I shared that view for many years. I've now watched enough youth soccer to have developed a bit of an appreciation for the game. That said, soccer has one major barrier to overcome before making it big in the U.S., and that is television. Soccer does not lend itself to a television commerical every 38.4 seconds. Unless soccer starts allowing a tv timeout on every throw-in, it will never get a big time tv contract, and it will remain a small budget game.
I hope that soccer does not compromise. U.S. basketball and football have turned themselves into grotesque parodies of the game that used to be played to accommodate television. At least with soccer, you still get to watch an uninterrupted game, as opposed to a steady parade of commercial messages with a few athletic highlights thrown in during the breaks.
“That said, soccer has one major barrier to overcome before making it big in the U.S., and that is television. Soccer does not lend itself to a television commerical every 38.4 seconds. Unless soccer starts allowing a tv timeout on every throw-in, it will never get a big time tv contract, and it will remain a small budget game.”
That’s one of the only things that keep me watching the game. If it ever became a snore like the NFL or MLB then I suppose I’ll never watch another full game again, just like I can’t stomach 4 hours of “football” and beer commercials.
Many sports are greatly improved by a DVR. Most American sports because it allows me to skip the commercials (and long huddles in football). Soccer is improved because it is more interesting at 2x speed.