Reaching the Goal – Soccer captivates growing us audience

On October 15, 11 Seattle Sounders and 11 San Jose Earthquakes took to the pitch of Seattle’s CenturyLink Field. As the athletes entered the stadium, a huge crowd greeted them with cheers and thunderous applause. The crowed numbered 64,140.

The figure is impressive considering that CenturyLink Field’s usual capacity for soccer matches is only 37,500.

Historically the world’s most popular sport has been relatively slow to catch on in the United States, but increased television coverage, particularly since the 2010 FIFA World Cup, has boosted soccer’s U.S. popularity.

“You can find a soccer game on TV at almost every minute of the day now here in the U.S.” said Georgia College Head Women’s Soccer Coach Hope Clark. “The accessibility has increased exposure, and thus interest.”

American television coverage includes games from both domestic and European leagues, as well as women’s and collegiate leagues.

The turning point for the sport’s U.S. perception was the 2010 World Cup, which reached 34 percent of all American TV viewers up according to Nielsen Media Research. Moreover, Nielsen says that the number of U.S. viewers for 2010 World Cup was 68 percent higher than in 2006.

The U.S. vs. Ghana match drew an audience of 19.4 million Americans. The average number of viewers per game for the 2009 Major League Baseball World Series was 19.1 million. The World Cup Final between Netherlands and Spain drew 24.3 million, making it the most watched soccer match in U.S. television history.

“There was a lot of interest in the World Cup because the U.S. National Team did far better than they had in recent memory,” said Georgia College sophomore and avid soccer fan Jason Edmondson.

“Before the Cup we managed upset Spain, and they ended up making it all the way to final,” he said. “Landon Donovan’s goal probably had a lot to do with it too.”

The goal in question resulted in an overtime victory for the U.S. against Algeria. It captivated American audiences, dramatically pushed the team through the next round of competition to play against Ghana, and made Donovan a household name.

But the spike in U.S. interest is not limited to high-stakes international games. Major League Soccer, the premier professional league in the U.S., has seen record attendance numbers this year.

The MLS was founded in 1993, but did not begin its first season of play until 1996. Since then, the league generally produced seasonal attendance numbers within the 2 and 3 million range.

In 2010, however, attendance broke 4 million for the first time. And this year, almost 5.5 million Americans went to an MLS game, marking a 37 percent increase compared to the previously record-breaking 2010 season.

Major League Soccer has overtaken both the NHL and the NBA to become the third most attended professional sports league in the country. Only the NFL and MLB attract larger crowds on average.

While soccer grows on a national level, the sport’s popularity is also on the rise locally.

“It’s hard to say how big professional soccer is around here is because there isn’t really an MLS team that represents the southeast, but it’s safe to say there’s a lot of interest in general,” said Edmondson.

Edmondson organizes regular pick-up games which can attract as many as 50 Georgia College students and require multiple fields to accommodate them. He often plays as many as four times a week.

“We don’t have an official men’s soccer team,” he said, “So we get a lot of guys coming out to play pick-up or intramural games.”

Additionally, an unofficial men’s club team has seen success on campus, organizing friendly matches against nearby colleges and universities such as Emory and Kennesaw State,

Georgia College is, however, home to an official women’s soccer team.

“The sport has increased in popularity in the U.S. youth culture due to the increase in opportunities at the next level, and this is especially true for females,” said Coach Clark.

According to Clark, Title XI of the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act has created abundant opportunities for women to play collegiate soccer. Moreover, it has led to many more scholarship dollars being invested into female athletes.

“In my short experience here at Georgia College there has been a great interest in the sport. Our intramurals are booming and recruiting has been successful,” said Clark.

Still, she said that not all of Milledgeville’s soccer activity is related to Georgia College. “Milledgeville is working on its own growth in the sport, and we are doing our part to try to increase the interest in a smaller rural town.”

According to Clark, many of the area’s best players prefer travelling north to metro Atlanta for a more competitive environment.

For most local players however, it is all about having fun.

“A lot of the people who come out to play pick-up games weren’t even interested in soccer before,” said Edmondson. “They just see their friends doing it and say, ‘why not?’ The thing about soccer is that it’s very easily accessible. All you need is a field of grass and a ball.”

Accessibility, Clark agrees, is a huge factor which bolsters soccer’s overall popularity. “This is one sport that any type of person can play,” she said. “Big, small, tall, short, even a player with a physical handicap in their upper extremities can still play this sport.”

Regardless of the player, soccer’s ascension into mainstream U.S. sports is undeniable. From Landon Donovan to the average college student, international superstars and first-time players alike tread American soccer pitches under an increasingly heightened level of excitement.