World Cup 2014 Brasil

(02-07-2014 16:57 )cosmonaut Wrote:  

(02-07-2014 13:23 )feetlover1 Wrote:  Like i said yesterday soccer is probably US' 5th sport

If you go by how many people play the game it's the USA's first sport.

Third most participants, more than "Football"

(02-07-2014 17:30 )circles_o_o_o Wrote:  

(02-07-2014 16:57 )cosmonaut Wrote:  

(02-07-2014 13:23 )feetlover1 Wrote:  Like i said yesterday soccer is probably US' 5th sport

If you go by how many people play the game it's the USA's first sport.

Third most participants, more than "Football"

still 3rd, but look at the lack of interest in the favourite sport category. That to me says that most of the people who player soccer are either basketball, baseball or football rejects

The funny thing about that chart is that the amount of participants per sports seem to correlate perfectly with how much equipment and costs you need to consider to play those sports as an amateur.

I may be talking nonsense of course but, all you need to play basketball is a ball, and a hoop. To play baseball, you just need a ball, and a stick. And as we all know, with a ball and a couple of jumpers, you can create a perfectly serviceable game of football.

Ice hockey on the other hand, not so much.

It all depends how likely you are to be exposed to the sport in a positive way as a kid. Looking at that chart, 13-14 million participants in football? There's a real possibility that there are more active participants playing football over in the states than there are in England.

So really, the fact they have a better national side than us should come as no surprise. For the record, I thought they were excellent last night against Belgium.

(02-07-2014 17:30 )circles_o_o_o Wrote:  Third most participants, more than "Football"

Where do these figures come from? I only ask because the US Soccer Federation claims it has many more players than the 13.6m given above. As long ago as 2006 they were claiming to have 24.5m registered players.

The reference given is :

U.S. Census Bureau, Participation in Selected Sports Activities: 2009

(02-07-2014 17:38 )feetlover1 Wrote:  still 3rd, but look at the lack of interest in the favourite sport category. That to me says that most of the people who player soccer are either basketball, baseball or football rejects

What he said. My recollection from a few years stateside is that all the more naturally gifted athletes will eventually gravitate towards American Football, basketball and baseball.

I agree that Ice Hockey has bigger cost and access barriers, which accounts for its much lower numbers. It is also more regional. Although there are teams all across the states, if you look at the players in the NHL, they are overwhelmingly Canadian, European or from the northern states along the Canadian border. No kid in Texas is dreaming of becoming the next Wayne Gretzky.

I suspect that the big soccer numbers are driven by the fact that soccer sweeps up all of the kids that cannot get into those other high school teams. There is also an element of double count, because -- in the US -- school-age soccer is played mostly in the summer, while Basketball, American Football and Ice Hockey (obviously) are played in winter or fall. As a result, a lot of kids will play soccer (or be told by their coaches to play soccer), to stay fit in the off-season before they go back to their "true" sport.

Just my gut feeling. I haven't checked the stats!

(02-07-2014 20:44 )circles_o_o_o Wrote:  The reference given is :

U.S. Census Bureau, Participation in Selected Sports Activities: 2009

Thank you. I was able to look up that census.

I'm not sure how reliable it is as it was only based on the answers of 10,000 households, which is a tiny number in a country of 318 million people.

(02-07-2014 21:17 )William H Bonney Wrote:  

(02-07-2014 20:44 )circles_o_o_o Wrote:  The reference given is :

U.S. Census Bureau, Participation in Selected Sports Activities: 2009

Thank you. I was able to look up that census.

I'm not sure how reliable it is as it was only based on the answers of 10,000 households, which is a tiny number in a country of 318 million people.

especially if its mainly white people who answered it. Obviously no proof of that, but it would be interesting to know the numbers of black and whites asked

Can this thread keep on track about the World Cup 2014 Brasil please. It appears to have become devoted to how popular sport is in the USA. Perhaps set up a seperate thread for anyone interested in that sort of stuff.

Neymar's supposedly declared himself fit to play in Friday's match against Colombia after a satisfactory training session today