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Millions of Americans dared to dream the impossible dream as Fox’s World Cup ad campaign aptly described throughout the U.S. Men’s National Team’s once-in-a-generation World Cup run on home soil. Alas, many of those millions of Americans were left with the same feelings of emptiness and disappointment, as has become so familiar for men’s soccer in this country, when the USMNT’s run came to a screeching halt at the hands of Belgium in a last-16 tilt on Monday evening.
It was the fourth consecutive time the American men have exited a World Cup in the round-of-16, barring the disastrous 2018 tournament that the Yanks failed to even qualify for. As you probably heard many times throughout Monday’s telecast, one would have to trace all the way back to 2002 to find a USMNT World Cup run beyond the final 16; a quarterfinal berth that still proves to be the U.S.’s only one in the modern World Cup format.
But judging by the social media reaction on Monday night and throughout the day on Tuesday, and the record-setting viewership figures USMNT games were posting throughout this World Cup, there was a resonance with this team that hasn’t necessarily been the case in prior years. Fox is touting an audience of 30 million viewers for Monday’s game, a figure that will likely increase once Nielsen releases its final tally. More than 26 million viewers watched the first knockout game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. And USMNT group-stage games were clocking in at near 20 million viewers. Those figures aren’t even counting Telemundo’s Spanish-language audiences.
To put these audiences in perspective, the USMNT averaged viewership comparable to a solid Sunday Night Football game or the NFL Wild Card round during its run. The English-language audience for Monday’s game against Belgium will likely surpass the College Football Playoff National Championship between Indiana and Miami (30.1 million viewers) when all is set and done.
Millions of Americans dared to dream the impossible dream as Fox’s World Cup ad campaign aptly described throughout the U.S. Men’s National Team’s once-in-a-generation World Cup run on home soil. Alas, many of those millions of Americans were left with the same feelings of emptiness and disappointment, as has become so familiar for men’s soccer in this country, when the USMNT’s run came to a screeching halt at the hands of Belgium in a last-16 tilt on Monday evening.
It was the fourth consecutive time the American men have exited a World Cup in the round-of-16, barring the disastrous 2018 tournament that the Yanks failed to even qualify for. As you probably heard many times throughout Monday’s telecast, one would have to trace all the way back to 2002 to find a USMNT World Cup run beyond the final 16; a quarterfinal berth that still proves to be the U.S.’s only one in the modern World Cup format.
But judging by the social media reaction on Monday night and throughout the day on Tuesday, and the record-setting viewership figures USMNT games were posting throughout this World Cup, there was a resonance with this team that hasn’t necessarily been the case in prior years. Fox is touting an audience of 30 million viewers for Monday’s game, a figure that will likely increase once Nielsen releases its final tally. More than 26 million viewers watched the first knockout game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. And USMNT group-stage games were clocking in at near 20 million viewers. Those figures aren’t even counting Telemundo’s Spanish-language audiences.
To put these audiences in perspective, the USMNT averaged viewership comparable to a solid Sunday Night Football game or the NFL Wild Card round during its run. The English-language audience for Monday’s game against Belgium will likely surpass the College Football Playoff National Championship between Indiana and Miami (30.1 million viewers) when all is set and done.
21 days ago
