Nearly six in ten Americans (58%) say they are “especially looking forward” to the Winter Olympics next month, including roughly equal shares of each age group. But when it comes to this year’s other quadrennial international sporting event – the World Cup – it’s largely young people who are waiting for it.
It’s not that young people aren’t looking forward to the Winter Olympics either: 53% are looking forward to the Sochi Games, roughly the same proportion as other ages. But they stand out for their anticipation of this year’s World Cup in Brazil in June and July, as the United States is set to face a exceptionally difficult opening group. Four in ten adults aged 18-29 (40%) are looking forward to the World Cup, compared to just 13% of adults aged 50 and over.
Roughly the same proportion of the public is looking forward to the World Cup this year (22%). as was the case in 2010 (23%), while young people were also the most likely to express anticipation.
This age gap for the World Cup may be explained in part by the views of U.S. Hispanics, who are much younger than the general population. (The median age of Hispanics is 27while the median for non-Hispanic whites is 42.) About half of Hispanics (46%) are looking forward to the World Cup, compared to 15% of non-Hispanic whites.
Young adults’ interest in football is likely linked to higher participation rates than their parents’ generation. To participate in American youth footballthe largest national organization of its kind, grew from about 100,000 in 1974 to 800,000 in 1980 and then to 3.02 million in 2000. But participation has remained virtually at a standstill since then and membership numbers remain to 3.02 million (while the American Youth Soccer Organization has over 500,000 members).
Participation at the secondary level has also increased in recent years. More than 370,000 girls and 410,000 boys play on sports teams governed by the National Federation of State High School Associations. It is now the fourth most popular sport among high school girls and the fifth most popular sport among boys.
This year’s television ratings will test whether anticipation turns into action. More than 111 million Americans watched at least six minutes of the 2010 World Cup, an increase of 22% since 2006, according to Nielsen. By comparing, 190 million Americans watched at least some of the coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Games, according to NBC.
