I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s. In those times, baseball and football were the dominant sports. And when it came to advertising, beer’s best friend was football. But could there be a shift where soccer and craft beer are a better fit?
Maybe it is just me but I feel you can’t watch 30 seconds of NFL football without seeing some kind of American light lager (Budweiser probably) ad. And that’s been true for decades.
However, things are changing; football has been faced with serious controversy while soccer is increasing in popularity. We may be on the verge of a dramatic shift as soccer becomes beer’s best friend.
Check Out The End Of The Article For New About Cincinnati Soccer
The Proof Is In The Numbers
I try to not assume anything so I always do some research. But I never ignore how I feel about a topic or what I am seeing locally – Cincinnati, Ohio.
And there is no doubt that in Cincinnati soccer is making a strong move to become the most popular sport in the city. But more on that later.
In addition to what I see and feel, there are countless stories about how soccer has seen a dramatic rise in popularity.
- More Americans watched the Women’s World Cup in 2015 than the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup finals
- Only basketball is more popular among 12-to-17 years olds
- 30X growth in children and teens playing soccer since 1974
- 40% increase in attendance at MLS games in the past 10 years
And while I’m focused on soccer vs football, soccer is gaining popularity in the US compared to every other sport.
Read More Soccer Stats At Umbel
Why Is Soccer Gaining Popularity?
I’m no expert on sports but there are factors that I think are giving this sport its boost.
Global Stage
Americans often assume we are the best at everything – regardless of whether it is true or not. But the reality is most of the world has better soccer programs than us. We are decades behind.
So to compete on a global stage, we must build a culture that embraces soccer. Our national competitiveness to do well in the World Cup is driving the change we’ve witnessed.
Approachable
I find soccer to be very easy to understand. Kick the ball into the goal, only the goalie can use his or her hands, and if you hurt someone you’ll get a yellow or red card.
If you understand that much then you can enjoy the game. This straightforward compared to football.
This means that many that aren’t die hard sport fans can easily enjoy a game of soccer with very little knowledge.
Safety
There are safety issues in every sport and I am often reminded that concussions are very common in soccer.
However, football has come under intense pressure for the long term effects of tackling. For many parents that means they won’t allow their kids to play football.
Instead, they are opting to join other programs; like soccer. If families are not involved in youth football programs then there is a good chance their interest in professional football will diminish too.
Form Factor
I’m not sure that’s the right term for this but I’ll try to explain why I think the “form factor” of soccer is very appealing.
Not only is it easy to understand, it’s also very consistent. The game doesn’t stop until half time except for a few short minutes of added time. So you can predict when it will end much better than other sports.
And on top of that, it’s not heavily focused on individual players (outside of a few) like other sports. So the casual fan can watch without feeling like they need to know who is who.
To take this thought further, many of the players appear to do very similar things – meaning there aren’t a wide variety of positions to know and understand.
People Like To Play Soccer
While some still believe that football is better than soccer, the stats show that people love playing soccer just as much as watching it.
More and more kids are playing the sport and becoming life long fans. Personally, I know many adults that play in soccer leagues but I can’t tell you of any that play in footballs leagues.
Due to the amount of running, many consider it a great form of exercise and entertainment.
Soccer And Craft Beer
When it comes to marketing, brands tend to spend their money where they get the most exposure.
For that reason, sports have always been a great way for beer companies to promote their products. How many hours of beer commercials do you think you’ve watched during football and basketball games?
As soccer is becoming more popular, there is no doubt that these same brands will move their marketing dollars to whichever sport gets the most and right type of viewers. And it seems like soccer might be that sport.
But this goes beyond marketing, it is also about the culture of soccer. I’ll discuss what’s happening in Cincinnati in a moment but I suspect that beer is already a large part of the soccer experience for many adults.
Whether they are watching at home, tailgating before the game, or in the stadium; people are drinking beer at professional soccer events.
The question is whether this is craft beer or if macro beer will dominate this sport much like it’s dominated every other one.
Cincinnati Craft Beer Loves Soccer
Cincinnati is often late to the party. The infamous quote from Mark Twain sums it up:
“When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it’s always twenty years behind the times.”
And while our craft beer community is up to date with many other cities our size, I do believe that we are a little late to soccer.
In 2015, it was announced that we would have a United Soccer League (USL) team, FC Cincinnati. And it didn’t take long for the city to catch a fever for their new soccer team.
Repeatedly, FC Cincinnati, broke attendance records for the USL and the state of Ohio with up to 35,000 people in attendance. People love the winning ways of the team and the fresh energy that is has provided. With this popularity, they are now making efforts to move into the MLS.
