Gooooaal! Social media and American interest in soccer

By Krystal D'Costa on June 29, 2010 | 1861No Commentshttp://think-social.org/gooooaal-social-media-and-american-interest-in-soccer.htmGooooaal%21+Social+media+and+American+interest+in+soccer2010-06-29+22%3A13%3A56Krystal+D%27Costa

American interest in soccer has generally been lackluster. Still, Team USA’s run for the World Cup this year managed to capture the public’s attention — at least the public using social media outlets. Facebook and Twitter were inundated with comments about the World Cup, encouraging discussion and increasing awareness about the sport in ways previously unimagined. Technology has made all the difference. And it can all be traced to a hashtag.

Ten years ago, the experience of the World Cup for fans who could not be present at the pitch was controlled by commentators. Despite attempts to use Internet sites to create mainstream access, connecting fans with the sport (as well as other fans) was not a simple transaction.Blogs and vlogs, which were just gaining an Internet presence, could provide a more personalized experience of the games and encourage some discussion, but they were not real-time events. The real-time experience was a local one—fans watched matches with friends and family, or discussed them over the phone or around the water cooler the next day. It seemed to be a largely marginal experience for most Americans. However, as we have discussed before on Think-Social, social media has the potential to enhance connectivity between spectators. We saw a glimpse of this during the Winter Olympics: fans were able to voice their complaints about coverage and leverage a more intimate view of the events by following athletes, and share their own excitement over Twitter. With the World Cup, the volume of interactivity has created new experiences. The constant flow of commentary between fans has been filled with exuberance, anguish, outrage, and disappointment, from every corner of the world. The addition of a soccer ball to tweets containing the hashtag #worldcup highlighted relevant comments, and the flag icons that appeared when tweeting a country’s ‘code’ publicized team support. The visibility of the sport has increased immensely.

But what prompted the flurry of social media activity among Americans? Soccer’s popularity has not necessarily changed in the long term. In fact, since Team USA lost to Ghana, the buzz on Facebook and Twitter has quieted some. The World Cup is a global event; one in which national pride and identity is measured by the competence of team representation. Teams’ playing styles are often linked to national identity, and a win or a loss is a commentary on that style and ultimately of the nation itself. What social media has done is provide greater exposure to international commentary, which has in turn incited national responses. Given the expansiveness of social networks, users cannot help but be drawn in by the majority. That is to say, even non-fans who weren’t interested or actively watching the games had a sense of what was going on. It was difficult to avoid the chatter that appeared in Twitter and Facebook streams. For example, Twitter which generally averages 750 Tweets-per-second, reported surges in usages when:

1) Japan scored against Cameroon on June 14 in their 1-0 victory (2,940 TPS)
2) Brazil scored their first goal against North Korea in their 2-1 June 14 victory (2,928 TPS)
3) Mexico tied South Africa in their June 11 game (2,704 TPS)

The end of Japan’s 3-1 victory over Denmark set a record that bested the end of the Los Angeles Laker victory over the Boston Celtics with 3,085 TPS. And Facebook spokesman Jonathan Thaw reported that 30% of all updates referred to the England-US match on June 12^th. These stats are in keeping with data from web traffic manager Akamai Technologies Inc. which reported 12.1 million visitors to its network of news sites on the opening day of the World Cup. People are talking and it’s difficult not to join in.

With the clamor of virtual voices supporting national efforts in the World Cup, social media users have been compelled to join the fray. Social media has made great strides in normalizing participation in the World Cup for Americans. It remains to be seen whether the sport will retain its popularity, but at the very least, social media users have grasped the ways they can control their experiences and participate in international events. The experience is no longer local, and every voice counts.