Until there's an MLS team present we can never know which city is a soccer hotbed. Toronto Lynx, a second tier team for example, used to draw between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators per game. Many MLS fans complained that the league shouldn't expand to that market because they would not have a big enough fan-base. Well, Toronto FC have sold out their entire season (will average over 20,000) and have 3,000 people on their season-ticket waiting list.
Soccer beats Hockey in the US
- Thread starter Wranglers110
- Start date
Until there's an MLS team present we can never know which city is a soccer hotbed. Toronto Lynx, a second tier team for example, used to draw between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators per game. Many MLS fans complained that the league shouldn't expand to that market because they would not have a big enough fan-base. Well, Toronto FC have sold out their entire season (will average over 20,000) and have 3,000 people on their season-ticket waiting list.
Here's a question: Who are bigger fools, the people in charge of the English Premier League or the NHL?
A former 3rd world dictator with the blood of thousands on his hands just bought an English Premier league team for about 165 million US.
The NHL won't allow one of Canada's most successful businessmen to buy a struggling franchise for 240 million US.
Tough one...
A former 3rd world dictator with the blood of thousands on his hands just bought an English Premier league team for about 165 million US.
The NHL won't allow one of Canada's most successful businessmen to buy a struggling franchise for 240 million US.
Tough one...
mmk786
Registered User
- Mar 3, 2004
- 1,473
- 51
He was not a dictator, he was democratically elected though his government was overthrown in a bloodless coup.
Perhaps by the strictest definition he wasn't, though democratically elected politicians can certainly become dictators once in power.
He was well on his way to becoming a dictator. Human rights abuses, corruption and censorship as a result of his single minded attempt to **** the country for his personal profit were likely at levels as high as during "actual" dictatorships of the past.
hockey is regional .....there are as many mexican americans as there are all hocky fans in the US /CANADA combined..
There are even Mexican Americans who might like hockey, and maybe live in regions where hockey does well. One thing has nothing to do with the other.
Top 10 Most Popular Sports In America (2023 Statistics) – BiglySports
Biggest sports in America:
1. American Football (139.1 Million Fans)
2. Basketball (121.2 Million Fans)
3. Baseball (113.3 Million Fans)
4. Soccer (97.4 Million Fans)
5. Hockey (73.5 Million Fans)
6. Boxing (55.6 Million Fans)
7. Golf (25 Million Fans)
8. Tennis (21.64 Million Fans)
Biggest sports in America:
1. American Football (139.1 Million Fans)
2. Basketball (121.2 Million Fans)
3. Baseball (113.3 Million Fans)
4. Soccer (97.4 Million Fans)
5. Hockey (73.5 Million Fans)
6. Boxing (55.6 Million Fans)
7. Golf (25 Million Fans)
8. Tennis (21.64 Million Fans)
Takuto Maruki
Ideal and the real
archangel2
Registered User
- May 19, 2019
- 2,804
- 1,739
that is what I was thinking. Hockey is and will always be a niche sport in the USA
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
There's no such thing as a niche sport that generates more than $5B in revenue, which the American teams did last season. Hockey fans only say that because they have an inferiority complex about this topic for whatever reason.
It's beyond doubt that soccer is catching up, but it hasn't passed hockey yet. The MLS probably will never catch the NHL, but soccer revenue is likely somewhere around $4B in the US at this point once you include all the broadcasting rights agreements (i.e. the EPL contract is worth $450m per year).
varsaku
Registered User
Soccer fandom is too fragmented across multiple leagues. If viewership was concentrated on one league then the TV rights would command a much higher fee.
Its honestly amazing how big the NHL has managed to get despite being niche and fairly regional sport.
I am surprised how soccer is past hockey in America.
MLS is nothing compared to Europe.
Or Americans prefer national teams?
MLS is nothing compared to Europe.
Or Americans prefer national teams?
varsaku
Registered User
Liga MX is the most popular in the US. They get a lot of Hispanic viewers. Then it is the Premier League and followed by others.
paul-laus
Registered User
- Jun 20, 2007
- 489
- 79
I truly believe that soccer has passed hockey in the US in terms of popularity but as stated above, to say that the MLS has passed the NHL is a complete misnomer. Premier League,La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and Liga MX make up the fragmentation of various leagues that hockey is up against. The fact that people on these boards absolutely love this sport versus sport argument is highly telling of people’s insecurities
The article that gives these numbers appears to be written by AI which alone makes it questionable. It claims that the numbers are based on recent statistics but doesn't really quote any of them in the article. Without any idea of the methodology usese to determine the number given for each sport is questionable. For example, if these numbers were based on fans of leagues, how much work went into eliminating overlaps between leagues. For example, if there were X fans of MLS and Y fans of EPL, did they treat this as X+Y fans of soccer, when in truth, there is probably significant overlap between the two fanbases?
So, basically, without a solid understanding of how these numbers were derived, they are pretty close to useless and any discussion based on them seems pretty pointless.
Arthur Morgan
Registered User
hockey is too fast for the average American, they cant keep their eyes on the puck. another reason why they used to have Red lines for slap shots and blue for passes
Golden_Jet
Registered User
- Sep 21, 2005
- 26,335
- 13,643
1. National teams
2. MLS
3. Liga MX
4. Premier League
5. La Liga
My quess soccer fans in the US.
2. MLS
3. Liga MX
4. Premier League
5. La Liga
My quess soccer fans in the US.
Let's be real. Hockey is considered the least 'cool' of the major sports. It's economically inaccessible to most Americans, very white, and lacks star power because our players have the personality of drying paint ("Uh, you know, obviously we gave 100%, you betcha, eh!!").
The game is too conservative for its own good.
The game is too conservative for its own good.
JianYang
Registered User
- Sep 29, 2017
- 19,550
- 18,951
Niche doesn't necessarily mean that that an entity is small, although I think some people may try to define it as such.
The nhl does well within its space in the industry, but if we do want to speak about money, it absolutely gets dwarfed by other entities such as NFL, MLB and NBA.
NBA made huge inroads over decades and blew past the NHL. I just don't think the nhl has much potential to make a similar leap, and that is where the term "niche" comes in. They have found a particular space in the market where they can be comfortable and serve their fans and generally do well.
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
“People” don’t define it as such. It’s literally the definition.
The Cambridge definition is “interesting to, aimed at, or affecting only a small number of people.” It even gives a highly relevant example of usage. “MMA is no longer a niche sport”
When viewed relative to the 3 bigger leagues, sure. It’s smaller. But that it really the only context where the NHL can be viewed that way. In any other context, it’s a huge business. Like I said, thinking of it this way is only the result of a weird inferiority complex hockey fans have about it.
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