January 25 by Ric Schenck  BallHype exclusive

As one of the top three contributers and commenters on BallHype, I feel this may be the right time to bring up some disturbing recent findings, and to ask for some useful feedback via BallHype itself and comments to this original article.

Now, I am not looking for a fight.  I am seeking the reasoning from the "other side"... I would like to hear from the folks who run these very large sports news sites and 'all sports' blogs.  I want to know why soccer is not considered a sport important enough to have its own category by you, or its own reporting, or why it's not even covered at all in some cases.  Even many well-established sites (including mainstream media) place soccer within an 'other' category, even though they may give separate sections to sports less popular (such as tennis and hockey).

This is a serious question:  I do not blog, but I know the nature of bloggers, so I can accept a joke or criticism, but I also want serious answers on how you make your case to exclude this sport as a major sport from your daily operations.

10 Important Facts:

1. Major League Soccer has league attendance averages similar to the NBA and the NHL.  The LA Galaxy - for many years the most popular MLS team by attendance - has had an attendance average higher than the NBA's LA Lakers 3 out of the last 4 years, and higher than the LA Kings every year in this decade.

2. Soccer is watched on TV by more Americans than any other sport outside of the Big 3 major league sports, yet it is treated by writers as though it is of less interest than sports like golf, auto racing, tennis, ice hockey, etc.  Again, pro soccer is watched on TV by FAR more people here in the U.S. than any of those.

3. The sports media (including some 'all sports' blogs) are far behind the times in their omission of soccer as a major sport, and in their apparent misunderstanding in how this sport has grown here as a spectator sport.

4. Also, the entire English-speaking Latino population in the United States is being ignored and therefore underserved by those who choose to ignore or disregard the U.S. popularity, and the high numbers of Latinos in the U.S.  Soccer is by far the most popular sport among Latinos in the U.S, and that includes television-watching, and internet information-seeking.

5. I have seen many reports linked on which say there are staitstical surveys or polls of 'all sports', and yet they omit soccer - even to the degree of not including it as an option in the poll or as research in the particular study.  For example, I have seen stories about the most popular NFL jerseys in sales.  These reports never mention that MLS Galaxy jerseys (and for an individual player, David Becham), and USA national team jerseys are big sellers, and in the case of the former, they sell MORE THAN ANY NFL team or player name. Beckham's Galaxy jersey has also been the biggest-selling of ALL adidas jerseys of ALL sports in the ENTIRE WORLD since SIX MONTHS ago when it was first released.

6. The same problem exists when 'most valuable sports team' is named.  Opinions differ on this, because the research criteria differs.  However, the most valuable sports team in the world most years by any measure is a SOCCER team (i.e. Manchester United, owned fully by Americans), not a Major League Baseball or NFL team.  FORBES and other U.S. data backs this up.  Yet, when reported, the soccer teams are omitted by most.

7. We have another big USA v MEXICO match coming in two weeks, and here is yet another prime example of both the popularity and importance of soccer, and also of the degree to which is it ignored by far too many writers.  Do you know that the most-attended sporting event EVER HELD at Reliant Stadium in Houston is a USA-MEXICO friendly match - a match held in the middle of the week (on a Wedensday night) with no official importance of any kind ?  This is the site of the next such meeting, and more than 50,000 ticket have been sold as of this writing (Friday).  Why do so many 'all sports' blogs, and mainstream sportswriters all across the country completely ignore these international friendlies, as well as all of the USA matches including recent tournaments ?

8. Of course, you all know that soccer is the top organized recreational sport in the U.S.  Many of you do not know that this is a sport played by men at more colleges in the U.S. than ANY OTHER, and this has been true for at least 15 years, and it is also now true for women.  There are also more NCAA teams for mens' and women's soccer than ANY OTHER sport, period.

9. There are millionaire MLS players now more than ever, and David Beckham is not the only big name or the only star player - altough he is the most famous soccer player in the entire world.  Did you know, that among Americans, he is as famous than any other athlete OF ANY TYPE in the general population;  He has as much name recognition as Tiger Woods or Kobe Bryant, players who have been media superstars for MANY years. Beckham was ignored by U.S. media until last year, but many average citizens already knew all about him; he has been a star for over 10 years now.  Other players so famous with soccer fans are STILL ignored by the media in general, and that includes 'all sports' bloggers in most cases.

10. My last point is that so many writers are non-fans, and therfore the 'big picture' of soccer's general popularity and interest in this country is completely missed by them.  When marquee soccer matches can fill any number of huge NFL stadiums, break records for any sport held there in numerous cases, and these stories gets ignored, there is something wrong.  When soccer can be available on more TV channels in one's home than any other, and when there are more U.S. channels devoted exclusively to soccer than for any other sport, and this very important fact gets ignored by news reporting agencies and bloggers, there is something wrong.  When adult players in recreational leagues, kids in school and entire families are outside enjoying this sport, and come home and don't even have the possiblilty to get their daily dose of soccer news within the mainstream media or in a particluar 'all sports blog', there is something wrong...certainly !

I won't name names, but if you do not have a section for soccer at this time, you already know who you are.  If you do not give soccer respect, you already know who you are.  A wide variety of opinions on any sport are important, but when - in 2008 - a mainstream sport like soccer that is SO HIGH IN POPULARITY in EVERY CATEGORY imaginable is omiited entirely by some, then now is the right time to think about better serving this passionate, knowledgeable, huge and important segment of society.

Thanks, guys.  If you disagree with this story, I would appreciate it if you comment on it rather than voting it down;  Soccer stories seem to get a disproportianately high number of down votes, and perhaps some are arbitrary.  I don't understand anti-soccer hate or people who say soccer is not a real sport, but that is a topic for another time.  Feedback will help me decide how to approach that topic when the time comes to write on it.

Send me a private message anytime.  I check my BallHype inbox regularly.