World Cup opens US eyes to soccer’s global roar

LOS ANGELES: Evan Hand had seen viral sports moments before, but the one that changed how he understood soccer’s reach did not come from a superstar.
It came from Vozinha, Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper, whose seven-save performance in a goalless draw against heavily favored Spain turned him into an overnight social media sensation.
“The big moment for me was the Vozinha thing,” said Hand, a sports content creator.
“It was seeing this dude gain 15 million followers basically overnight playing for a team where if you were to look on a map, you could not tell me where Cape Verde is right now. “(NFL star) Tom Brady has less followers than this guy has, and he had arguably the most dominant run in the history of sports.

So that was a moment for me.” For many American sports fans, this World Cup has delivered a similar jolt.
As fans from around the world pack stadiums, television audiences surge and US supporters crowd fan festivals and sports bars, the tournament has offered a vivid reminder that soccer is not a niche sport trying to crack the American mainstream.
It is the world’s dominant game, and the United States is still catching up to its scale. The tournament is already on pace for record attendance.

Through the first 44 matches, total attendance topped 2.85 million, with stadiums averaging about 99.6 percent capacity, according to a Reuters analysis based on FIFA data.
Fox’s broadcast of the US win over Australia drew 16.2 million viewers, a figure likely to be surpassed as the Americans ‌move into the knockout ‌rounds.
“I think for a lot of people who always thought the sport was boring, they’re finding out that it’s exciting,” said ‌Bob Dorfman, ⁠a sports marketing ⁠analyst. “And that is helping the game.”