The sudden emergence of French soccer as the most popular sport in the
United States has
taken many observers by surprise. "I don't get it,"
Sports
Year editor Nick Fiver admitted in a recent interview. "I don't
get it at all. Americans
have never liked soccer. Or France. But now
all of a sudden every pub you walk into is playing Paris
Saint-Germain
versus Olympique de Marseille or Toulouse versus Auxerre." Football
Channel
programming director Morris Chundle is equally mystified.
"It's incredibe. Incroyable. People are
more excited about the
Championnat than they are
about the Superbowl. Vieweship for
the Lyon-Bordeuax game in February was higher than it was
for
Cardinals-Steelers the week before." And television isn't
the only medium feeling the pinch. "So Foot readership
now surpasses that of Sports
Illustrated," media watcher
Franklin Double notes. "It's absolutely crazy. And the
really
crazy thing is that French soccer isn't even that
good. It's not. Seria A in Italy, La Liga in
Spain, the
English Premiership – all are cleary superior leagues.
And yet they
fight for time on specialty channels like
Fox Sports World and Sentanta." Double shakes his
head.
"Americans don't love soccer; Americans love
French soccer.
it's as simple as that."
