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Augen on 05 December 2015
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MikeRox said:
Augen said:

That is a new criticism never seen before.  I guess on flip side might ask about population density and how easy it is to attend a match. Nearest club is 200 miles / 320 kilometers for me currently, second closest is 375 miles / 600 kilometers. Guessing not many countries outside of Russia in Europe deal with that issue.

We like the sport. We like other sports.  Interests grows every year. If you love the sport should be happy love of it is growing in other places.


It wasn't a criticism. Just an observation (As I know it's faaar bigger in the Netherlands as a sport than it is in the US). As for nearest club etc. This is another sign that it is nowhere near as popular in the US as in places such as Europe. No other sport gets anywhere near the same sort of attention in the UK. While in the US, MLS has serious competition from the NFL, NBA and MLB. I can tell you all the teams for those leagues from my Wife's home city (St Louis) without googling I had no idea what the "soccer" team is though.

A city that size would have had a soccer team established well before 2014 had the sport been more mature in the US. I'll agree though, it's definitely growing rapidly in the US. Hopefully the MLS will become more like the top leagues in other countries in the next few years. It's currently more like a second or third tier league in terms of quality. But as it becomes more popular and more competitive, I'm sure the MLS will start to be able to attract big name players while they are in their prime, rather than when they're looking for something less intense/a nicer climate to retire to.


1. I put I wink at the end of the statement about Netherlands and Argentina because it was a joke.

2. Plenty of places in the US travel large distance to see any sport team at the top tier. We are simply spread out more than most countries. Do have lower divisions and collegiate sports as well.

3. NFL is huge and yet Los Angeles, second largest city in US, does not have a team. 

4. Saint Louis is 58th populated city, 18th if you include greater area with neighboring cities. It is a small market by US standards. They have a third division side Saint Louis Football Club. I have no clue what their NBA team is called.

5. I have no delusions about being a top league. That is a long road, but also a big jump from the mantra of us "not caring at all about the sport".

 

In any event looking forward to watching the cup final tomorrow at local pub with bunch of folks. Might catch it over there in UK, should be fun.