Football needs the Active Couch Potato

The more a professional sport?s league can get their fans to ?sit,? the more successful they will become.

Most sports fans know what they like and what they want. Thus, sports have become a multi-billion dollar industry.??

I have recently heard Football (soccer) being referred as ?the fastest game on two feet.? Well, those ?feet? are rapidly moving across the world. In the United States, colleges and high schools have been adding Football (or ?soccer,? as Americans tend to call it) to their athletic repertoire in record numbers, as the sport has gained attention in areas that knew little if anything about the game in the past.??

Football originated from native cultures in Central and South American (even though there are some Europeans that will argue this) who often played the game as a way to relieve the stress and trouble from warfare and/or slavery. There is archaeological and anthropological evidence that the concept of the game (kicking a ?round? object) was used as a recreational activity all the way back to the time of the Mayans (sorry again, Europe). The game may not be played for the same reasons today, but the action and intensity that is displayed is still highly competitive and exciting.??

Traditionally, football has been most popular in Europe and South America, especially in hotbeds like Argentina, Brazil, England and Germany. This is no longer the case as now hotbeds are forming in geographic areas such as Japan, Africa, North America and Asia; just to name a few. In 2000, the International Federation of Association Football(FIFA) reported that there were 1,273 Football Associations across the globe.??

Regardless of how many clubs, teams and players that aren?t included in that count because they aren?t affiliated with an association, a new psychological concept called ?Sitting-Time? has become quite prevalent in today?s society and is starting to have more than just a nominal effect on whether or not a professional sports league of any type is successful. ?Sitting Time? is how long a fan remains seated or rather; in tuned, to the sporting event they are watching, while being oblivious to any outside distractions. I like to refer toSitting-Time as the ?Couch-Potato Thermometer.???

A study out of Canada published in May of 2009 in the Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, followed over 17,000 people ages 18-90 over a 12-year period and compared their attention spans based on how much sitting-time they averaged per athletic event.??

The Dose-Response??

The researchers found what they call a ?dose-response.?The more time an athletic event, team, league, etc?, can keep a person?s attention, the higher that respective sport?s rate of success. Those fans who spend half their time watching one sport and the other half watching another only affect the success of each respective sport about 11 percent. They also found that sports franchises are more likely to grow in popularity and to become more successful from the support of the sport?s fan who ?sits? only one-quarter of the time, compared to those who spend almost all their time in behaviors that surround the support of their sport teams.??

The bottom line (no pun intended): the more a professional sport?s league can get their fans to ?sit,? the more successful they will become.??

So, with all the good news that it has to shout about, professional football may just very well be the quietest professional sports league in the United States. ??

The National Football League (NFL) is a behemoth, the National Basketball Association (NBA) pounds its chest and Major League Baseball enjoys an inheritance, but Major League Soccer (MLS) ? the most successful mid-level sport?s league in American history (more so than the National Hockey League [NHL], the Women?s National Basketball League[WNBA] and even minor league baseball)? continues to fly under the radar even as it prepares to conclude its 17th post-season. Though it wouldn't be accurate to say that nobody cares, I?m sure league officials would admit they wish more people did. ??

The National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) released a report in 2007 stating there were 19,612 high school soccer programs covering both genders, all across the country. That is more than double the amount that existed in 2000 and equates to about 690 new programs a year in that time frame! All that growth in only 7 years! When looking at these numbers in detail, we should pay close attention to the ever-growing number of programs in the states of California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and Washington. ??

The MLS is currently on the back end of its 17th season with more sponsorship dollars than ever before. This will also be the third consecutive year that the league has not just survived, but also thrived without having one, single marquee sponsor. MLS officials have reported that merchandise sales have increased 19 percent over last season and group sales by 20 percent. Season-ticket renewals for next season are also up 10 percent.??

When looking at the United States from the perspective of the density of organized high school soccer programs (we use high school programs not only because they are easier to keep track of, but also because they have a direct correlation with an area?s population), we can easily see that the Northeast and stretching down the East Coast shows itself to be the hotbed of high school soccer. However, upon further inspection we can see an apparent difference between two different heat maps. In 2000, the density of high-school?s offering soccer programs lit extremely bright in New England. However, in 2007, we see that the brightness of New England has faded quite a bit over time. It is highly probable that in another seven years the heat will spread throughout the country as new programs spring up in areas other than the Northeast. ??

