Soccer's "Next Big" Push Has Begun -- Again

With less than a month until World Cup games begin on the ESPN family of networks, and with less than a day until Fox Sports airs a top-notch international soccer match, the latest push for soccer as the next big thing in the United States has started.

With the A-list powerhouse New York Cosmos, soccer had its first big (and semi-successful) push here in the colonies in the 1970s. Since then, the sport has had high points at its highest levels -- among them Brandi Chastain's penalty kick to win the Women's World Cup on U.S. soil in 1999 -- as well as an abundance of average and low points. Do you remember David Beckham's much-hyped but ill-fated arrival to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy?

Still, TV types remain emboldened (thanks to a vocal soccer community) and undeterred (thanks to an abundance of hours of programming that need filled). So, we'll get round-the-clock World Cup coverage from South Africa starting soon. Already the commercials -- and they are well-done promo pieces -- have begun in earnest on ESPN.

At the same time, Fox Sports officials -- which has the Fox Soccer Channel, available mostly on satellite services and sports tiers of some cable operators -- anticipate weekday coverage of the UEFA Champions League final from Madrid (2:30 p.m. Saturday with Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan) as the latest test case, of sorts, for soccer on network TV in the United States.

As always, it comes with abundant optimism -- and perhaps a bit too much hyperbole.

"My feeling is soccer is on the cusp, partly because ESPN is treating the World Cup, for the first time, as a major event," Fox Sports chairman David Hill told USA Today. "There could be more soccer on the network."

He told another reporter, using a little more caution and context, that soccer and the Fox Soccer Channel might never rival baseball and football in the United States, or even the MLB Network and NFL Network, but felt that "there is plenty of room for soccer to thrive in this country."

Expect several networks to find room for soccer in the future, too. Even if the United States does not enter some soccer golden era (and it probably will not), more soccer on TV seems certain.

With the proliferation of channels, as well as online and remote viewing options, the need for content grows every day. Along with college soccer, both men's and women's, the MLS has found exposure (thanks to its partnership with ESPN) and if Fox Sports moves to nightly Major League Baseball games in the future, it would have a programming slot for Saturday afternoon soccer on its main network.

More coverage of games will not mean the sport has suddenly become a strong TV draw or a wildly popular option (for participation beyond youth levels or viewing), though. It just means it has a place on TV.

Now it might eventually parlay that place into more widespread popularity -- and soccer could be better positioned to craft such success now than at any other time in the United States, simply because a sports-specific channel and loyal fan base might be enough to create a prudent financial approach that works -- but that would be a surprising development for the sport in this country.