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[QUOTE="billsin01, post: 1082460, member: 837"]
I think this is the nuance to this argument that soccer fans either dismiss or don't believe and don't understand. I'm not necessarily saying threads on the boards, per se, but standing in the consciousness of the general American sports fan. This is no reflection on the quality of the sport, nor the TV contracts or youth participation, but a hard-to-define measure of popularity. For instance, MLB is pretty healthy right now and raking in cash. It's place among the power leagues is pretty secure for a while, but where it's losing the battle to football (a point no one appears to be arguing against) is in the realm of public consciousness. I was in a Panera today -- and I swear I'm not making this up -- and despite the O's/Nats both in the playoff picture and battling on the field and LeBron making the move to Cleveland, the three people behind the counter were talking about how they just want the skins to beat dallas twice this year.

So the analogy I'd draw for soccer is that while it's unquestionably true that it is growing to one degree or another, the water cooler talk is still a ways away. I have no data for it and I"m not saying that there aren't fans discussing it, but the reason the World Cup stands out is because [I]everyone[/I] is talking about it. Soccer needs to get closer to that before they start knocking off MLB/NBA/college football and they probably even have a ways to go (though not nearly as far) to surpass the NHL/college hoops. It's doable, but I don't think it happens fast.
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