Soccer Has Finally, Actually Arrived
The Soccer Evangelists Were Right and the Soccer Haters Lost
The arrival of soccer in the United States now reminds me of my favorite visual gag from Monty Python and The Holy Grail: The charge of Lancelot.
He’s approaching in the distance, with little gain. He’s approaching in the distance, with little gain. He’s approaching in the distance, with little gain. Boom! Stabbed by the invading Tartan Army.
For years, we’ve heard that drumroll presaging soccer’s inevitable USA takeover. I believe that right now, at this very moment, with the World Cup in America, following a day of goals from superstars Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi (hat trick), soccer is finally, officially here in the U.S. mainstream. Even if I don’t know what I’m doing as I make picks in the Sports Predict Probability Cup (sign up today for prizes!), many of my countrymen are clearly clued in.
The World Cup might be a sui generis event, and modern Big Data ratings are somewhat inflated, but the numbers are still staggering. Game 5 of the Knicks-Spurs Finals capped off with a historic 24.5 million viewers. USA’s 4-1 opening win against Paraguay garnered 27 million viewers with Fox and Telemundo combined. For another comparison point, the last time the World Cup was in America, the opening USA game drew 9.5 million viewers stateside. That number, along with others coming out of this event (referenced below), indicates that we’re a much different country now. The soccer evangelists who preached inevitability, often annoyingly, were right.