.

 

[Inkling]

The 1992 Euro Final (1988 as well) was on TSN. The 1984 Euros were shown live on CBC.

Might have been the semi-final then. All I know is that I wouldn't have hauled myself down to the club if it was available on cable.

 

[Uncle Rotter]

Might have been the semi-final then. All I know is that I wouldn't have hauled myself down to the club if it was available on cable.

You are correct, it was only the final that was shown. Four years later, TSN showed every game.

 

[Jets4Life]

However, let's go again; the reason why soccer hasn't broken through in America (or Canada for that matter) is because the sport- market is saturated. It is saturated because soccer "wasn't there" when professional sports began.

Why wasn't soccer there then? I don't really know for sure but because it wasn't there Americans had since developed their own sports and therefore to them soccer has to this day been as a foreign sport.

That's not accurate. Soccer is not a "relatively new" sport to North America. It predates football, hockey, and basketball in the United States. IN fact, soccer was only second to baseball in popularity, during the early part of the 20th century. The United States did very well in the first World Cup (1930). The decline of soccer in the United States, was the result of the Great Depression, and the dissolution of the American Soccer League (ASL) in 1933.

I read this on Wikipedia today for the first time, about the demise of the ASL, and it has an extremely interesting take on why Americans turned their backs to soccer in the 1930's:

American Soccer League (1921–33) - Wikipedia

"However, the Soccer Wars had permanently crippled the ASL and it collapsed at the end of the 1933 spring season. Ironically, while USFA and FIFA "won" the wars and established their pre-eminence over the ASL, the spectacle of a U.S. athletic association conspiring with a European organization to undermine a U.S. athletic league alienated many U.S. sports fans by creating an image of soccer as a sport controlled by foreigners. These fans turned their backs on soccer, relegating the sport to the position of a minor league, ethnic-based sport for decades to come."

In other words, FIFA is to blame, for the decline in popularity of the sport in America:

The Golden Era, 1921-1933

The sport of soccer was relatively obscure until the emergence of the North American Soccer League (NASL), in 1968, and the signing of Brazilian superstar Pele by the NY Cosmos during the 70s, that helped the sport regain popularity. Soccer still has struggled to become a mainstream American sport, but it's popularity started to grow once the US won the right to host the World Cup in 1994.

Having said that, there is currently no soccer league in North America that can compete with the NHL.

 

[Jets4Life]

As someone who has been a lifelong soccer fan but who grew up in Canada, it's been impressive how much soccer has grown into the mainstream. I remember having to go to a local Italian soccer club to watch the 1992 European Championship Final on closed-circuit TV (TSN existed but the Euros weren't on back then).

lol.....The Euros were on TSN in the early 90s. I was on the Provincial team for my sport, and I distinctly remember going to training every Saturday morning, and doing warm-ups, while watching the Premier League (or UEFA Cup matches) on TSN.

Finding merchandise of EPL or Serie A clubs was pretty difficult and when you saw someone wandering around the streets of the city wearing a soccer jersey it was pretty unusual.

Where did you grow up? Winnipeg had soccer stores that sold jerseys of popular clubs (Arsenal, Man U, Barcelona, AC Milan, etc), and national team jerseys back in the 90s. It was not uncommon to see people wear FIFA jerseys of different countries. Club jerseys were less common, but one would see Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Man U jerseys on occasion.

Now, even discounting the Internet, soccer is all over TV, you can find merchandise in mainstream stores and it's pretty normal to see people walking around wearing jerseys. The big stars like Messi and Ronaldo are as well known as North American sports stars.

Soccer was a big thing on TSN in the 90s. In fact the hype surrounding the World Cup in the USA was as big (or arguably bigger) than the 2018 World Cup in Russia. When Escobar was killed, it was massive news in North America. When Brazil defeated Italy, all the bars in the city were showing the game. Names like Beckham, Klose, Zidane, and Ronaldo were popular in North America. Soccer has not suddenly become popular. I can remember the World Cup being huge 24 years ago.

 

[Bondurant]

Just wait until 2022. Soccer is here to stay and hockey is going to pay the price. A lot more of my friends follow soccer compared to hockey,

Wait for Qatar? The World Cup many fans want to boycott?

 

[Rebels57]

Soccer blows.