The Super Bowl is one of the most watched sporting events around the world. This year, over 110 million viewers tuned in to watch the Denver Broncos dismantle the Carolina Panthers. While this may seem like a lot of viewers for being “America’s favorite sport,” in reality, this amount is only one-third of America’s population (more than 300 million). Therefore, only one-third of Americans tuned in to see their favorite sport play it's biggest game of the year.
Many consider football the most popular sport in the world. However, people are starting to notice the true most popular sport in the world, fútbol. Surprisingly, American football’s championship, the Super Bowl, does not even crack the top five most watched sport championships in the world.
To clarify, take a look at this picture to make it easier to understand.
Football is very popular in the United States; however, outside of the US, there are very few countries that play or watch the game. Fútbol, or soccer on the other hand, has a league of its own in nearly every country in the world. Although, England is arguably the best location to watch soccer. England has more than five professional leagues and many semi-pro leagues as well.
The top league in England, the Barclays Premier League, is perhaps the best league in the world, according to most soccer fans. With teams such as: Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool, the Barclays Premier has many of the top teams in the world. Thus, many people tune in to watch these powerhouses battle it out every weekend.
Professional soccer leagues; such as, Ligue 1 (France), La Liga BBVA (Spain), Bundesliga (Germany), Serie A (Italy), and the MLS (United States) are watched throughout the world. Although, none of these leagues are as popular as the Premier League.
Soccer fans around the world are disputably the best sports fans on the planet. While tailgating is customary before every game in America, many fans internationally form parades before games. Check out this link to get a sneak peek of what Seattle Sounders FC fans do prior to their games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaVdZVyxTGw
This parading before sport events may seem new to many sports fans. Soccer fans do more than just parade to the stadium before the games, they chant during the entire game as well. Listen to this video to experience a true soccer game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtsuiXnh8
As you can tell, soccer is a huge part of people’s lives everywhere in the world. The enthusiasm fans have when cheering for their team shows how much they truly care. Drinking beer, forgetting about the score of the game, and “partying” the whole game is not the way many international fans think soccer games should be. While American football seems as if it will never change in the states, soccer is beginning to form into something big in the US.
While soccer may not be a big sport in the United States at the moment, it is growing rapidly. Ten years ago, the United State’s soccer league (MLS) had just 10 professional teams. Now, in 2016, there are 20 professional teams. By 2018, there will be an additional three teams added to the league.
Of course, the MLS is far from England’s soccer status. Thankfully, commissioner of MLS, Don Garber, is pushing the league in the right direction. Positively, in the near future, the MLS will be as big as European soccer. Potentially seeing Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018 with Miami FC would certainly show how much soccer has grown in the United States.
