Soccer, America’s Third-Favorite Spectator Sport

According to a recent Gallup poll, 7% of Americans named soccer as their favorite sport to watch. As football, basketball and baseball have declined in popularity, soccer has climbed to within 2% of overtaking baseball as America’s third-favorite spectator sport.  Soccer, played by nearly 250 million people, in over 200 countries, is the world’s most popular sport. That growing popularity has spread to Susanville, California.

Lassen Youth Soccer is so popular in Susanville that it has a Fall season and a Spring season and there usually is a registration wait list.

Recently, I went to photograph my grandson play a soccer game. I have never been a soccer fan, but after watching these kids run up and down the field, trying to kick the ball into the goal net, I instantly became a fan. Well, at least a fan of youth soccer. They were relentless in their pursuit of scoring a goal. Up and down the field they ran, kicking wildly at the ball, sometimes connecting with it, but most of the time just kicking air.

By the end of the game both teams had scored a lot of goals. No matter the final score, they were all winners in my book!

Photos from the game can be seen HERE.