Soccer gave away the golden goose to other sports at high school

[GoldenGate]

There are multiple problem with baseball on all levels (major leagues, minor leagues, youth). Soccer should have passed MLB baseball by now but due to its own problems it will still likely take some time (unless baseball magically reforms itself at all levels).

Gridiron football too has had issues from declining participation to the concussion problems to the politics, but you are right, it's a very powerful sport. Basketball isn't going anywhere. Soccer, at least for the men, will be the no. 3 sport for a long time to come.

Strike Three: Baseball Is Dead

Baseball has declined in popularity, and that will have a long-lasting effect on the culture at large. Years from now, a young child will ask, "Grandpa, what was baseball?"

howtheyplay.com

You are clueless. Although people have been whining about MLB being a dying sport for decades, it generates the second highest revenue of any professional sports league in the world, more than the NBA, almost twice that of the Premier League and 10x that of MLS. Before Covid-19, MLB revenue had increased every single year for at least 20 years. Although MLB attendance has declined slightly in recent years, so too has attendance in every American professional league. In fact, MLS attendance decreasing per game even more than the MLB in the last pre-Covid year.

Until dumb soccer people get past the idea that "soccer is so great everyone must watch even crappy versions instead of other sports" b.s., they will never understand why it is crazy to believe that soccer will ever surpass MLB in the U.S. MLS soccer is barely watchable as a form of entertainment, and why on earth would anyone who isn't already a crazy soccer freak waste their time watching an MLS game anyway when they can watch much better quality soccer on TV being played overseas by players they know, care about and who are actually good? Even those who go to MLS games will pick a Premier League game on tv over MLS every single time. In other words, MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL fans only need to decide which sport they want to watch at any give time, while someone who is considering soccer must not only decide which sport to watch but also whether they want to watch a good version of it (e.g. Premier League or top teams in any other European League) or a shitty American one. That is an impossible hurdle.

 

[Ellejustus]

Q & A with ElleJustus and Kicker 2.0 ​

Let's bite together I think we both come from two opposite sides of the planet and see things obviously from our own lens and backgrounds. Let's both agree on that ((you think we can agree on that?)) and finish what we started three and half years ago. Let me answer your questions from my heart bro.

Kicker 2.0: How many professional games do you watch on a weekly basis?

EJ: Zero!

Kicker 2.0: Premier League, La Liga, MLS, NWSL, WSL (Women’s Super League)?

EJ: ZERO! I only watch World Cup soccer & High School Soccer. Maybe some day I'll a watch a woman's Li Liga game or two. I hope to visit Spain some day

Kicker 2.0: what “gold” is being given away if no one is watching?

EJ: The Gold I'm taking about is made from the inside of one's heart and not the "gold" your thinking about. That's money and i dont give a shit about money today.

Kicker 2.0: That is the biggest travesty….so many complaining about the state of the game and “pay to play”

EJ: No, the biggest travesty is people getting fired for........I don;t have money to pay to play bro either. The last 5 years has been very hard on our family financially. The game is a mess because only a few rich families can pay to play. $15K a year is insane!!! It is what it is. Nothing is free I guess. You pay for what you pay for. On a side note; I wish your school took care of the females better in soccer and I mean that. Props 100% to the girls who make it happen. I'm more pissed about that Kicker

Kicker 2.0: Plus they, "don’t watch the games on TV/Streaming, go to games, shop their sponsors or buy Merch to financially support the game.

EJ: No I don't!!! Bro, I have no extra money to buy Merch and help support the pay to play system, where most of the Pro players are treated horribly and way under paid. Sorry, it's the truth. Again, you have the money to spend on all this and I don't.

Kicker 2.0: Yet they want all the benefits

EJ: Benefits? My kid got locked out of the USGDA because she dared play HSS. I can go on and on about all the other BS but I won't do that anymore. I'm looking for men with a heart of gold and a brain that followers the truth

 

[Kicker 2.0]

Q & A with ElleJustus and Kicker 2.0 ​

Let's bite together I think we both come from two opposite sides of the planet and see things obviously from our own lens and backgrounds. Let's both agree on that ((you think we can agree on that?)) and finish what we started three and half years ago. Let me answer your questions from my heart bro.

Kicker 2.0: How many professional games do you watch on a weekly basis?

EJ: Zero!

Kicker 2.0: Premier League, La Liga, MLS, NWSL, WSL (Women’s Super League)?

EJ: ZERO! I only watch World Cup soccer & High School Soccer. Maybe some day I'll a watch a woman's Li Liga game or two. I hope to visit Spain some day

Kicker 2.0: what “gold” is being given away if no one is watching?

