Penalty kicks.

The World Cup is in full swing. Viewership of the matches in Germany seems to be rising above the level of four years ago when the matches were played in Korea and Japan. So the Business Journal asks:

Will soccer ever become a sport that Americans follow with the same enthusiasm as baseball, football and basketball?

Richard Byrd 

Director of Wealth

Management

City National Bank

I watched half of the U.S.-Czech game and couldn't take more. The challenge here is keeping the interest in the game consistent through all age groups. When people go from younger to older, the campaign has to get stronger. The youth is where the interest is strongest. Add to that the "star" value of a game. Golf took off because of Tiger Woods and basketball because of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson before that. We need a strong soccer star like that. Older people like to watch what they are most familiar with. They get to know football players by name and follow their game. That is difficult to do with soccer because of the best pro teams in other places of the world.

Amit Paul Singh

Freelance Programmer

I don't think soccer is ever going to be as popular as baseball or football. American sports are so entrenched in the American society that people are just not going to be open to following a new one or even find the need for it. It is probably the immigrant population that is following the World Cup in the United States. Very few native-born Americans actually watch it. Viewership is probably going to increase but it is certainly not going to be a fever, at least not in the foreseeable future. It depends on the situation in schools. Interest in a sport is developed at the school level. If more kids play soccer in school then more people are going to be interested. I follow soccer more than baseball or basketball.

Jess Romo

Airport Manager

Ontario International Airport

I think it will be as popular. When it will happen? Maybe with the next generation or the generation after that. I have two young sons who both play soccer and baseball. The interest people have in the game, at least where I live, is tremendous. We have a very good soccer program in our city. They teach strategy and the game and that really helps. Just the team dynamic lends itself to kids getting interested in soccer. The sad thing is that it doesn't get the commercial coverage that baseball, football or basketball gets in the United States, but if you go out to playfields, kids--both boys and girls are playing soccer. To me it's the concept of soccer being a world sport. That's why I enjoy seeing the different teams and it is really fascinating.

Thomas Head

Vice President

Glencrest Investment

Advisors

Eventually soccer can be quite popular in the U.S. When I was in college the focus was on baseball, football and basketball. But now my kids are 14 and 17 and one of them is still in soccer league. It's amazing how far the game has come during such a short period. In five or 10 years, maybe it will be more popular but I don't know if it will ever get to a level where there are soccer fanatics like elsewhere in the world. I think there are still too many other sports that compete for our attention here. If you look at baseball, football and basketball, and then add soccer to it all, it is just too much to choose from. The fan base will still go for baseball and football.

Andrew Wilkin

Managing Partner and Creative Director

Wilkin Guge Marketing

America likes winners. So until we have a consistent winning team and superstars we can identify with and look up to, we will not have a true affinity to soccer or to international football. I don't think America will ever, at least in my lifetime, take to soccer so much. Immigration and different cultures are bringing soccer into the American lifestyle. We are seeing an increase in ticket sales and our culture is continuing to embrace the sport. But basketball and football are the American pastimes. To Americans, soccer will never be iconic like that.