There is good evidence that directly correlates the success of a professional sports franchise with the opportunity for those in the local area (specifically youth) to take part in the same type of sport experience.??

This is one reason why Professional Sport Leagues are rather picky when it comes to expanding. ??

However, this level of activity does NOT always correlate both directions.??

We Must Engage the Average Sports Fan??

Sports executives are now turning their eye toward the psychology of sitting in an attempt to understand how it works in order to give them every advantage possible in the race for your dollars.??

In many ways the MLS would not exist without the 1994 FIFA Men?s World Cup. The FIFA mandate that, among other things, if the United States wanted to host the Men?s World Cup, then they would have to implement a domestic men?s football league. Unfortunately and indifferent to Title IX?s proponents, this reach did not extend beyond the male cocoon, so women?s pro soccer is forced to make their own way in a marketplace dominated by the more established men?s leagues.??

Regardless of its beginnings, the league has held its own in this competitive landscape. It has, for example, a very strong presence in some media markets that the other major sports have either failed in or have been unable to get their fingers into. Examples include Columbus, Ohio; Salt Lake City, Utah; Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. In addition, the MLS has been quite successful at expanding over the border into Canada; more so than both the NBAand Major League Baseball combined. With three clubs in Montreal, Quebec; Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia, respectively, only the NHL has its member clubs slung over both sides of the fence that is the US-Canadian border more-so than the MLS. With its players represented on several national teams, the young talent in the league and the talent on the horizon; it is easy to see why the future of the MLS is full of optimism.??

This optimism, however, is tampered with the thought of how many MLS fans actually ?sit? when watching an MLS event? When allowed to move, raid the fridge, go to the concession-stand or take a phone-call, how many actually do so in the middle of a match? As evidenced from other professional sports leagues and the professional football leagues overseas, this is a thermometer ?a Couch-Potato Thermometer? for how well a league is marketing and promoting itself. I know that when I?m transfixed watching a soccer match on the television that there are times when I need to use the restroom, but I don?t want to step away from the television (and the match) long enough to do so?even if it means wetting my pants (just kidding?well?maybe?!?!?!).This is where the match has me sitting. I also find that those matches that have me sitting are also the matches of my favorite teams, leagues, players, etc?Coincidence? ??

Interestingly, if the average sports fan is allowed to engage in leisurely activity (like having a concourse at a stadium where the match can both be observed while drinks are consumed ? or something of the sort) they will tend to subconsciously produce nearly the same amount of concrete, textile support as someone who has made a concrete investment into the same team, but may not actually be a fan of the game. This means that the experience of the average fan is as valuable to the professional sports leagues success as their primary donors or sponsors.??

Stability of the Game??

In the Middle Ages, sports were used as a means of amusement, entertainment and recreation, but also to identified inactivity which was considered one of man?s seven deadly sins. ?Sloth,? as they called it, was seen as one of the biggest threats to spiritual, mental, and physical health. Being transfixed and infatuated with a certain sport, activity, athlete, etc?, could cost you your life. Thankfully, that isn't the case today, but the principle is still the same.??

Perhaps this recent Canadian research will lead to the development of new marketing and promotion strategies for leagues like the MLS.??

To really see how stable the game of football is, let?s take a look at a state that has had tremendous growth from 2000 to 2007. California, a state far away from the traditional hotbed of New England has become the poster child for the game of football currently in the US. In 2000, there were a mere 400 High School Soccer Programs throughout the entire state. In 2007, there were 1173. This is a dramatic increase and illustrates how non-traditional hotbeds are discovering the sport and expanding its presence rapidly. ??

There are a lot of people that will disagree with me on this, but I feel very good about the level of play in the MLS, and the MLS seems to have a very solid foundation in terms of some key metrics.??

Never-the-less, I do understand that metrics are one thing and passion is quite another. The challenge for the MLS and then also for any Women?s Pro League that is to be developed, comes in the form of cultivating a widening fan base that ?really? cares about soccer.??

