I count FF as betting.

Every Southern city and every Southern college town has a ton of dedicated soccer fans. You can't throw a rock in suburban Alabama without hitting a Messi jersey.

The MLS expansion into Orlando (and Miama and maybe Atlanta) is going to be a big deal for the league.

Wow, it isn't already? I guess I'm surprised by that for some reason.

Where the hell do you live that soccer isnt already a HS sport?

Cause football is the best thing on tv 99.999% of the time. Love it.

I agree, but you also do not watch a random aaa baseball or minor league football if it were on tv. Soccer fans watch European, that is the big leagues. As great as MLS is going towards skill level it will never overtake Europe..

It is dumb to compare viewership of the MLS to the big 3 or even college. Just like Bo, tons of stupid people just pass judgement without ever going to a game. Most of them I have a feeling learned it from their drunk dad who claimed he could throw a football over a mountain and soccer players are all bundle of stickss. Go to one sporting game and you will enjoy yourself.

On that, I love watching football over futbol. Playing is even more fun, oder Americans playing indoor soccer is basically football. If you try flopping I will hammer you the next time.

And even though I love sporting, I was watching MU football and basketball. I agree it would have done better the next weekend.

Why the need to run the MLS down since Sporting won the cup, anyway? They are a Kansas City team. They are successful. Why the hate?

I am hoping that was sarcasm or maybe he lives in towns where they play 7v7 football.

Hell even in HS in the 90s girls started getting teams from IX.

Where was all this excitement back in 2000 and 2004 when KC played for the cup?

I dare someone to find me a thread on here from back then.

If the thread is found, it shows people care then.

If it is not found, that means soccer is growing?

I kind of remember talking about the championship, not the loss though..

The new ownership group really revitalized the organization. This city has learned to love and understand soccer, in large part, only after the Hunts sold the team.

I want to pinpoint the win over Manchester United in a friendly as a turning point in the fanbase.

Hockey has 3 times the ratings soccer does. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals was a 4.7 rating. Hell it averaged 3.3 rating.

The Blues regular season games are getting a 3.5 rating in St. Louis. Sporting KC for their championship game got a 4.5 rating in Kansas City.

Pretty sure that has to do with the MLS's stupid decision to broadcast it on CFB Championship weekend. They literally started at almost the same time as the SECCG.

In most of the towns I have lived in Soccer is for the ones that are either too little to play another sport or aren't athletic/coordinated enough to play another sport. Which I believe skew those numbers making it the #1 youth sport.

It is not a high school sport in most rural or smaller towns. Springfield is the only city that I have lived in where soccer was a high school sport. IIRC not all the schools up there had soccer teams either. Springfield is the only city/town that I have lived in that was larger than 50,000 in population.