EJ: The Gold I'm taking about is made from the inside of one's heart and not the "gold" your thinking about. That's money and i dont give a shit about money today.

Kicker 2.0: That is the biggest travesty….so many complaining about the state of the game and “pay to play”

EJ: No, the biggest travesty is people getting fired for........I don;t have money to pay to play bro either. The last 5 years has been very hard on our family financially. The game is a mess because only a few rich families can pay to play. $15K a year is insane!!! It is what it is. Nothing is free I guess. You pay for what you pay for. On a side note; I wish your school took care of the females better in soccer and I mean that. Props 100% to the girls who make it happen. I'm more pissed about that Kicker

Kicker 2.0: Plus they, "don’t watch the games on TV/Streaming, go to games, shop their sponsors or buy Merch to financially support the game.

EJ: No I don't!!! Bro, I have no extra money to buy Merch and help support the pay to play system, where most of the Pro players are treated horribly and way under paid. Sorry, it's the truth. Again, you have the money to spend on all this and I don't.

Kicker 2.0: Yet they want all the benefits

EJ: Benefits? My kid got locked out of the USGDA because she dared play HSS. I can go on and on about all the other BS but I won't do that anymore. I'm looking for men with a heart of gold and a brain that followers the truth

You made your choices…..bought what the “snake oil” salesmen were selling and rubbed it in everyone’s faces till the hard reality set in.

back to the topic at hand

 

[Ellejustus]

You made your choices…..bought what the “snake oil” salesmen were selling and rubbed it in everyone’s faces till the hard reality set in.

back to the topic at hand

Wow, after all these years you still just call "him" a snake oil salesman? That's all he and the gang are to you? Seriously? Wow wow wow and some more wow. Some day you will find out in detail what kind of "oil" he used to rub all his lies with.

 

[GoldenGate]

College Football is advertising more than anything for most schools. I'm sure the PHD eggheads hate it but they also realize that it's something the kids like so it's a necessary evil.

Regarding soccer instead of continuing to force the field game on people. Colleges should focus on a collegiate level Futsal league utilizing the indoor basketball courts when they're not in use for basketball / volleyball / etc. Give people a more consumable taste of the action / suspense. Then once they're hooked the field game will make more sense.

I totally see 18 year old college freshman who never liked soccer playing an esoteric version of it that relies even more heavily on technical ability that they lack. I can't imagine anything that sounds like more fun than that. It is surely a much better way to utilize a basketball court than, uh, basketball.

 

[Simisoccerfan]

A dose of reality, no one is going to watch college futsal. Likely fun to play but the idea that this will draw fans and lead them to watch the field game is not even a pipe dream. Probably the best way to draw fans and increase revenue would be to sell beer at college soccer games. This is being done more and more at football games, basketball games and even I hear the the baseball and softball world series.

 

[Carlsbad7]

I totally see 18 year old college freshman who never liked soccer playing an esoteric version of it that relies even more heavily on technical ability that they lack. I can't imagine anything that sounds like more fun than that. It is surely a much better way to utilize a basketball court than, uh, basketball.

If Ultimate Frisbee has a place on TV Futsal can as well.

 

[GoldenGate]

If Ultimate Frisbee has a place on TV Futsal can as well.

Yes, it has been amazing what televising ultimate frisbee has done for the sport. No doubt it will soon pass MLB in popularity. If ultimate frisbee can do it, the sky's the limit for what futsal on tv can do for soccer's popularity in the U.S.

 

[GoldenGate]

Q & A with ElleJustus and Kicker 2.0 ​

Let's bite together I think we both come from two opposite sides of the planet and see things obviously from our own lens and backgrounds. Let's both agree on that ((you think we can agree on that?)) and finish what we started three and half years ago. Let me answer your questions from my heart bro.

Kicker 2.0: How many professional games do you watch on a weekly basis?

EJ: Zero!

Kicker 2.0: Premier League, La Liga, MLS, NWSL, WSL (Women’s Super League)?

EJ: ZERO! I only watch World Cup soccer & High School Soccer. Maybe some day I'll a watch a woman's Li Liga game or two. I hope to visit Spain some day

Kicker 2.0: what “gold” is being given away if no one is watching?

EJ: The Gold I'm taking about is made from the inside of one's heart and not the "gold" your thinking about. That's money and i dont give a shit about money today.

Kicker 2.0: That is the biggest travesty….so many complaining about the state of the game and “pay to play”

EJ: No, the biggest travesty is people getting fired for........I don;t have money to pay to play bro either. The last 5 years has been very hard on our family financially. The game is a mess because only a few rich families can pay to play. $15K a year is insane!!! It is what it is. Nothing is free I guess. You pay for what you pay for. On a side note; I wish your school took care of the females better in soccer and I mean that. Props 100% to the girls who make it happen. I'm more pissed about that Kicker

Kicker 2.0: Plus they, "don’t watch the games on TV/Streaming, go to games, shop their sponsors or buy Merch to financially support the game.

