[isaidso]

Originally Posted by pj3000

True. Because other countries don’t have it. If Europe and South America had college soccer, it would be insanely popular. If Canada had college hockey (at the major level), it would be huge.

College basketball and football have long had their followings, but became huge national pastimes in the US because of the popularity and influence of the professional leagues and television/media. They became massively popular with the advent of cable TV in the 1980s, granting the ability to watch games played anywhere every day/night of the week. The advertising revenue followed, and the self-perpetuating cycle began.

College football used to be a big deal in Canada but support for it fell off a cliff a long time ago. Believe it or not, but the University of Toronto Varsity Blues football team had higher average attendance than the NFL back in 1950. Today, they'd be lucky to draw 2,000 people to a game. It took such a different trajectory in Canada vs the US. Population had a lot to do with it. In the US there were tons of very populated places with no pro football. College football filled the void. In Canada, we don't even have enough large metros to support the domestic pro league.