Stellar show could put soccer on US fans' radar

Dubai: For a country as madly in love with sport as the US, you would think that the Americans ought to embrace the world's most popular sport: football. Yet, it is one of the few countries where football has a small fan base, while sports like basketball, baseball, hockey and "American" football have the attention of the general public.

The National Football League is probably the most popular sport in the US.

There are different views about why a nation full of sports fanatics is not attracted to the most popular sport in the world.

Joseph Davis, a recent college graduate in the US, feels: "I think the reason people don't watch is the low score games. A lot of professional games go to 1-1 or 0-0. A lot of people have never really played the sport and do not understand the dynamics&that and it isn't all over television like other sports".

Then there is the argument that they are just bad at it. Before last week, this was a legitimate excuse but now, the US team has stunned the world with its brilliant performance in the Confederations Cup. The US managed to secure a spot in the semifinal after a 3-0 win over Egypt, before shocking Spain, ranked No 1 in Fifa World Rankings.

They faced Brazil in the final. Of course the Brazilians bounced back and ended the game winning 3-2, but for almost an entire hour the world believed that the minnows from the US were going to beat the piranhas from Brazil.

Well at least the areas of the world that actually watch football. In the US, most of the population remained unconcerned. While the US team did receive more media coverage than usual due to their astonishing win over Spain, it still was not the typical enthusiasm that accompanies a nation's entry into a final.

"The match [the final] wasn't that huge of a deal. If it was the World Cup then may be we could talk about it and things might be different," said Diarra Hassell, an American student.

Hassell, born and raised in the US, cheered for Brazil in the final and said: "Any time the Spaniards or Brazilians are on, my blood is no longer red, white and blue. They're just better. This is their sport".

Well, clearly the US team is getting better and maybe one day can be a vital force in the world of football. Will that be enough for the fans to take notice and give the team some desperately craved attention?

Saurabh Aneja, an American college student, agreed with Hassell and commented that perhaps only a World Cup win could truly change the American disregard for football. He said: "Right now only people that were already soccer fans are watching, despite the Confederations Cup success. But I definitely think that media coverage has increased.

"If you had put on any sports channel before the final, there was some coverage of the game, and that's testament of the guys beating Spain".