This is an official petition to get soccer more coverage on ESPN. The soccer-following American public is fed up with the amateur treatment given to the sport by the American media, especially ESPN. Soccer is a rapidly growing sport, millions of youths have been playing the game for decades, and recently, professional and international soccer have become popular and intriguing to many sports fans in this country. Proof More Americans watched the World Cup than the World Series and the NHL Playoffs. Yet baseball and hockey receive significantly more of a spotlight than soccer from ESPN. Even the WNBA, the World Series of Poker, and Arena League Football get more exposure than soccer. To find decent television coverage, soccer fans must resort to purchasing extra channels in cable or satellite deals. This is not fair, not balanced, and not right. Our suggestion to ESPN is simply this: Give the sport a higher profile. At least treat it as you do hockey, which is severely diminishing in popularity. Televise more games. Show highlights of MLS games on Sportscenter. Create a 30-minute show that highlights the MLS, covers Americans playing abroad, reports on the U.S. National Teams, shows updated standings of the big European leagues (EPL, La Liga, Series A, etc.), and provides in-depth analyses. This would help people understand the intricacies of soccer and the reasons why it is a beautiful game. Soccer\'s biggest problem is that not enough American sports fans give it a chance, and if they do, they don\'t understand what\'s going on. If soccer became a mainstream sport, the potential would be huge for ESPN. However, that will not happen until the sports media covers it as such. Masses of soccer fans exist in this country. We are loud, passionate, and demand better coverage of the sport we love.

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