In addition to the growth seen at both the high school and professional level, colleges and universities are creating programs across the country that are attracting a growing number of players to their schools. Let?s take a look at a study from Princeton University which showed the growth of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Soccer Programs (both male and female). First, we?ll look at how many secondary institutions fielded a soccer team in 1999 (if they fielded both a men?s and women?s team, they will count as 2 ?two?.). Then we?ll compare this number with the same count done again in 2007.??

In 1999 there were 412 programs and in 2007 there were 638. With the increased amount of high school players that are playing now, comes the demand for more programs at the collegiate level. Thus, this number has reciprocally increased. It is to be expected that this trend will continue and more colleges and universities will be creating soccer programs for one gender or another at their schools in the near future. However, for those who have the ability and the desire to advance to even higher levels we need to ensure that there is a higher-level available for them to play at.??

?Butts? in the Seats!??

Economic experts tell us that engaging the fan throughout the ?down times? when there is no event to watch, not just during the event itself, is important for long-term success. The more we do to sell our product and make it as much a part of people?s daily life as possible, the longer they will sit and the more likely we are to reap the benefits.??

Despite an announced uptick in season-ticket sales, in 2011, the MLS still recorded its lowest average regular-season attendance, 17,457 fans a game, since its inception in 1995. It has not averaged more than 20,000 since 1999.??

At this level, it all comes down to how many ?butts?can be put in the seats. At the end of the day, you've got to get people in the stands and people supporting their local club and the game as a whole. It also can?t just be dads with their little kids on a once a month outing. ??

The spread and growth of soccer in the United States has to give a large amount of credit to ESPN. The increase in television coverage, since ESPNstarted airing MLS contests in 2001, has brought a consistent influx of soccer to every household in the nation. This has helped pushed the popularity of the sport by showcasing its top domestic players. The teams have gained a following in their respected areas which include a few teams that are not located in the traditional hotbed of the Northeast. It?s no coincidence there is a correlation between MLS team locations and the growing hotbeds of High School Soccer. Western teams like Los Angeles, Portland, San Jose and Seattle are all in areas where high school programs are showing a tremendous amount of growth. ??

Something that I have noticed from the many different events that I have attended and continue to attend, is that men are often getting together after work and going to NBAgames in their business suits.??

I noticed this several years ago and on my way to attend an Indiana Pacers home-game, I did a little investigating on this matter.

?It?s the after-work thing to do,? one of them said to me as he hustled down a side-alley in downtown Indianapolis on his way to catch the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. You rarely see that at MLSmatches. The MLS and any Women?s Pro League that eventually develops will need this type of clientele. Not the?business-suit? specifically, but the ?casual? fan who goes because it is convenient, they enjoy the game (regardless of who?s playing) and their friends also attend for the same reasons. In addition (and especially for a Women?s Pro League) businesswomen and women executives need to start buying season tickets and going to games after work. Then they?and their husbands?will attend on the weekends?and?bring their children?and?their children?s friends?you get the idea, don?t you?

I do need to give credit where credit is due, as those crunching the numbers and manning the e-mails have done a phenomenal job with how they have built the MLSbrand from scratch and have now made it an International product. They?re trying. They?re making waves. They know that we?re not there and they know we?re not where we need to be - yet.

Five Keys to Spread the Game

A handful of spectators cheered from the touchline during preliminary group play of a local soccer tournament in a tucked-away part of Southern Idaho last summer. There were thousands of fans watching a track and field event a mile away at a local high-school. However, the small group for soccer is a reflection of the sport's popularity in the Boise, Idaho area.

So, what has caused the game to spread so quickly, but bypass locales, such as the largest city in Idaho?

There are 5 main factors:

1.) Visibility in the Local Media.

2.) Development of a Professional, Semi-Professional or successful Adult Amateur League.

3.) Growth of new High School Programs.

4.) Growth of Youth Programs.

5.) Success of local Collegiate Programs.

Knowledge of the game is spreading and making it no longer appear to be in the dark to the general public. The game is also very appealing. It is fast-paced and full of non-stop action. It is a good mix between popular American sports such as football and basketball. The whole of America is starting to discover Soccer and it is spreading just as fast as the game itself.

