By Montse Fabregat Lopez
As the first round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup knockout phase comes to an end, people’s excitement gets harder to control. It doesn’t matter where they are or who they’re with, the anticipation flows through everyone’s veins. But some Americans don’t seem to agree.
Sophia Roberts an American student said: “I feel like the World Cup is less important in America.” She also said football had more of an impact in American culture. Max Covin says “The United States of America are known for sports like basketball, football and baseball”.
Statistics from Nielsen show that within the first sixteen games, FOX Sports and Telemundo TV viewerships went down 44% in comparison to the last World Cup in 2014. Joana Saraiva, a Portuguese student, thinks that a key element that can change a person’s interest for the World Cup is if your own country is competing or not. Hunt Mitcholl a former Soccer Player says “Tradition is definitely a key element.”
Seeing as the United States of America is not a part of this year’s tournament, some Americans find it hard to relate to other countries’ excitement as the end of the world-wide tournament is nearing. Covin says “World stopping importance, is exclusive for breaking news.”
While in the United States of America the World Cup is, if noticed, just another tournament, in other countries, mainly Latin America and Europe, the World Cup is more than just an athletic event. It is considered a social movement since “It gives the country a sense of community”, according to Saraiva.
Now that the United States National Team is out of sight, both FOX sports and Telemundo TV have redirected their attention to the Mexican team that was beaten 2-0 by the Brazilian team on July 2nd, 2018. Seeing Mexico defeat the feared German squad and climb its way to the top of their group, caught the attention of many, including TV personality Oprah who didn’t hesitate to support the Hispanic nation through an Instagram Video on July 2nd, 2018 that has since gained 1,554,636 views.
Even though not many Americans watch the World Cup, they are able to recognize it as an important athletic event and acknowledge that it is a bonding opportunity with people from other countries and cultures. Roberts calls it “a starting place for anything”.