Who Watches the Soccermen?

When I first thought of what the mission for Soccer Made Simple should be, I wanted to show non-soccer fans that the jumble of chaos they see on the field isn’t a whole lot of nothing, but a whole lot of something. It’s a sport full of tactical complexity, impressive skills, and high octane drama. And the best part of all that is how the sport itself can be broken down to essentials very easily. When one understands the basic “Xs and Os” of the sport, the tactical depth can be understood. I have a whole list of topics that I’m thrilled to dive into as the year progresses. As a marketing and communications guy in my main gig, I have a pretty solid road-map and content calendar. I was going to delve a little deeper into the on-field aspects of the game; however, two comments last week from a reader and my brother inspired me to call an audible—to borrow a term from American football—and address the not-so-simple nature of finding the sport on TV or the internet. Because if there is one thing that ruins the elegant simplicity of the Beautiful Game, it’s the business side of it all. More specifically, network and television rights really can make watching games a bit of a pain. So like Beto O’Rourke trying to keep up with the latest Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez meme, I am also going to whip out the Alan Moore reference via the title of this post and explain the complicated side to enjoying soccer. ​

Last week, a reader commented on my story about how time works in soccer, asking what’s an easy way for a new soccer fan to watch the sport on the Telly? Well, it’s easy to explain when and where to tune into soccer games, but it’s difficult in accessing those games. It requires cable and streaming packages. Some options are available, but sometimes compromises must be made. It could become financially discomforting to have to buy packages or channels that you may tune into just once a week or so.

I also had an exchange over text with my brother last week about how Major League Soccer—MLS from here—could better expand its influence in America. There are a ton of logistical hurdles that the league needs to cross before it can mirror the format of leagues across the pond in south of the border. The thing about soccer is that those who love it, really love it. And once they’re into this sort of thing, it’s tough to not be fully immersed and somewhat disconnected from those who don’t “get” the sport. There are pockets around the nation that are absolutely buying into the sport, but the league operates too much like a traditional American sports league. What I mean by that is where other soccer leagues operate on a tiered league system where teams can be promoted or relegated from league levels—all the way to the top, or a premier league—our MLS is its own insular entity where the teams just stay within that league. The US has lower division soccer leagues, but again, they are their own independent entities. I will get more into league and season structures in a later article, but for now this is a quick breakdown of how our own league generally compares to others around the world. I say “generally,” because leagues in Central and South America do their own thing as well, and that’s just a whole ‘nother thing that I will cover later.

While chatting with my brother about MLS, we also touched on the topic the difficulty the league has breaking into national broadcast schedules. Regional channels will usually carry an MLS match, but that can be somewhat iffy since even those small broadcasts don’t go far beyond the reach of the metropolitan areas where MLS teams reside. Even worse, some teams basically allow the networks to broadcast their games for free, and often must use that as a card to even draw the network crews to begin with. When games are finally selected for national broadcasts, it’s the usual suspects with the Europeans that have the most name recognition. Speaking of name recognition, there are few people outside of soccer circles who even know who those players are. If I mention David Beckham and you may ring a couple of bells. Mention Andrea Pirlo—one of the finest Italian players in recent history—and all I’ll get is shrugs. To get back to the point, it’s spotty to catch our own professional league.

What would have helped me as a budding soccer fan about 10 years ago would have been a central place to find out who shows what leagues, and when I can catch games. Luckily, soccer around the world maintains a pretty easy schedule to understand. Games typically take place on weekends, but mid-week matches do happen on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays. In this post I’ll break down networks and the leagues they carry. The most prominent push for soccer in America comes from the English Premier League and their partnership with NBC Sports. Next, you can catch the German Bundesliga and Mexico’s Liga MX on FOX Sports networks FS1 and FS2. ESPN is also dabbling in the soccer world with the aforementioned MLS games, but they have also started to show the Italian Serie A league. I’ll also cover one of my favorite apps for following soccer, which has become probably my most-opened app ahead of Instagram and Twitter.

Lastly, I will note that there’s another network that broadcasts games from Italy, France, Spain, and more. The BEIN Sports network carries these leagues, but I’m keeping this article basic cable friendly. Check out their website for more if you’re curious about keeping up with those leagues.

NBC Sports | English Premier League

As I said, the English Premier League (EPL) is really making some headway in the States. Their weekend coverage and social media reach is untouchable by other networks, and it really shows what a solid capital investment can do for a sport that’s starting to find a foothold in America. Aside from the games, NBC Sports has a lot of coverage outside the lines with Premier League Live, Goal Zone, and Men in Blazers.

Game days: Saturdays and Sundays. (Schedule)

Channels: NBC Sports Network, CNBC, NBC & NBCSN Gold (Streaming)

The Big Teams to Watch: Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea

Teams for the Hipster Cred: West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Everton, Wolves

FOX Sports | Bundesliga, Liga MX

The German Bundesliga has started to gain notoriety in America due to the current stock of young talent that calls the league home. US wonderkid Christian Pulisic is the highest profile American in the league, and he plays for Borussia Dortmund. But he’s not the only one making waves in the land of beer and bratwurst. Weston McKinnie plays for Schalke 04, and he’s made a good impression on the squad. FOX Sports features pre-game coverage from US National Team legend Alexi Lalas. Another bonus is that FOX Sports also airs the World Cup. So when 2022 comes around, you’ll know where to watch. Another thing I appreciate is that the network is also dabbling in Mexico’s Liga MX.

Game Days: Saturdays and Sundays (Schedule)

Channels: FS1 and FS2

The Biggies of Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund, FC Bayern Munich, Borussia Monchengladbach, RB Leipzig

For the Hipsters: Hoffenheim, FC Schalke 04, Werner Bremen, Wolfsburg

The Biggies of Liga MX: America, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Santos Laguna

For the Hipsters: Pachuca, Cruz Azul, Tijuana, Atlas

ESPN | MLS, Serie A

ESPN, when it’s not Stephen A. Smith O’Clock (Hint, it’s always Stephen A. Smith O’Clock), gives the bare minimum coverage to Soccer where it can almost seem like a sports entertainment rendition of Oliver Twist. Unfortunately the schedule for these games can be a bit spotty, and there’s really no pre-game shows to speak of. At best, you’ll have to read articles on ESPN FC, but that’s hardly ideal.

Game Days: Saturdays and Sundays (Schedule)

Channels: ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN+ (Streaming)

The Biggies of MLS: New York Red Bulls, Atlanta United, Sporting KC, Seattle Sounders

For the Hipsters: Portland Timbers, Minnesota United, Columbus Crew, Montreal Impact

The Biggies of Serie A: Juventus, Napoli, Inter Milan, AC Milan

For the Hipsters: Roma, Atalanta, Udinese, Fiorentina

My Favorite Soccer App

I’ll say off the bat that I’m not making any money from this endeavor—yet!—so this isn’t an ad on my part. I genuinely love the Onefootball app (iTunes | Google Play). It’s my daily go-to for following news, players, teams, and competitions. It’s insane, but you can follow every team from almost every major and lower league competitions around the world. Did you have a holiday in Australia? Argentina? South Korea? You can keep track of teams from those countries and the competitions that I highlighted above. It’s worth a download.

Years ago, I really had to dig and research a lot of information so that I could follow and understand soccer. One of the most important factors in getting into the sport is exposure. I hope i have done well enough to provide a resource for you so that as you continue on your path to soccer ecstasy, this will be the place you’ll turn to again and again. There’s a ton more to talk about when it comes to soccer competitions, but it’s best to just casually catch a game or two a week so you can start getting used to the sport. Thank you so much for reading.