ZachTheZip Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 I'm trying to find a link somewhere to confirm this. I was listening to the radio and they were talking about the Harris Poll's yearly ranking of sports popularity. They ask two simple questions: "Do you follow sports" and if you say yes "what is your favorite sport?". Of course the NFL was tops with the MLB a distant second and the NBA falling behind NASCAR and equal to the NHL. College Football was third. But what really shocked the radio guys was the popularity of college basketball, which despite March Madness was equal to the popularity of College Soccer! Think about that. Basketball is generally considered the "second sport" behind football in the college world, but Soccer has gained in popularity to rival that. Of course the money aspect is still far behind what basketball brings, but in terms of dedicated hardcore fans, the sports are equals amd we're at the forefront of it all. Again, I'm basing this off what I heard discussed on the radio, and can't get a working link where I am located (I'm using my phone to do this) so if anyone can dig it up, that would be sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted January 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 I found the source. They don't distinguish between college soccer and professional. It's just listed as "men's soccer", which poll participants could interpret either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 I found the source. They don't distinguish between college soccer and professional. It's just listed as "men's soccer", which poll participants could interpret either way. LOL! I loved this statement: "Two sports however, women's professional basketball and women's college basketball, are not favorites for any sports fan." It's certainly good to confirm what I am not. I wonder how many people who said they did not follow any sports reported they love soccer. Anyone in the know knows that football (i.e., "soccer") fans know their game is much more than any mere "sport". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 This is interesting. I'd like to see them expand on this a bit. Maybe go with 2nd and 3rd favorites, and put a point value on them. As you indicated, I think the fact that there is no distinction between pro and college soccer affects this number a little bit. But, I am not surprised at all that 4% would say that soccer is their favorite sport. I am a bit surprised that college basketball is so low. But as I said above, I think you'd find that it would have rated pretty high with many sports fans as one of their favorite sports, even if it wasn't the top one. It would have to. There's a reason why it's on TV so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoZips Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 I found the source. They don't distinguish between college soccer and professional. It's just listed as "men's soccer", which poll participants could interpret either way. LOL! I loved this statement: "Two sports however, women's professional basketball and women's college basketball, are not favorites for any sports fan." It's certainly good to confirm what I am not. I wonder how many people who said they did not follow any sports reported they love soccer. Anyone in the know knows that football (i.e., "soccer") fans know their game is much more than any mere "sport". Ah, but women's vollyball is ranked right behind NFL football ... !!!! Got to love those Danskin togs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally B Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 I have no problem with this. How many college soccer fans do you know that aren't fans of pro-soccer. In fact I would say the pro fans are migrating to the college ranks. Exposure to the likes of ManU (and now the world cup) has definitley influenced college soccer fans. I would expect our very own AKRowdies to be no different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 But this give you a little idea of how far we have to go. Around 1,000 folks to celebrate the Zips soccer championship and 78,000 celebrate Auburn's football title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottditzen Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 But this give you a little idea of how far we have to go. Around 1,000 folks to celebrate the Zips soccer championship and 78,000 celebrate Auburn's football title. I think our celebration should have been planned to be a little bit more elaborate. For one thing, it should have been an all night affair, and have included a fundraising component. God knows I would have gladly supported a cash bar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted January 24, 2011 Report Share Posted January 24, 2011 and maybe had it within a month of the actual championship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip_ME87 Posted January 24, 2011 Report Share Posted January 24, 2011 On the timing of the Soccer celebration, I have to credit UA for doing the best they could. With the timing of the College Cup, Christmas break, the MLS Combine, and the start of MLS training camps, there really was no other day to schedule the celebration that would have allowed the MLS-drafted players to be part of the celebration. As it was, Kofi was unable to stick around for the autograph session because he had to catch a flight. IMHO, the best way to celebrate is to show up this Spring and next season at as many games as possible. Pack Lee Jackson Field and support our team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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