This time it's for real . . . we think. Although soccer has
already captured the hearts and feet of the nation's athletic
youth (it's the number-one supervised team sports activity for
players under age 18), it's long been a question mark as to
when professional soccer would enjoy the mainstream popularity
that-until recently, at least-has seemed so elusive. Oh, sure, the
World Cup competition of two years ago generated headlines and
increased awareness of the sport. But that particular strain of
soccer fever cooled once the fields were emptied.
Enter Major League Soccer (MLS). The 10-team professional
league, which debuted in April and concludes its season in October,
hopes to take soccer's popularity to a whole new level in the
United States. And with its first few games drawing
larger-than-expected crowds, MLS definitely seems to be a kick in
the right direction.
"It's a tough row to hoe for a new sport coming on like
soccer is," says Sandy Briggs of the Soccer Industry Council
of America. "But certainly, the initial results [from the
league] are quite encouraging."
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Our advice to retailers and manufacturers: Keep your eye on the
ball. In a recent survey conducted by Sporting Goods
Business magazine, more than half the sporting goods and soccer
specialty retailers polled predicted at least a 10 percent jump in
sales for soccer products this year. Really.
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