With its recent rise, do you think that soccer can become more popular than football in America?

35 comments

1. American football? Not a chance. And I say this as someone who loves the sport of soccer. I could however see a scenario where it becomes more popular than baseball, but baseball is currently still pretty safe in this regard.

2. I think it could finally become a true “5th major” league sport. It’s been the big 4 plus one for a while.

3. Not in our lifetimes, if ever. Football is too entrenched.

4. No chance. Americans will never be good at futbol nor will the league ever be good. I think American football will always be more popular, partially as a result.

5. Not anytime soon.

6. No but it will become #2 in the next 20 years

7. No chance. Football is way too popular. I doubt it overtakes the NBA either. MLB is having a bit of a resurgence this season, so I think only the NHL has the opportunity to get passed if it hasn’t already.

8. Thankfully not in my lifetime.

9. No and I’m dangerously obsessed with soccer

   The beauty of it all is that there’s room for both

10. There is no “recent rise” of any significant quantity relative to American football.

    This might as well be like asking about a recent rise in vinyl records and if they will become more popular than digital.

11. Let’s just celebrate that most people at least acknowledge that it exists now. That’s a win!

12. as an American soccer fan, no.

    soccer doesn’t have the kind of historical and cultural hold on Americans like football does, and it probably never will. both NFL and college teams represent a kind of identity & are tied to loads of cultural traditions that are sometimes even more important than the sport itself.

    I am optimistic about soccer’s popularity in the US. I definitely think it will continue to grow in popularity as we continue to live in a more globally connected world where people are exposed to international sports cultures more than ever before. but nothing is replacing football in the US.

13. i thought they were the same thing??

14. Not anytime soon, but baseball and basketball may be within reach.

15. Nope hopefully not!! Let’s keep some traditional American stuff still alive.

16. Not any time soon. Maybe some day but I doubt it.

    The cool thing is that America is big and wealthy and media saturated. So if you like soccer you can find a way to watch it online or in person and you’ll find fellow fans.

17. No, soccer in the US has a toxicity problem. It’s almost as if they actively shun other sports instead of trying to promote the idea that people can be soccer fans *and* football/basketball/baseball fans.

    The fan base is also demographically limited. If you look at other popular American sports, the backbone of the fan base is blue collar and middle class guys in all areas of the country (cities, suburbs, rural areas). However the soccer fan base seem to be heavily concentrated among the more urban based cosmopolitan demographic that has ties internationally. This is a problem both for the popularity of the sport, and limits our player pool.

18. Who knows what the future holds, but not anytime soon.

19. No, I don’t see anyway it beats real football, probably not even basketball or baseball in the next 20 years. Definitely could see it pass hockey.

20. People have been saying this since *at least* the 90s if not longer. I’m at the point where I’ll believe it when I see it

21. I’ve been hearing this for at least 30 years now, and the answer is still no.

22. Not likely but soccer’s popularity probably varies depending where you are in the US. I saw Juventus play Beinfica a few years ago and it was packed. I saw ManuU play arsenal just recently and we had 82000 people. I highly doubt it would be the same turnout at Lambo field especially for a friendly

23. Man, I haven’t seen this question for *weeks!*

    The answer is no. Take a look at TV ratings sometime and see how far soccer has to go before it even catches college football. Not to say that soccer isn’t a cool sport- I enjoy watching it sometimes- but college football and the NFL are way more entrenched in our culture.

24. Why do soccer fans so desperately want it to be more popular in the US? It’s not like it’s inaccessible here. Major networks carry Premier League, there’s a huge network of professional teams. What does it matter if it’s more popular than MLB or the NHL or whatever?

    And no, it won’t bypass football. There’s too much cultural inertia. Ask a German if football would ever bypass soccer.

25. No.

    Even with the rise in popularity it is still 4th or 5th in popularity depending on region.

26. no not at this point. American football just had a hold on people and it’s not going to really go away

27. No.

28. Not in the near future, no.

29. Absolutely not lol football is our sport. While i don’t enjoy it, everyone I know has football parties and cookouts during football season. I don’t believe soccer could ever compare in popularity here

30. The sport of the future since 1975? No. I doubt it will pass basketball in the next 50 years much less baseball. It too slowly paced and too unlike our other popular sports. It will have a decent following, but I don’t think it will replace basketball on the street, baseball in the stands, or football on TV.

31. Not really.

    And, as a return question: Why is it so important that it do so?

32. Never.

33. Since the whole Bally Sports / Fox Sports debacle removed my local MLB team from my options, I’ve been watching and learning about another major sport that’s pretty interesting in its tactics.

    No, not soccer. Paint drying is better. I’m talking about cricket. Fascinating sport. Plus, there’s scoring!

    College lacrosse is great too.

    But in the fall? My NFL viewing reaches extreme levels.

34. I think it’s already more popular than hockey, and I could see it surpassing baseball in a decade or two. However, I don’t see it touching football or basketball in popularity in the next century

35. Lol… no. It’ll be lucky to surpass hockey