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[QUOTE="Steviecuse, post: 1077603, member: 484"]
Here is my take: FWIW
 
Pro  Soccer:
1)  You cannot deny there was a systemic change of interest from 1994 to current in the World Cup from a grass roots perspective. At other times there was no bridge between youth interest and participation and World Cup interest but for some reason this was different.
2)  Guys under 30 seem to love soccer. I am 48 and work in an office with a lot of guys under 30 and I hear them talking EPL a ton but baseball is barely mentioned. And I live and work in Baltimore which has a baseball team.
3)  Kids are wearing soccer jerseys as much as baseball. It might just be where I live but that is what I see. Now, the football jerseys dwarf both combined.
4)  I coached a girl’s softball team under 10. The most common complaints were -this is boring; why does it take so long.
Anti Soccer:
1)  How do you sustain interest when the MLS is a minor league?
2)  Hate to involve race but the best athletes in this country and generally African Americans. I know several African American families and the general vibe is that soccer is a white kid’s sport and the ones who do play are often criticized for playing sports like soccer and lax instead of football or basketball.
3)  If you are a great soccer player you have to go to Europe to make the most money and play against the best players. Tony Parker and Dirk are not playing in the Euro League.
 
4) What happens next World Cup when it is in Russia with a 6 hour time difference and Fox has the rights? I think part of the appeal was that the game times in Brazil mirrored most of the US. I also think ESPN, which is the major source of sports information, promoted the hell out of it.
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