[isetcap]

Beckham has arrived to teach us Americans just how wonderful Old World Football can be. Surely we have matured enough in terms of athletic appreciation for the ratings to soar.

[zootiehead]

I'll watch Saturday but that will probably be it.

[jjgold]

no soccer sucks

[Mudcat]

Not even close to being a close call for me. It wouldn't cross my mind to have it cross my mind.

My vote is NO!

[Razz]

Watching the game tonight, De Rosario is very impressive.

[BigBollocks]

I absolutely love soccer and have coached it on multiple levels, so of course I'll be tuned in to see how Beckham performs this season. Believe it or not I rarely watch the MLS as I find the quality of play so inferior to the top notch European leagues, but I'll certainly watch it a little more this year.

We could talk for hours about why I think America doesn't fully get behind the sport that everyone else universally deems "the world's sport," but it would speak a lot to the mindset of our society as a whole and most likely offend those who have never had the luxury of traveling....

[isetcap]

We could talk for hours about why I think America doesn't fully get behind the sport that everyone else universally deems "the world's sport," but it would speak a lot to the mindset of our society as a whole and most likely offend those who have never had the luxury of traveling....

Undoubtedly true.

I also agree that the level of performance on the field in MLS has to be seen as a prime contributor as to why the league struggles.

Americans love American Football but you're not going to get huge ratings if you trot out an inferior product. They tried it with XFL.

Eventually the time for soccer in America will come, but I'm not sure MLS will be the avenue it follows.

[austintx05]

hell no

[dodif]

no but i'll get a beckham jersey and say bloody alot

[WileOut]

soccer is the worst sport in the world to watch. I'd rather watch bowling and that is not an exaggeration.

[MonkeyF0cker]

If Pele couldn't bring soccer to America, I'm not sure how anyone thinks Beckham will. I'm already sick of seeing him and his snotty wife on TV here.

[Dark Horse]

Watching soccer is only fun at the highest level. Not in the US.

On a sidenote, it's a popular myth that soccer is the world's number one sport everywhere but in the US. Unless the rest of the world doesn't extend beyond Europe, South-America, and Africa. Soccer is at about the same level here as in Australia and Asia. The Australia (incl. New Zealand) situation is very similar to the US. We have football, they have rugby.

Soccer, more than any other sport I've seen, is deeply ingrained in the cultures where it is most popular. It's in your veins, you grow up with it, you breathe it, it has a street vibe (US has little street culture left, with soccer moms and their SUV's). The US sports world is too diversified to understand this. If football, basketball, and baseball suddenly all became one sport, then the US public would have a comparable fanaticism. Not going to happen.

[thezbar]

my interests lay elsewhere, voted no.

[jjgold]

Ratings are very low for this sports, how they do not fold is puzzling.

[isetcap]

JJ, I know you will be watching.

[tacomax]

On a sidenote, it's a popular myth that soccer is the world's number one sport everywhere but in the US.

Do people really believe this?

Good link here, scroll about halfway down and see the breakdown of sports which countries consider it their national sport. Not sure on it's total accuracy but it seems pretty fair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_sport

Worldwide, the universally popular sports are cricket and football - pretty much all other sports pale into insignificance. Table tennis has a lot of following but that's just because it's the national sport of the biggest country in the world.

[spliff]

I could not possibly care less about this sport.

[JBC77]

Absolutely not. Soccer,hockey and WNBA are on my list of unwatchable sports