In this last project I wanted something from my first year as a Business student. I was a Marine Transportation student for two years before switching to Business. I believe this shows my rapid growth from very little knowledge in the Business world to what I know now.
Marketing project:
How to Make Soccer the New Basketball
The article I chose is one about how soccer is viewed, marketed and thought about in the United States. Every four years the world cup goes on and the passion and popularity of soccer in America rises. But in between those four years Americans view soccer as somewhat of a mediocre sport. But popularity and interest is rising in the sport. Our professional league continues to grow and expand as we get better players and market the sport better. Our national team brings in huge crowds when they play and their supporters are starting to become more like European fans. Soccer’s star is rising in the United States thanks in part to good marketing.
During the 2006 World Cup held in Germany, many people here in the United States turned in to watch the U.S. nation team and others play. But the United States was knocked out in the first stage without even winning one game. But Americans continued to watch and saw the final between Germany and Italy. With Italy winning and Zidane being red carded. For weeks and months before the world cup happened it was marketed to Americans in many ways. Television networks like ESPN, ABC, and others produced commercials highlighting the event. All games played in the world cup were televised and shown in the United States. The games showed off all of the finest talent in the game to people who have not seen soccer games.
But when the world cup is not played interest in soccer in the United States tends to decline. That is starting to change though. “The sport is in a sort of limbo here. The legacy of the 1994 World Cup in America—the one in which the U.S. team emerged from the initial group round and scored a notable upset of Colombia—was considerable: the founding of a domestic league, a spike in public interest in the professional game and a seismic windfall for local bars when Ireland beat Italy at the Meadowlands” (www.observer.com). Americas professional soccer league, Major League Soccer (MLS), continues to gain in popularity and interest. The leagued was created in 1994 after the United States hosted the world cup and interest in soccer in America was still high. In the beginning the league was seen as a feeder league to more dominant leagues in the world. If a player stood out and flourished in MLS then they could be drafted to play in Europe. The leagues attendance was low compared to other sports leagues. But things are starting to change for the MLS. The league is gaining in popularity and foreign players are playing in MLS.
Major League Soccer started to change when they decided to start marketing better. “In 2006 ABC and ESPN struck a deal with MLS to televise games every week and televise the All-Star game and the MLS Cup”(www.wikipedia.com). In July 2007 David Beckham was signed to play with the Los Angeles Galaxy for five years. Beckham is a legend in soccer and is arguably the biggest name in the sport. Commercials were played to hype his arrival and when he did arrive he sold out stadiums all across the country do people could see him play. Other great international players were signed in MLS. Like Juan Pablo Angel and Claudio Reyna both great Latin American players who used to play in European leagues. People can now watch these great players in America, where they raise the level of the game. Other players said they would like to play in MLS because America is a great place to be. “French striker Thierry Henry has given the league a huge lift by revealing he plans to end his career in New York”(Yahoo Sports). This just goes to show that the league is gaining in popularity.
Soccer in America still has a long way to go before it becomes a major sport. But it is on the right track with how it is being marketed. I would love to see soccer as a top sport in the United States and it might have the chance to do it. It will never be as popular as football or baseball but it could be a big sport.
Works Cited
1. )www.observer.com/node/52359) This is the article I chose to do my project on.
2. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Soccer_2007_season )
Online enclopedia, gave information about MLS
3. (http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylt=At4tscTy_moqU_V4wlXqak0mw7YF?slug=ro-henry101807&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)
A sports story on how French soccer player Henry wants to play in MLS.
