(July 4th, 1994: TV Room at Washington University in St Louis at the 1994 US Olympic Festival. A handful of soccer fans watching the USA take on eventual title winners, Brazil in a Round of 16 World Cup knock out match.)

I would describe myself as a casual soccer fan, at best, but even I get interested in the sport during the World Cup. And, as it’s an every four event it brings back a litle bit of nostalgia for different periods in my life. In 1998, I was in Brussels when the USA took on Iran and heard the city erupt into celebration with an Iran victory… An education as to what folks there really felt about the USA. I remember the 2002 World Cup fondly as my daughter was a newborn and early morning matches from Japan/Korea coincided with early morning bottle feedings. Then in 2006 it was fun living in France and seeing a country totally consumed by the World Cup. For sure, I’ll never forget the French crowd reaction to the Zidane head butt in the little bar near Annecy where I watched the final.

Soccer’s Big American Break: The 1994 World Cup

But, for the purposes of this commentary I’ll reflect on the 1994 World Cup as it was the very first time (at the age of 29, mind you) that I ever watched a soccer match. Yes, I was 29 years old and had never watched a soccer match on TV or in person. And, this may sound a little crazy for Europeans and those younger Americans out there, but that is and was not a remarkable statement. In 1994, Soccer was pretty much nothing to most Americans. Oh, we knew what the sport was and that the rest of the world loved it, but we could care less. That’s not to say there wasn’t a small, but very passionate soccer community. And, there were pockets, often with significant immigrant populations, where there was sizable interest. But, there were vast swaths of the U.S. where it simply was not played or barely played. Personally, I remember one (just one) P.E. class where we went to the football field and kicked a ball a bit using the goal posts as soccer goals. Soccer goals and nets in 1980s rural Iowa? Ha! Forget about it.

However, as the 1990s rolled around soccer was starting to make inroads nationwide and with the U.S. hosting the World Cup in 1994 it was a real shot in the arm for the sport. Having recently played in the 1993 Handball Championships and having always been a fan of the Olympics I was really primed to get a bit fired up for the event. Why, I even hosted a USA watch party for one of the group play matches and helped scheduled a noon time pick up soccer match where one of my work colleagues explained what this offsides rule was all about. So, I guess I have to admit I was maybe a bit more than a casual fan.

Watching the USA Play World Cup Soccer at the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival

A week later I attended my last U.S. Olympic Festival in St Louis. For those not familiar with the Olympic Festivals they were essentially a mini-Olympics for the U.S. with athletes being divided up into four regional teams (East, West, North and South) And, not just handball, but for every Olympic sport and even some that weren’t on the Olympic program. Thousands of athletes from across the USA converging on one city for a sports festival. (Podcast discussion on the old Olympic Festivals)

At the 1994 World Cup the U.S. was an even bigger underdog than it was this year’s Cup, but the U.S. snuck into the Round of 16 as one of the best 3rd place finishers in Group Play. The reward? A match vs powerhouse Brazil. A real long shot proposition, but anything can happen in a knockout soccer match and I was psyched to watch it.

At the Olympic Festivals athletes were typically housed in College dorms and in 1996 we stayed at Washington University in St Louis. And, as I recall there was only one TV around for the entire dorm where I was staying. A typical TV room on the ground floor with a lot of foot traffic going by for practices and competition. (I’ve tried to recreate it with AI)

I don’t remember a whole lot about that match, but as I recall Brazil totally controlled the match and the U.S. never really threatened to score. Still Brazil didn’t find the back of the net until the 72nd minute in theier 1-0 victory. Here’s what I do rememember, though:

In 1994 I watched Team USA play a Round of 16 World Cup knock out match in a half-filled room and with lot of foot traffic going by there was a steady stream of people stopping by and asking us what we were watching…

For added context, the people asking what we were watching weren’t just random Joes who maybe didn’t care about sports. No, everyone in that dorm was a dedicated athlete playing their chosen sport at a fairly high level and they didn’t even know the U.S. was playing a World Cup soccer match. Whenever you hear people say, soccer was nothing in the U.S. 30-40 years ago… I hope this anecdote brings it home to you just how really true that statement is.

Because the contrast between 1994 and 2026 is remarkable. In particular, the Round of 16 match the USA played recently vs Belgium is now the most watched soccer match in U.S. history. 50 million viewers! And, it’s the most watched non-NFL sporting event since the 1994 Winter Olympics. I don’t know if this is true… but, I suspect many of those folks asking, “What you guys watching?” 32 years ago didn’t miss this more recent match.