In a significant shift, the MLS has recently made the move of promoting not simply those who fit a traditional marketing profile, but its top talent. An example is how theLos Angeles Galaxy marketed and promoted the heavily striped star American born, Landon Donovan, who burst on the scene with an abundance of personality and has been widely embraced as the heart and soul of American Soccer.

Sometimes the MLS wasn't promoting the best players, but rather, the best image. Now, I can see the league getting away from that and saying, ?Hey, we want to promote the players who are the best players.?

Another closely related factor is the MLS?s acknowledgment of its significant Latino fan base, an effort that separates it from its other major sport counterparts.

I honestly believe the league realizes that it has to support and have a place for its minority and more specifically, its Latino community. There are a significant number of people outside of the normal fan ?stereotype? that love this sport and want to support the MLS. There are players, who openly identify with their heritage. It seemed that early on, the league would not market them because of that. I've seen that change over the years. It?s really a simple concept. The MLS has to be honest with their product and with the athletes that they?re dealing with. It is essential to garner support from wherever they can.

What I observed at the soccer tournament I previously mentioned in Boise, Idaho was that it was mostly parents and friends of the players that were out there watching right off the touchlines. I know a monstrous turnout isn't expected at those types of matches, but I?d love to see more people and more interest in the sport in areas such as Boise.

Unfortunately, the tournament?s support wasn't helped any by the number of teams that dropped out because they felt that Boise was too far away. Because of this, two more teams from the host club had to be added at the last minute because so many others dropped out. This tournament could have been a more competitive event. Not that it wasn't competitive, but just that it could have been even more so.

Make it ?Cool? to Attend Matches

Another great challenge for any professional league is making the league a hip destination and not a social or moral obligation.

We have to make our product interesting and entertaining. It needs to become a viable choice for fans and families. No league will survive if it relies on people to attend because they feel badly. It can?t be, ?Oh my God, I should go watch professional soccer.? That?s just not going to work. It?s got to be: ?I had an unbelievable experience. It was so much fun, the level of play was great and the fans were great and I can take my kids and it didn?t break my wallet.?That?s where we have to start and we always have to remember that is our roots.

The Battle Continues

There are other issues facing the MLS that are not only economical, but also cultural. These go to the core of the perception of and value that is placed on this game.

We?re always going to bump up against some culture challenges with this game and in this country. Realistically, there are just some people that just don?t WANT to like soccer, period. There are people who perceive soccer as being not a sport.

There have also been complaints that there are still too many MLS clubs whom are playing in stadiums that are too large for an MLS audience. Alongside this argument, is the one with just as much merit in that MLS teams many times have to play on fields that are marked for American Football? This occurred very recently when an MLS Post-Season Match was scheduled with not enough time to ready the stadium for the weekend?s Regular-Season NFLgame in between the two events. So, the MLSPlayoff Match was played on a fully-striped NFL field. The MLS clubs that do have their own, smaller stadiums like Columbus and Portland, are able to create a more intimate experience. However, as the MLS expands and promotes itself, what they can?t do is go backward. In its infancy, almost every MLS match was played on fields with American Football stripes. It wasn't until Columbus built Crew Stadium did the idea that soccer-specific stadiums would actually work even begin to step into the fore-front

I am by no means a business person, but even I know that to gain the kind of marketing dollars and sponsorship dollars needed to, at the minimum, keep a pro-league afloat, we have to play big.

I firmly believe, one of the MLS?s primary goals should be to secure a league wide television contract. This is something that has been found to be successful in other markets, such as Australia where both the Hyundai A-League and the Westfield W-League have benefited immensely from it. The A-League in Australia has free-to-air television rights and up until the renegotiated agreement this-year, the W-League had the same. Regardless, the W-League still enjoys consistent television coverage through the nation?s free-to-air provider, ABC.

Soccer is a valuable commodity if presented in the right way. We should not be giving this game away. The MLS is content that somebody needs and wants. Demand ?demands?supply and once you give it away, it becomes virtually impossible to monetize it.

