Soccer is now more popular than baseball
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Import the 3rd World. Get the 3rd World.
Kickball is a boring activity. Any game where you celebrate a 0-0 score isn’t a sport. It’s a hobby
Wait, who the 17 in the USA calls Soccer Football?
It would make more sense to just let people choose all the sports they like instead of forcing them to pick their #1 if we're measuring "popularity."
Also, note the spelling of “favorite” in the graphic. This is from some outfit from across the pond.
Anybody that says soccer is boring but loves baseball completely loses me.
I betcha it would be lower if the poll said soccer instead of football.
Here is a link the the article. Paywalled though.
There are some interesting stated views on this.
There are some interesting stated views on this.
NASCAR was pretty damn big in the early 2000s, but yeah I think viewership has taken a nosedive since. You couldn't drag me away from watching a Sunday race back then, now I couldn't even name one driver. The bigger races like Daytona and Talladega still draw a pretty big crowd and viewership, but it drops significantly after that.
Hasn’t F1 become a big thing recently? Maybe not big but gaining in popularity?
I think NASCAR abandoned the country
Yep, Bubba Wallace stuff pushed a lot of people out
That poll is bunk. Lies, dámn lies, etc... Soccer is for sissies and girls. In this country the only people who play soccer are the ones who can't compete in football and until that changes it won't get much more popular thanit is today.
In fact, according to Gallup soccer peaked in popularity in 2017 and has declined since.
Gallup measures the stuff every few years. Baseball is unique in that most people only watch their team. But they still watch it twice as much as soccer.
Source
In fact, according to Gallup soccer peaked in popularity in 2017 and has declined since.
Gallup measures the stuff every few years. Baseball is unique in that most people only watch their team. But they still watch it twice as much as soccer.
Source
MLB baseball does need to do a few things to make its product better:
- Less games overall, and cut it off near the beginning of football season. They need to brand themselves as that thing that is on TV during the summer. There's nothing else to really compete. I mean they could literally play 60 less games.
- They need to learn from college, travel, etc. and realize people like the do or die format. Lot of excitement comes from that, there's a reason travel ball is so popular every weekend.
- I don't know if it's possible to 'reset' the stats game based on a 100 game season or whatever, but I'd try, even if it's just OPS and HRs.
- Less games overall, and cut it off near the beginning of football season. They need to brand themselves as that thing that is on TV during the summer. There's nothing else to really compete. I mean they could literally play 60 less games.
- They need to learn from college, travel, etc. and realize people like the do or die format. Lot of excitement comes from that, there's a reason travel ball is so popular every weekend.
- I don't know if it's possible to 'reset' the stats game based on a 100 game season or whatever, but I'd try, even if it's just OPS and HRs.
i mean.... watch any MLS game and look in the stands.... then watch any MLB and look in the stands.
soccer has been more popular for a while now with attendance.
soccer has been more popular for a while now with attendance.
Likely they labeled it as such to draw eyes/clicks. Otherwise futbol would have been less confusing
You can't look at it that way. You got 182 games vs 3 dozen. Big difference. Also, the 4 hr commitment to a baseball game makes it different. Total viewership over a season would be the best indicator of "popularity". Also, total revenue generated would be a good indicator of how legit the fandom is.
I’ll have to turn on an MLS game for the first time to verify your claim.
That's hard to quantify. There are so many more baseball games. You have to apply per capita in some fashion to make these things more comparable.
It's like when people compare the women's basketball title game ratings to a game 3 of the WCWS. I'm like no, compare the ratings of all 3 of the finals series.....that's what determined a championship.
People can make data look a lot of different ways.
I like soccer & watch a lot of it. But I never watch MLS. it’s like AA or maybe AAA baseball.
And it loses money. The most important sport at MSU is football, and it isn't rationally debatable.
You are aware that MLS is a very minor league, right?
It's great for kids that are scared to step into a batters box.
Same here. I watch a lot of soccer, but I never watch MLS. It's not AAA. I'm not even sure it's AA.
I don't know anything about MLS. I'm a heterosexual man.
Here's a stat to put in your peace pipe and smoke you soccer loving wimps...
MLB attendance in 2025. 71 million people.
That's 10 million more people than the top 5 soccer leagues in the world drew combined.
MLB attendance in 2025. 71 million people.
That's 10 million more people than the top 5 soccer leagues in the world drew combined.
I will say that baseball is increasing compared to MLS in the United States. The reason for this is based off these two websites.
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.c...attendance-down-5-in-2025-ahead-of-world-cup/ where soccer had an average of 21,988 per game during the 2025 season, which is a 5% loss from 2024.
and
www.mlb.com
Now from the research more than just this website using AI technology * (Using at asterick, because I don't always trust AI)
from 2024 to 2025 MLB had a 1 percent increase of per game average.
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.c...attendance-down-5-in-2025-ahead-of-world-cup/ where soccer had an average of 21,988 per game during the 2025 season, which is a 5% loss from 2024.
and
MLB marks attendance growth for 3rd consecutive season
With the regular season in the books, it’s official: Major League Baseball saw increased attendance for the third consecutive season. In total, the 2025 MLB season drew 71,409,421 fans, surpassing the 70 million benchmark for a third straight season. That hadn’t happened in eight years...
www.mlb.com
Now from the research more than just this website using AI technology * (Using at asterick, because I don't always trust AI)
from 2024 to 2025 MLB had a 1 percent increase of per game average.