Yep, another ESPN thread (MOD: Soccer popularity)

[IU Hawks fan]

Even espnsoccernet.com is in on the anti-hockey charade.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/933925/man-united%27s-sir-alex-ferguson-praises-growth-of-game-in-mls?cc=3888

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes soccer in the United States has made giant strides even in the eight years since he first took his squad across the Atlantic for pre-season.

Sir Alex Ferguson looked lost at times
GettyImagesSir Alex Ferguson regularly takes his United squad to the United States pre-season

Major League Soccer, which has expanded to 18 teams for this season and will add another in 2013, is enjoying its highest average attendances ever at 17,297. It means that it terms of fans at games MLS has overtaken Ice Hockey as the fourth most popular sport in the United States.

Are you serious?? What a complete and utter fabrication.

Let's just complete ignore the fact that 12 NHL teams sold at 100%+ capacity while 19 teams were over 94%. Meanwhile, MLS averages are being driven up by Seattle drawing 37K a game while 9 teams, half the league, is drawing well below this inflated average they are using.

Let's not even bother getting started with TV ratings...

Click to read more...

 

[sonny side up]

meh.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Wow - a soccer website said something negative about hockey!

Why does it matter what a soccer website says?

 

[Ogopogo*]

It's all about revenues. Hockey teams put that many butts in the seats 41 times per year not 15.

 

[karnige]

this isn't even a debate

 

[R8Devs]

Aren't soccer stadiums bigger than hockey areas anyway?

 

[Roomtemperature]

ESPN said that the woman's World Cup goal on Sunday was the fifth most dramatic thing of all time. Over the shot heard round the world, Kirk Gibson's home run, and Roger Clemens appearing in George Steinbrenner after signing with the Yankees. So yeah they are really trying to push soccer. Its a nice goal and all but let's have some perspective.

 

[mpleafan]

the quote says in the US. we all know that hockey is sport number one in canada. in US all espn talks about is lebron this and A-Rod this, and even Landon Donovan that. shame...

 

[Ozzlyn]

Aren't soccer stadiums bigger than hockey areas anyway?

so true, at the new york redbull stadium you can probably fit like 50 000 people in there but they only get like 20 000 a game.

 

[46zone]

ESPN is pushing their product, nothing more. A few years back (I want to say '08 or '09), on Outside the Lines, an "ESPN poll" said that the MLS, WNBA, and Arena Football were more popular than the NHL. It was entirely bogus, but ESPN has no money invested into hockey and when they need to they're going to portray it in a negative light to help promote their own investments (the MLS, NBA, etc.).

 

[Hivemind]

Welcome to the post-NBC/Comcast merger sports world. ESPN has its most serious contender for sports dominance yet with this merger breathing life and resources into both CSN and Versus. The NHL is one of Versus' prime products. Naturally ESPN is going to take shots at it while hyping their product. It's only going to get worse.

 

[Pentothal]

Soccernet was originally an English website which ESPN bought a couple of years ago is one of the most popular soccer websites worldwide. They mostly have Europeans writing for them. It's not some big ESPN conspiracy (this time ).

 

[Kakko]

so true, at the new york redbull stadium you can probably fit like 50 000 people in there but they only get like 20 000 a game.

Fits 20,000 with about 15,000 coming

 

[chopkins]

I love when "analysts" look at attendance figures and fail to look at the more important stat: ticket prices

I mean, come on. Supply and Demand should be etched into everybody's skulls.

 

[Jzk]

Hey take solace that soccer is now the 3rd most popular sport in America because basketball draws exactly the same amount of people to each game as hockey.

 

[Pajicz]

so true, at the new york redbull stadium you can probably fit like 50 000 people in there but they only get like 20 000 a game.

Actually the capacity of Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ (the home of the New York Red Bulls) is only 25 000.

 

[BubbaBoot]

I love soccer but it ain't gonna be more popular than hockey, at least in the northern states anyways...

Just curious though.....given the massively huge Latin population, why can't pro soccer survive in Florida but 2 hockey teams can?

 

[Meichel Kane]

A soccer story said it? Well that settles it.

 

[Lakai]

I love soccer but it ain't gonna be more popular than hockey, at least in the northern states anyways...

Just curious though.....given the massively huge Latin population, why can't pro soccer survive in Florida but 2 hockey teams can?

Your making the mistake of grouping all the spanish speaking people into one group called "Latins"

Florida, in particular is mostly Cubans and Puerto Ricans, not exactly countries where soccer is very popular.

 

[Fillydelphia]

ESPN is like a little kid. They lose their T.V deal with the NHL and instead of taking it like a man, they act like a child and try to do everything in their power to show the NHL in a "negative light".

 

[ds246pit]

Soccer really? really?!

That ranks up somewhere between chopping wood and watching paint dry.

 

[karnige]

ESPN is like a little kid. They lose their T.V deal with the NHL and instead of taking it like a man, they act like a child and try to do everything in their power to show the NHL in a "negative light".

who cares im glad the nhl stuck to their guns with nbc. they are seeing record attendance and ratings. lets see soccer do that for 41 games with higher ticket prices.......

 

[hatterson]

If you're simply counting fans at "games" then NASCAR is the number 1 sport in the country.

If you're counting people per year then it's likely Basketball, Hockey, Football, MLS, NASCAR, bla bla bla. Although I probably missed a few I don't care about.

Either way, it's not much to get worried about. It's a soccer writer attempting to legitimize his sport, pretty much to be expected for a growing sport.

 

[ds246pit]

ESPN is like a little kid. They lose their T.V deal with the NHL and instead of taking it like a man, they act like a child and try to do everything in their power to show the NHL in a "negative light".

They have nothing else to talk about. With the NFL and NBA locked out their best marketing strategy is now the World Series of Poker which half the pros are boycotting thanks to the government shutting down online play

 

[BubbaBoot]

Your making the mistake of grouping all the spanish speaking people into one group called "Latins"

Florida, in particular is mostly Cubans and Puerto Ricans, not exactly countries where soccer is very popular.

Neither is hockey....