The Making of a Soccer Nation

Abstract

If those of us in soccer had $1 for every time we have heard the question “when will soccer catch on in America?” we would all be in the Cayman Islands now with a cool drink and a satellite dish. The answer of course is that soccer in America has already “caught on”. How else would 93,000 fans came out to watch Barcelona play the LA Galaxy, 72,000 to watch Real Madrid play D.C. United, 66,000 to watch Chelsea play AC Milan or 79,000 to watch Mexico beat the USA in New York? Soccer equally was the first sporting event to be played in the new $ 1b Dallas Cowboys stadium, selling out all 82,252 seats for a quarter-final Gold Cup Match. During what was marketed by Soccer United Marketing as the 2009 “Summer of Soccer” over 1.9 million soccer fans poured through the gates of 98 soccer matches, 68 of which were broadcast on national television. Games included 15 MLS Teams, 14 national teams and 10 international club teams. Record attendances were set in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Toronto, San Francisco and Washington DC. So let no one tell you that America is not a soccer nation.