Yes, we love soccer #1

Hi, guys!

Today we will talk about the most popular sport in the world's growth in the land of Uncle Sam. Increasingly, football has become popular in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago ... Cities we knew the times, or franchises, present in basketball (NBA), baseball (MLB) or football (NFL).

A series that start on my blog, talking about how he started, developed and today the North American soccer and plus some curiosities.

With the overwhelming success of the last World Cup, we can see that football is also becoming a popular sport in the USA. Is attracting public investment, renowned players and the interest of football fans who see in Major League Soccer (MLS), a national alternative alloy that has a lot of potential to become one of the strongest leagues in the world.

Course will far from a Premier League or La Liga, but one thing is fact and agree: what Americans put their hand, make efficient and exemplary manner.

For then the question arises: how started soccer in USA?

The first National League was the NASL (North American Soccer League), which was held from 1968 until 1984. Featured greater for the New York Cosmos, who hired players like Pele, Carlos Alberto Torres and the German Franz Beckenbauer; plus win six titles in this period.

Pelé with the #10 of the New York Cosmos.

Although the Cosmos fill the stadiums and occupy space with broadcasts on TV is an attraction in itself, after an economic recession in the country and new owners who did not understand football bulhufas, the tournament was in crisis in the early 1980s, until extinguished by having only two teams able to continue in 1985, since the purchase of foreign players made the most of the income of the clubs was spent on high salaries.

Besides the three star players mentioned above, played in the US at that time:

Gerd Müller, Gordon Banks and Teófilo Cubillas (Fort Lauderale Strikers)

George Best, Johan Cruyff (Los Angeles Aztecs)

Eusébio (Las Vegas Quicksilvers / Boston Minutemen)

Hugo Sánchez (San Diego Sockers)

Photo of the legendary match between New York Cosmos and Las Vegas Quicksilver, with legendary players Pele and Eusebio

After the National League in the 1980s, the next all return and soccer have a chance to get even more popular. After all, the World Cup 1994 would be US-based, but the population was not very excited about the new event in the country, with newspapers highlighting more the finals of the basketball league.

Two years later would be created to Major League Soccer, current US National League, which had as its first star, Colombian Valderrama, playing for Tampa Bay Mutiny. Currently the outlook is more superstars parading around, not to mention that in these 18 years there have been significant improvements, both inside and outside the field.

But why football has never been the favorite sport of Americans?

With the high points of basketball and baseball and football emotions, football was seen as an excellent program to lie on the couch and relax, nap ... it was always looking as a boring sport, drowsy, without emotion.

According to Scarborough Research consultancy, football was the sport that most grew their fan base in the country in recent years. Gradually the frequency of fans in stadiums grew and today has a higher average the Brazilian Championship.

Currently, about 70 million Americans claim to be fans, an increase of 44% since 2006. The reason? A lot of Hispanics, who traditionally are football fanatics and totaling more than 50 million inhabitants. In the 1990s, were 22 million.

The fans came to the stadiums, investment grew and the players arrived. In 2007, the English star David Beckham signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy, which brought immediate international exposure for the team and hence to the MLS.

The "folklore" of hiring Beckham caused the "Beckham Rule", which was the real responsible for going from English to American football. The law of the designated player, allows teams have in their herds, a player with a higher salary to salary cap MLS, mandatory for all teams.

The english star David Beckham

This rule also benefited other teams such as the New York Red Bulls, who hired the Frenchman Thierry Henry.

Result? Football has become an interesting and relevant business. Last year, the announcement of companies in announcements of broadcasts was 378 million dollars throughout the season. Compared with the NBA, which raised 929 million, the value becomes obsolete, but the trend is that the value will double by the end of this decade.

In parallel, the broadcasting rights soared. The FOX television network paid $ 475 million for forward next season, almost five times more than paid for the current season.