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Message: [QUOTE="Mistakebythelake90, post: 1079883, member: 721"] Preface: The only time I've ever watched soccer was the USMNT. I think that one of the biggest factors regarding soccers growth now and in the future that hasn't been mentioned much in this thread is media accessibility. If you look back even 10 years ago, I imagine it would have been very difficult to watch international soccer. If you go back farther in time to the 70's or 80's, it would have been near impossible. Even if your kids are playing soccer, if you can't watch it professionally, it is hard to build a lasting fan base. People often (rightfully) credit the rise of the Big East to the TV deals/coverage it got. Soccer never had anything even close to that. Nowadays with advanced internet and even some mainstream coverage, the average sports fan can actually watch quality soccer. In years past, after the excitement of the world cup wore off, if people were still interested in soccer, they had few options to turn to. It is easy to stir up interest when you are running games on espn/abc. Now though when they get interested, they actually can follow up, and watch more games. We do have this conversation every four years, but I think that the growth of sports media and technology seperates the discussion from the last few times. The first way to get people interested is to get it on TV, and that is finally happening. Having said all that, I think that soccer is still 1-2 generations away from truly catching on. I would say, anecdotally, that the average sports fan in my age group (23) is casually interested in not just the USMNT, but soccer abroad. We have both the access and interest to build a following. Once my generation starts growing older and having families who are also interested in soccer beyond just youth soccer, then we might start to build a culture that supports soccer just as much as the NBA/MLB. As a side note, I would rather watch soccer over baseball any day of the week, and twice on fridays. [/QUOTE]

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