Travel and Geography

Returning back to the tournament in Boise, Idaho that I attended; the majority of the teams in this tournament were from Idaho, Eastern Oregon, Northern Nevada and Western Montana. For many of these clubs, I found-out that this is their ?big? travelling tournament for the year. The team that traveled the furthest only spent 6 hours on the road one way. This is a drastic difference from clubs in other parts of the nation who often travel hundreds, if not thousands of miles in what they claim is ??a search for the best competition.? Never-the-less, being from the Midwest and having spent a lot of my playing and coaching career on the East Coast, I can comfortably conclude that there is much more fervor for the sport in those areas.

I was racking up frequent-flyer miles when I was coaching club. It was nothing for anyone in the club to really bat an eye about travelling across the country. When I was coaching at the college-level and was out recruiting, I would hear other coaches complain about how it was a lot for them to come all the way out here and recruit. I was like, now you know how I feel all the time and have felt for years.

MLS, NFL and NBA?OH MY!

The most compelling argument supporting the MLS and its survival may, ironically, be the NBA. In 1946, the basketball league was known as the Basketball Association of America and didn't adopt its current name until 1949 when it merged with the rival National Basketball League. The NBA spent decades and millions of dollars trying to establish itself on the American sports landscape.

With innovative marketing and forceful leadership, the MLS can make similar strides, aided by a greater acceptance of the game itself and the increasing athleticism of its players.

There are a record numbers of youth who continue to play the sport, and collegiate soccer at the top level enjoys popularity. Yet, the most important fact is that the MLS, in a relative sense, is still in its infancy.

Level of Play ?

Although, I?m excited to be living and working in a nation that has a successful Men?s and Women?s Professional League, I?m even more excited at the growth I see in the MLSin my native United States. Yes, I would love for the United States to have a functional Women?s Professional League, but it still remains to be seen if that can fruitfully be accomplished.

The higher-level of women?s play just isn't readily available for players from the US as it should be. I've been asked several times what the level of play in the Australian W-League compares to in the US. They ask if it compares to NCAA Division I? They ask if it compares to the top-end of Division I? The answer is quite simple: it is a professional league and draws some of the best players from all over the world. You have a member of the Canadian Women?s National Team, Arianne Hingst from the German Women?s National Team, two members of the Swedish Women?s National Team, members of National Teams from Australia, England, New Zealand, etc?, just to name a few. When you have that, you get the highest-level of play possible. Are there leagues in Europe and Asia that are better? Maybe, but the level of play in the Westfield W-League in Australia is steps above the best that any college program has to offer. In fact, I have no qualms about making the statement that there is not one college program in the United States that would not be facing relegation at the end of the season if they were to be entered into the W-League.

To better emphasize my point, there are some Americans playing here and I recently spoke with one of them. Her player resume includes one of the top college programs in the United States and a recent WPSL Elite Championship. I asked her bluntly what she thought and her response was quick and to the point. She admitted that she didn't know what to expect down here, but once she set foot on the pitch for the first-time, she quickly realized that these girls can play and coincidentally, she wasn't ready for the opener and had to step-back and refocus for the next week. The level of play was a step-up from what she was used to. We have to understand that, with soccer, you?ll always have 10 to 20 different places you can play at any given time. It?s the caliber of play, however, that becomes important

Regardless of the creation, success, growth, demise, etc?, of a professional league, we still must continue to reach more players and get kids started earlier with fundamentals. Soccer is not basketball. It is not baseball. The fact is; kids are just not going to play pick-up soccer like they play pick-up basketball and sandlot baseball. We just have to accept that fact and move forward. It can?t be a crutch that we blame for why we?re walking sideways, but rather create a shadow that while it might trail behind us, it will never be able to catch us. The (lack of) exposure and Player Development is what will ultimately designate our future. Unfortunately, I?m learning that there just aren't enough people involved in the game in the United States that know that!

Regardless of facts, fiction or what it is, I always have to remind myself that the MLSis in its 17th year going on its 18th year. I can?t forget that it?s a process; it takes time to build a following. However, I believe?no?I see; that there are strong signs we?re headed in the right direction.

Source: http://footballspeak.com/post/2012/11/17/Active-Couch-Potato.aspx

paul pierce strawberry festival knicks strikeforce tate vs rousey ciaa the monkees strikeforce