Clearly hockey is not going to be the 4th major sport anymore... Soccer?

[Tweed]

I never understood why soccer has not taken the mantle since it is so popular around the world. I see more and more people wearing soccer jerseys though and you can have a casual conversation with people about soccer clubs everyday.

If not soccer, then what will be the 4th major sport?

[Disfronted]

1. NASCAR

NASCAR of course!

[Telly Savalas]

12. In terms of revenue numbers...

NASCAR is the 4th major sport already, n'est-ce pas?

[The Devils Advocate]

2. Curling

[davidinalameda]

3. curling's more exciting than NASCAR

[Tweed]

4. Agreed

[musiclawyer]

5. It will be football(soccer)

But not for another generation. It will be a perfect storm type of thing. First, there will be a whole new crop of kids who grew up playing and watching Fox Soccer Channel Gol TV etc. Recreational youth soccer will finally be free of ignorant parents who have no clue about the game. The coaching talent will also flow up to youth competitive teams. Second, MLS will continue to flounder for a bit, but once all the teams (all 14 of them by 2007) are in soccer specific facilities and breaking even, there will be no more talk of soccer's demise or copious writings about it in the pejorative. Third, and related to the second point, a whole generation of soccer hating sports editors around the country will retire or die off and be replaced by young reporters and editors who know the game and have no prejudices that leak onto the page. ( Frank DeFord!) Finally, the US will be in a World Cup final (i.e the game not just the tournament) within 25 years. I believe England's coach himself , Sven what's his name, said on the record that USA would be in a World Cup Final before England, and soon. When all this happens, it will be an easy maneuver into the 4th spot of the USA sports food chain.

[StevieM]

6. I still like Hockey!!! (eom)

x

[MrSlayer]

7. Soccer will never catch on here.

Too boring and too much playacting. Hockey will be back.

[southlandshari]

10. Give it another 15 years

Where I live - Alabama, not exactly the mecca of any sport other than football - kids are signing up for Little League soccer in far greater numbers than they are for any other sport. Flag tag football doesn't even come close. T-ball, the forerunner of baseball/softabll, is second, but every spring and fall it is soccer for which our local parks & rec. department has to issue pleas to parents for more coaches to support the number of kids signed up so the season can commence!

[LondonAmerican]

8. Hope it's not soccer

what a boring sport with truly horrendous and loutish fans.

Rugby would be a lot more interesting.

If only they could get rid of american football, which has got to be the most staged, boring and contrived sport ever devised. What is it with those constant breaks between 2-second plays? The one good thing about soccer is that it flows and the ball is in-play for a while; rugby league flows even better!

[HuckleB]

9. Ah, another rugby elitist!

;)

Actually, your description of US football is quite apt.

[realisticphish]

11. i love football (american)

but i also love hockey, so i like both kinds. i have to agree that soccer is damned boring...

unfortunately, ive never been to a rugby game (our school club plays during the summer when i'm at home) but what i've seen looks really good