EJ: No I don't!!! Bro, I have no extra money to buy Merch and help support the pay to play system, where most of the Pro players are treated horribly and way under paid. Sorry, it's the truth. Again, you have the money to spend on all this and I don't.

Kicker 2.0: Yet they want all the benefits

EJ: Benefits? My kid got locked out of the USGDA because she dared play HSS. I can go on and on about all the other BS but I won't do that anymore. I'm looking for men with a heart of gold and a brain that followers the truth

That's a lot of words to say "I wish people would do whatever I want for free because I'm too lazy to get a job to pay for what things cost".

 

[GoldenGate]

If Ultimate Frisbee has a place on TV Futsal can as well.

I just had this great idea. When colleges aren't using basketball courts for basketball, they should set up a bunch of chess boards and televise the student matches on national television. I'm sure chess will explode in popularity. I mean if ultimate frisbee can get on television, there's no telling how popular chess will become.

 

[Carlsbad7]

I just had this great idea. When colleges aren't using basketball courts for basketball, they should set up a bunch of chess boards and televise the student matches on national television. I'm sure chess will explode in popularity. I mean if ultimate frisbee can get on television, there's no telling how popular chess will become.

What I'm saying is that field soccer is hard for colleges/high schools to get behind because it's an outdoor sport that's usually a chess match between teams. Futsal is easy because it can be played year round + on existing facilities. Also, typically basketball courts have seating available for spectators. combine easy to attend from a spectatorship perspective + easy to setup from a college/high school perspective + potentially year round or between other sports off seasons and you have a way to "gateway" soccer into an American mindset.

I just used the ultimate frisbee example to show that Television will air anything. The trick is giving them content that can drive viewership because spectators are willing to watch an entire game (with commercials every 5 minutes).

Do you know the reason you see Pro Wrestling all the time on TV? WWE is based out of Hartford Connecticut what they do is setup events, film them, then package it all up so cable stations can slip advertising in every 5 minutes. For the most part WWE gives their content away to cable stations who in turn use it to drive advertising revenue. BTW this is the real reason you don't see soccer more on American TV. Outside of halftime cable channels can't stuff enough commercials into the content to make it viable. From a business perspective why pay for the rights to air Soccer when WWE content provides higher advertising revenue. This is where Futsal has an advantage. You have more action in general + more breaks for commercials.

 

[GoldenGate]

What I'm saying is that field soccer is hard for colleges/high schools to get behind because it's an outdoor sport that's usually a chess match between teams. Futsal is easy because it can be played year round + on existing facilities. Also, typically basketball courts have seating available for spectators. combine easy to attend from a spectatorship perspective + easy to setup from a college/high school perspective + potentially year round or between other sports off seasons and you have a way to "gateway" soccer into an American mindset.

I just used the ultimate frisbee example to show that Television will air anything. The trick is giving them content that can drive viewership because spectators are willing to watch an entire game (with commercials every 5 minutes).

Do you know the reason you see Pro Wrestling all the time on TV? WWE is based out of Hartford Connecticut what they do is setup events, film them, then package it all up so cable stations can slip advertising in every 5 minutes. For the most part WWE gives their content away to cable stations who in turn use it to drive advertising revenue. BTW this is the real reason you don't see soccer more on American TV. Outside of halftime cable channels can't stuff enough commercials into the content to make it viable. From a business perspective why pay for the rights to air Soccer when WWE content provides higher advertising revenue. This is where Futsal has an advantage. You have more action in general + more breaks for commercials.

Are you telling me I would be able to watch college students play futsal - who aren't good enough to even play college soccer - on tv ALL YEAR?!? Count me in!

 

[Socal-Soccer-Dad]

It is ambitious to say men's soccer in the US is the No 3 sport. More like No 6 (maybe). NHL and MLB annually TV contract is at least double of the MLS contract. Nascar, Football and NFL is 10's of times higher. Golf is higher than MLS. So actually maybe No 7 unless you include the Olympics. I think if you include the EPL US rights and other European leagues it is still not in the top 5.

1. NFL
2. College football
3. NBA
4. High school football
5. College basketball
6. MMA
7. E-sports
8. MLB
9. MLS
10. NHL

 

[SoccerFan4Life]

You are clueless. Although people have been whining about MLB being a dying sport for decades, it generates the second highest revenue of any professional sports league in the world, more than the NBA, almost twice that of the Premier League and 10x that of MLS.

