The FIFA Factor

Earlier this year Roger Bennett of ESPN wrote a story in mid September on how FIFA, the popular EA Sports video game title, is changing the popularity of soccer in the United States.

Here’s the link if you’re interested:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/relegationzone/id/291?cc=5901

Anyways, I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to combine both sports and video games in one blog post--how the consumption of video games as a media is shaping the real world arounds us, specifically how FIFA has created a nation of soccer loving fans practically overnight.  Besides, I absolutely love European football, err soccer—the result of watching too much of the 2010 world cup and becoming instantly hooked. 

And apparently I’m not the only one.

In his article, Bennett points out that among males aged 18 to 24 soccer is the second most popular sport, behind only NFL Football.  And he thinks FIFA is to blame. 

The long running EA sports title isn’t quite the well-kept secret it used to be.  It outsold Madden 13 in the United States this year to a fine tune of 7 million copies.  But it’s popularity is pulling a love for the beautiful game along with it.   In many ways it’s astonishing to think that a video game advanced in popularity in the United States before the actual sport did. 

Fear not though, soccer is quickly catching up in popularity to it’s digital counterpart, and this media consumption could have a drastic impact with global consequences. 

While Bennett hints at it, I’ll be more than happy to come out and say it.  If FIFA creates such dedication to the sport as Madden has in young ages past, the US could quickly find itself among the national soccer powers.  

I have friends who quit playing when they were 12, play FIFA, see a trick in the game, and somehow get the urge to go buy a soccer ball and start learning how to do.  Just for the sake of it. 

If the game is able to keep younger ages enthralled about soccer—reversing stereotypes revolving around soccer moms and being a sissy sport, the result could be massive.  New generations learning to play while playing FIFA as well in a culture that now embraces soccer as a major sport—see the huge growth of the MLS over the past few years.  This generation will be given encouragement, fans and a national passion for the sport. 

And it’s because of an overly fun video game that somehow changed our conceptions about the sport, and testaments are abound.  If you flip through the comments on Bennett’s article, it’s full of lamenting individuals wishing they’d picked up soccer or stuck with it after playing FIFA, or stories about how FIFA made them a fan of the sport.

So in the end it’s more than just a game about a game.  It’s becoming the game.  And it’s shaping the world around us.