But how has the city’s craft beer community responded?
Craft beer in Cincinnati has been a huge advocate of the soccer team from the very beginning. And now just about every taproom hosts viewing parties for each and every televised game.
There are banners hung in breweries and even special beers brewed just for the team. Check out these others ways that local breweries are getting in on the action.
Christian Moerlein – An Official Partner Of FC Cincinnati
If you attended a FC Cincinnati game last year (or stopped into most craft beer shops) then you saw the Christian Moerlein FC Cincinnati Blood Orange IPA.
Not only was the beer fantastic but the can artwork screamed FC Cincinnati.
For the 2018 season, Christian Moerlein is once again an Official Partner Of FC Cincinnati. And this year, they are adding a second beer to their soccer themed line up: the new Original Lager.
Original Lager is a throwback to the pre-prohibition lager days as well as the Premium Lager that was released in the late 1980’s.
The Original Lager will be available in 16oz cans wherever Moerlein beer is sold but most importantly, it will be at every home FC Cincinnati game. And of course, you’ll still be able to grab the Blood Orange IPA as well.
Opening Day Party – MadTree Brewing And Starfire
Do you know what March 17th is? Yes, it is St. Patrick’s Day and it will be full of March Madness basketball as well.
But it’s also FC Cincinnati’s opening day. The city is excited to kick off another season. So is there a better way to do it than by supporting a local non-profit?
Starfire is an organization that I mention on a regular basis because they are doing great work in Cincinnati. They’ve partnered with MadTree Brewing to host a FC Cincinnati Opening Day Party.
It’s a two part event. From 10am – 2pm, it’s family focused with activities for the kids. Including, a t-shirt making station, crafts and music. There is a small cost for the activities but admission to this part is free.
Then at 6pm, the doors open for the FC Cincinnati watch party. It includes pizza, beer, a silent auction and soccer. You’ll want to get tickets to this part of the event before they sell out!
And of course, the proceeds benefit Starfire and their mission of inclusion of adults with disabilities.
Read More About The Event Here
Buy Your Tickets To The Event Here
FC Cincinnati Fan Show Moves To MadTree
MadTree Brewing is the new presenting sponsor of The Toyota Dealers FC Cincinnati Fan Show – hosted by Mo Egger and Tom Gelehrter. This is a radio show aired on ESPN1530 and is all about discussing soccer in Cincinnati.
FCC fans will be able to listen to the radio show live from 6pm-7pm (schedule below) in the MadTree taproom at 3301 Madison Road. In addition, fans can look forward to in-depth discussion of FC Cincinnati with Head Coach Alan Koch and players joining the show as guests.
There is even opportunities for the crowd to ask questions so this is a must for FCC fans.
“We’ve been FC Cincinnati fans since day one and we’re excited to be able to host the FCC Fan Show, which will talk more in depth about one of the most exciting professional sports franchises in town,” said Brady Duncan, MadTree Brewing Company co-found. “The only think better than watching soccer with a beer is talking about it with a beer.”
Schedule – All Shows Are From 6pm – 7pm
April 4, April 18, May 9, May 17, June 20, July 11, July 25, August 8, August 16, September 5, September 19, October 10
Mark you calendars and be sure to wear FCC colors.
Final Thoughts
I’m excited to see what FC Cincinnati will do for my city and what soccer will become over the next decade. There’s little reason to not believe that it will continue to grow in popularity.
But I have to ask, is it just Cincinnati that has fallen in love with their soccer team? It could be that this is just new to my city and the trend may fade.
My intuition tells me that soccer is here to stay and I am excited to see that craft beer has been quick to be a supporter. I’d love to see local craft beer to be the choice of fans regardless of where they are watching the game.
Soccer and craft beer go hand in hand and hopefully it’s a pairing that can last.
2 thoughts on “Soccer And Craft Beer: Could Soccer Replace Football As Beer’s Best Friend?”
Beer and football, as we say in the UK, definitely go hand in hand, although you don’t see much craft beer at our football stadiums. Mainly just the mass produced lager. I see that Surly are working in partnership with Minnesota United which can only be a good thing. I wish craft breweries could get a foot in the door over this side of the pond.
The large, marco lager companies have very large marketing budgets and they are able to leverage quite a bit of control over what is or is not sold at stadiums. It’s the ugly side of marketing and prevents many craft breweries from participating. Hopefully consumer demand will help drive some change in tap lists but marketing dollars will always be required for anything more. But you never know what will happen!