I personally believe that soccer has not caught on in the US for two reasons:
1. Money. It is difficult for teams and TV to make money off of soccer. There are no breaks in the action for TV to have commercials like Football, Basketball, etc. If TV can not put in commercials, no money is made on their part and thus they do not show soccer on TV very often. By putting soccer on TV more Americans are able to see the beauty of the game and become fans. Additionally, it is difficult for teams to make money. Even the superteams in Europe do not make much (I think only a couple make any money). Even though these teams have huge followings and even sell advertisments on their uniforms, they do not come close to making the amount of money that US professional teams make. In Europe owners own teams for enjoyment, but in the US most owners also want to turn a profit.
2. Ties. Ties a part of soccer. Americans HATE ties. Just look to the MLB Allstar game a few years back to see how much Americans despise ties. You can also look to the SCHSL to see that there are no ties in regular season. For some reason Americans can not accept a game where both teams are equal. There must be a winner. One team must be better than the other.
I want soccer to succeed in the US, but I do not think it will happen because of money mostly (ties is a bit of a stretch), but you never know. Sports fluctuate. At one time Boxing, Horse Racing, and Baseball were the most popular sports. Now it is Football, Baseball, and Basketball. Maybe in thirty years the MLS cup will be as big as the Superbowl or we will be talking about the World Cup of American Football starting this week in Germany. Who Knows.
(Sorry for the typos and grammatical errors)