What this Means for Handball Fans Wanting Similar Growth

The remarkable growth of soccer in the U.S. gives handball fans (both in the U.S. and world-wide) hope. Demonstrated proof that real growth is attainable. But, and this is a very important “but”, such hope needs to be tempered with realistic expectations, because as I wrote over 20 years ago (What’s wrong with your analogy?) handball isn’t soccer. I cited 3 main differences that have made handball growth more challenging:

• Handball being an indoor sport and the challenges of finding and paying for a court large enough to play handball on
• Handball being more physical and less ideal for mass adoption, particularly at younger ages
• Handball’s lack of name recognition and the reality that while soccer was unpopular it was still widely known. Conversely, handball has to start with a basic explanation of what the sport is.

I’ll also add another aspect that should temper expectations: Time. As in, such growth doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years… generations really. There are no quick fixes and soccer’s growth very much demonstrates this. It’s been slow and steady for decades. It took years before professional soccer’s Major League Soccer (MLS) turned a meaningful profit. European club soccer matches weren’t shown on TV regularly until the late 2000s. I still remember doing a double take the first time I saw scores shown on an chyron running along the bottom of an ESPN TV broadcast. A seemingly small thing, but unthinkable in the 1990s. Now virtually every pro club match in Europe can be seen in the USA on some channel or streaming service.

TV (or a Good Streaming Service) is Still the Elusive Silver Bullet

I’ve written many times about the importance of regular handball broadcasts on TV. (2012 2020) Or, more recently a good streaming service. TV viewing habits are changing, but I still think this is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet. Even if no one watches a full match anymore, the highlights and social media promotion from an established network/platform helps more newcomers discover the sport. It’s not an instant solution… but, the solution that puts us in a position for steady growth over several years. Not just a once every four year Olympic phenomenon.

I’d like to say that were making progress in this key area, but the reality is that we’ve actually been slipping the past few years. I thought matches being shown on ESPN+ would be an epic game changer… sadly, it demonstrated that a big name provider means very little without some promotion to go along with it. Then in 2024 the EHF made a business decision to move behind a paywall. Somewhat understandable, but disappointing nonetheless. In my opinion, the EHF would be wise to seek out a streaming partner similar to what the German Bundesliga did this past season. Because right now the only people watching the EHF Champions League in the USA are die-hard fans like me willing to pay for a $45 subscription.

Another Example of Soccer’s Growth: Legit TV Revenue

Back in 2019 I briefed the Forum Club Handball (FCH) and part of my presentation included this slide.

Seven years later the U.S. TV rights for the English Premier League (EPL) have just continued to skyrocket. The 3rd NBC contract through the 27-28 season was for $2.7B or $450M/year. (I would have to more than double the scale for an updated slide and the Fox contract years would just be dots now!) Just 13 years ago Fox paid $25M/year. Call me crazy, but I think the EHF CL or HBL USA TV rights “should be” worth at least 1/1,000th of the EPL or $450,000/year. Key words: “should be” No network is just going to write a check. But, if you believe in handball and belive that a decent slice of Americans will fall in love with the sport you should make getting on a quality TV network or streaming service a priority. For sure, give it away for free now and you might even want to pay for the exposure.

1994, 2026, 2058?

As one gets older the prospect of thinking in 32 year chunks of time becomes less daunting. I like to think that I’ll still be around in 2058, and for sure, I like to think that team handball in the USA will be in a better place. However, I’ve been here before. In 1994 we were two years out from a U.S. hosted Olympic Games and there was a sense of optimism that this was going to be handball’s breakthrough moment. I won’t rehash the last 32 years in this commentary, but the reality is that in many areas we’ve actually regressed. And, whatever progress that has occured there’s just not a whole lot to show for 32 years later.

And, now in 2026, again two years out from a U.S. hosted Olympic Games I personally, just don’t have the same optimism of youth. Based on everything I’ve seen and experienced and the events of the past couple of years… I feel more resignation than anything. A sense that we’re up to the plate once again with a golden opportunity and we’re whiffing. Whiffing, big time.

It’s frustrating, but I’m used to it. But, maybe, just maybe soccer’s steady progress can give us a little hope. After all, if anyone had told me back in 1994 that the next World Cup on US soil would have massive watch parties and more people watching on TV than everything but the NFL I would have thought them crazy.

Who knows. Maybe it’s just the darkness before the dawn.