Soccer has actually been very popular in the US for over thirty years. I played it as a kid, as did everyone else. (This may be more true on the coasts than in the midwest).

The problem is not that soccer is popular its that kids tend to give it up and stop playing it in favor of football or basketball or baseball when they get older.

Also for whatever reason actually watching soccer is not as popular as some other sports here. I think that is slowly changing for the better.

First the US national team is actually pretty good and getting better by all accounts. The World Cup is watched by many americans and I'm sure next year will have great ratings. Major League Soccer is doing ok, the current attempt to bring professional outdoor soccer to America seems to be better run and learned lessons from the NASL and other failures.

But the short answer to your question is no, its not up there with football and baseball yet and probably won't be for the forseeable future. I think the reasons for that are tradition and familiarity. Plus there is only so much sports one can watch, a football game on Sunday is part of life in America, watching a soccer game isn't for most people.

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