July 12, 2010
MY TWO CENTS
What this World Cup has taught us
By Charles Bruns
Special to BigAppleSoccer.com
The interest in this yearıs World Cup tells New Yorkers, "The rest of the U.S. is no longer very different from you, as our country becomes more diverse and more interested than ever in events beyond our borders."
According to published reports, 19.4 million people in the U.S, saw the US-Ghana game, which made it the most watched soccer match in American television history (before Sunday's final between Spain and the Netherlands). Even when the US is not playing, this yearıs World Cup matches are averaging almost five million viewers.
By comparison, last autumnıs World Series featuring the Yankees and Phillies averaged 19.1 million viewers per game, and this springıs NBA finals between the Lakers and Celtics averaged 18.1 million viewers. The Stanley Cup finals this spring between the Blackhawks and Flyers averaged about 14 million viewers. Keep in mind that, unlike the baseball, basketball and hockey showcases, none of the World Cup games have aired during prime time.
(If youıre wondering, 27.6 million people in the U.S. saw this winterıs Olympics gold medal hockey game between the US and Canada -- and this winterıs Super Bowl game between the Saints and Colts was the most-watched American TV program ever, drawing 106.5 million viewers).
For the first 52 games, the number of people watching this yearıs World Cup on ESPN was up 52 percent over the last World Cup in 2006, and up almost 10 percent on Spanish-language Univision. Also interesting is a report that the average age of World Cup viewers is 15 years younger than that of the average Olympics viewer 37 versus 52.
Clearly, New Yorkers who crowded bars and cafes to watch this yearıs World Cup matches, even when the U.S. is not playing, are no longer mainly the "foreigners" who followed past World Cups. They are in the company of die-hard American sports fans at the Jersey shore, in the midwest and on the
west coast. That says a lot about New York and the U.S. today.
"The opinions reflected in the My Two Cents columns do not express the views of the editors or management of BigAppleSoccer. com" If you want to respond to this story or have an opinion of your own, send it to email.
