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6 Ways US Soccer Can Eventually Take Athletes Away from Other US Sports
Published: March 14, 2013
No discussion in American soccer carries the enormous implications of this question. Soccer fans figure it has to happen, eventually. The soccer haters take it as a sign of the sport's impotence that we're still asking the question.
After the 1994 World Cup shattered tournament attendance records, soccer fans were certain that the glorious rise of the beautiful game in America was imminent.
Major League Soccer attempted to ride this wave of interest to re-launch professional soccer in the U.S. However, MLS soon faltered as attendance dropped and the league was forced to close two franchises in 2001.
The national team's quarterfinal run at the 2002 World Cup once again created a wave of enthusiasm. This time the strategies of MLS and U.S. soccer focused on building a foundation for slow and steady growth rather than trying to ride the wave of a brief fad.
This strategy is paying dividends as MLS added nine teams and 12 soccer-specific stadiums since its 2001 contraction. The 2006 and 2010 World Cup finals drew larger T.V. audiences than Major League Baseball's World Series from the same year.
Youth soccer is often held up as the best evidence of soccer's potential in the U.S. While youth baseball's numbers continue to decline, youth soccer's numbers continue to rise. Only basketball has more youth players than soccer. Soccer participation in high school has more than doubled.
Now that a successful foundation-building strategy is in place, the discussion can turn to how, or even if soccer can take the next step up the hierarchy of American sports.
Two caveats are necessary before we begin to examine this question. First, among women soccer is already a preferred sport and attracts s...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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