Defending the World Cup… my answer to Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck: “Barack Obama’s policies are the World Cup.” In an extensive rant on the June 11 Glenn Beck Program, Beck purported to explain how President Obama’s policies “are the World Cup” of “political thought.” Beck stated, “It doesn’t matter how you try to sell it to us, it doesn’t matter how many celebrities you get, it doesn’t matter how many bars open early, it doesn’t matter how many beer commercials they run, we don’t want the World Cup, we don’t like the World Cup, we don’t like soccer, we want nothing to do with it.”
My Response
Glenn Beck knows as little about world politics as he does about American Culture. Among Americans, soccer is VERY popular. I n a year that’s already seen huge ratings successes for the NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl, Winter Olympics, NBA Finals, and Stanley Cup Finals, the 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP may be the biggest success story of them all.
The USA-Ghana telecast earned a combined rating of 9.9/26 (17.9 mill.). To put that in better perspective, that matched or out-rated 3 of the 7 NBA Finals telecasts on NBC, and was highest-rated telecast on ANY network since Game 7 of the NBA Finals. It out-rated both the series finale of “LOST”, and the season finale of “Grey’s Anatomy” well as “Private Practice”. Among younger male demos, the success is too much to write. And to top it off, that USA “Soccer” telecast that Beck continues to boast that no one wants to watch was +715% better than his average audience for the 2010 calendar year. World Cup Soccer’s advantage over Glenn Beck among younger viewers would literally break my calculator!
After the elimination of the US, the World Cup games have continued to dominate the sports landscape dwarfing the ratings of Baseball and NASCAR. Among younger male demos, the World Cup continues to be tops among all broadcast and cable nets.
Even well before the FIFA World Cup Games, the popularity of MLS Soccer has improved steadily over the past 5 years with several “soccer only” stadiums being built in numerous big markets. Premier League Soccer’s TV audience in the US has more than tripled in recent years. And on Univision, regional cup tournaments in the past 5 years have generated higher ratings among younger males than any other program on television during the summer months.
For years people have said that the future of Soccer in the United States is promising, but guess what, if you are under the age of 35, the future is now.
Clinton, Bocanegra, Budweiser
Fans flying, and wearing, the stars and stripes will be out in force in Pretoria on Wednesday when the U.S. faces Algeria.
President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have wagered their nation’s “best” beer and lager over Saturday’s World Cup showdown match between their two nations, the White House said.
“The president noted that the historical record of previous World Cup matches between the United States and England favors the United States and the president wagered the best lager against the best beer in America on an American win over England.”
