American love for World Cup soccer is growing

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American love for World Cup soccer is growing

By Liza Donnelly l Published: Tuesday, June 22 2010 20:44

worldcup_lizadonnelly There is no doubt that international football is growing in popularity in the United States. Not only is soccer wildly popular on the recreational level (perhaps owing to the fact that so little equipment is needed to play), but viewership of the World Cup on U.S. television is up nearly 65 percent from 2006 (after the first 14 games). The ratings are sure to soar on Wednesday as the United States prepare for the final Group C game. If the U.S. team beats Algeria, it will advance to the knockout stage or round of 16.

It makes for high drama, showing American fans that the World Cup isn't so much about the lack of high scoring that sportscasters often bemoan, but rather fighting a war for the golden cup, battle-by-battle, ceding no goals if possible. It's an honorable sport where players of varied sizes all have a place on the field. If midfielder Landon Donovan, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 158 pounds, can be trusted to deliver, the United States is on track for a strong cup rally -- a relatively rare event. The team's best finish was in 2002, when it reached the quarterfinals. And in 1930 -- ancient history -- the first World Cup tournament, the United States finished third.

So far, the U.S. team has performed stronger in South Africa than its 2 points (of a possible 6 so far) reveal. With some luck, in the 2010 opener, the team could have replicated an historic 1950 victory over England, but were instead held to a draw. And facing Slovenia, an apparently botched call by a referee cost Americans a goal and 3 points.

Despite the excitement, the World Cup still has a long way to go in the United States to match the viewing power of that other football. The New Orleans Saints' win over Indianapolis in the Super Bowl earlier this year was the most-watched program in U.S. history with more than 106 million people, beating a 1983 record set by the finale of "M-A-S-H."

So far, ESPN and ABC garner an average World Cup crowd of 3.35 million viewers per match. But the June 12 U.S.-England draw brought in 13 million viewers on ABC.

And you can bet viewership will be high on Wednesday -- probably even higher if the United States advances in the cup.

After years of recreational play -- "soccer moms" and so on -- the United States seems to finally have found a soft spot, and understanding, for the world's sport. Just wait for the b-roll of all the fans screaming at televisions in bars on the nightly news.

Recast is a regular feature for dscriber.com by Liza Donnelly, a contract cartoonist with The New Yorker magazine. Some of the drawings in this series are cartoons the magazine decided not to publish or ones that Donnelly simply did for her own pleasure. She is internationally recognized for her work for Cartooning for Peace and she lectures on cartoons, the art of cartooning, and feminism. Donnelly's new book, "When Do They Serve The Wine? The Flexibility, Folly and Fun of Being a Woman," will be released early next year by Chronicle Books. Her website is lizadonnelly.com. Text by dscriber staff.

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