Half Right on MLB. Yes #2 global league at $10.7B. No on double than Premier league. EPL is $7.3B .

Top 10 Largest Sports Leagues by Revenue 2020, Which Sport Makes the Most Money?

A complete ranking and breakdown of the top 10 largest sports leagues by revenue in 2020. Which sport makes the most money? NBA, NFL, MLB?

blog.bizvibe.com

1	NFL	$16B
2	MLB	$10.7B
3	NBA	$8.8B
4	EPL	7.3
5	La Liga	5.26
6	NHL	5.09
7	Bundesliga	4.74
8	Serie A	3.62
9	UEFA Champions League	3.31

 

[GoldenGate]

Half Right on MLB. Yes #2 global league at $10.7B. No on double than Premier league. EPL is $7.3B .

Top 10 Largest Sports Leagues by Revenue 2020, Which Sport Makes the Most Money?

A complete ranking and breakdown of the top 10 largest sports leagues by revenue in 2020. Which sport makes the most money? NBA, NFL, MLB?

blog.bizvibe.com

1	NFL	$16B
2	MLB	$10.7B
3	NBA	$8.8B
4	EPL	7.3
5	La Liga	5.26
6	NHL	5.09
7	Bundesliga	4.74
8	Serie A	3.62
9	UEFA Champions League	3.31

2020 was an anomaly due to Covid-19. MLB usually has a ton more in ticket revenue by virtue of the fact that they play 162 games. It's closer to half when people can go to games.

Regardless, MLB is still the second largest league in the world. It is not a dying sport as the unemployed equestrian claims. It will never, ever be passed by MLS.

 

[espola]

2020 was an anomaly due to Covid-19. MLB usually has a ton more in ticket revenue by virtue of the fact that they play 162 games. It's closer to half when people can go to games.

Regardless, MLB is still the second largest league in the world. It is not a dying sport as the unemployed equestrian claims. It will never, ever be passed by MLS.

Baseball has been dying as a sport since they instituted the DH.

 

[Ellejustus]

Baseball has been dying as a sport since they instituted the DH.

Grumpy old man is wrong again. That is false statement. Baseball got way too corporate and sold out their seat to the highest pay to play business. Mom and pop got knocked out and forced to watch live stream. I just got off the phone with old pal from a previous soccer team. He had season tickets for years and then Fox came and them McFraud showed up after that.

 

[SoccerFan4Life]

Grumpy old man is wrong again. That is false statement. Baseball got way too corporate and sold out their seat to the highest pay to play business. Mom and pop got knocked out and forced to watch live stream. I just got off the phone with old pal from a previous soccer team. He had season tickets for years and then Fox came and them McFraud showed up after that.

Fewer fans and older fans will have an impact on baseball's revenues. However, there's no other sport that plays 100+ games a season so they will continue to survive. The amount of TV ads that you can get even with a smaller audience will drive revenue to keep it as a top 3 sport in terms of revenue.

 

[OrangeCountyDad]

How many professional games do you watch on a weekly basis? Premier League, La Liga, MLS, NWSL, WSL (Women’s Super League)?

what “gold” is being given away if no one is watching?

That is the biggest travesty….so many complaining about the state of the game and “pay to play” but don’t watch the games on TV/Streaming, go to games, shop their sponsors or buy Merch to financially support the game. Yet want all the benefits.

it always blows me away how many people bemoan the state of soccer in america, how broken it is, but they won't support their local lower division, college, high school team. They'll sure as hell be at the pub at 4am to watch a EFL Championship mid-season game tho!

 

[OrangeCountyDad]

Is the big roster common? Does the coach tell players who won't play in advance not to dress or are they expected to still show and sit on the bench? Trying to learn about high school soccer since I have a middle schooler.

My kid's HS carried a big roster on 3 teams, but no, not everyone plays. We were blessed with pretty good club players and a few national team U-whatever's over the years. The coach's philosophy at Fr/Soph and JV level was to keep the girls in the program as long as he could in the first 2 years because many quit after their 4-semester PE requirement was done, but even on Varsity it was 20-some rostered players. Between the compact schedule and inevitable injuries, he kept a big program as a contingency. He also kept on kids, if they wanted to, as 'technical staff' especially seniors who wouldn't get play time and paid their dues for 3 years, goalkeepers who wouldn't play much, etc (one of those goalkeepers is now a youth coach, so it kept her 'in the family' so to speak)

(on the financial side, a larger squad means the financial team-burden is spread out over more families making it less than if it was just ~15-kid rosters)

He was also very honest and let girls know if they would/wouldn't get a lot of playing time and they could choose their path based on that.

You can probably find parents in your area with experience with the current coach to know what to expect