I'm somewhat reluctant to chime in on Chait v. Fernholz, as I'm an agnostic in the soccer culture wars -- mildly interested in the World Cup, not a big soccer fan but probably would be if I grew up in a more soccer-crazy environment. I even saw a dozen or so NASL games growing up.
But I can't resist noting a potential flaw in Tim's more soccer-evangelistic perspective. It's true that the ratings of the US/Ghana compare well with the World Series. On the other hand, the ratings were substantially lower than the ratings for US/Canada gold medal hockey game, which was also played on a weekend afternoon. Perhaps this means that hockey is about to become a major sport in the United States, but ... I know how I'm betting. It's also worth noting that national broadcast ratings are where baseball's popularity shows up most weakly. If you were to compare, say, the revenue generated by Major League Baseball's ticket sales or its regional TV ratings with those of Major League Soccer, I think it would be apparent that we have a long, long way to go before the popularity of professional baseball and soccer in the U.S. can be considered remotely comparable.
I don't endorse all of Chait's arguments, but I do largely agree with the sentiments at the end of this post (which don't necessarily conflict with Tim's). As a hockey fan, it's never bothered me that the sport is a niche sport in the United States. That's particularly true in the age of cable and the Internets, since it's actually easier to watch my provincial Canadian team in New York state than it was in my hometown. I'm not sure why soccer fans use the World Cup not only to make a case for their sport -- which they should! -- but also to exaggerate its popularity. Isn't there something fun in seeing the merits in a sport which much of the mass public doesn't?
--Scott Lemieux
