For a soccer fan, it’s easy to spend $20 before 7 a.m. on a Saturday.
I know. Last weekend, before my wife – who doesn’t know, yet – got out of bed, I clicked on my digital cable remote to order England-Brazil.
I cough up extra money for digital for events like the Scottish Cup, which Fox Sports World served up later that day.
Did I mention three MLS games were also on?
I bring this up because on Sunday I read, in the San Francisco Examiner, another of those articles asking why soccer, despite all its participants, has yet to capture fan interest in America.
The reporter focused on the sparse MLS crowds, especially the hometown Earthquakes. Besides omitting that San Jose has been a dismal team, the article failed to stress a point that most of its kind neglect.
It compared soccer’s fan popularity, or lack thereof, to the major American sports, but made only passing reference to the most important difference between MLS compared to MLB, the NBA, NFL and NHL.
Those leagues are the oldest and best of their kind in the world. MLS faces global competition. It vies for American soccer fans who have a large menu of TV games to choose from and only so much time and so much money.
Plus, there’s competition from within.
Five MLS games take place on the day ABC televises the U.S. Cup opening game, the same weekend as the Mexican League final. A weekend later, hardcore soccer fans will reach for their wallets to watch the European Championship.
All those participants? They have their own games to attend.
Not only does MLS fight for attention in a society that has more entertainment options than have ever existed on the face of the earth, it also competes against soccer itself.
MLS can succeed, but it’s a climb that takes more than five years.