Why millions of Americans dreamed the impossible dream this World Cup

This originally appeared in Wednesday’s edition of The A Block, Awful Announcing’s daily newsletter with the latest sports media news, commentary, and analysis. Sign up here to be the first to know everything happening in the sports media world.

Millions of Americans dared to dream the impossible dream as Fox’s World Cup ad campaign aptly described throughout the U.S. Men’s National Team’s once-in-a-generation World Cup run on home soil. Alas, many of those millions of Americans were left with the same feelings of emptiness and disappointment, as has become so familiar for men’s soccer in this country, when the USMNT’s run came to a screeching halt at the hands of Belgium in a last-16 tilt on Monday evening.

It was the fourth consecutive time the American men have exited a World Cup in the round-of-16, barring the disastrous 2018 tournament that the Yanks failed to even qualify for. As you probably heard many times throughout Monday’s telecast, one would have to trace all the way back to 2002 to find a USMNT World Cup run beyond the final 16; a quarterfinal berth that still proves to be the U.S.’s only one in the modern World Cup format.

But judging by the social media reaction on Monday night and throughout the day on Tuesday, and the record-setting viewership figures USMNT games were posting throughout this World Cup, there was a resonance with this team that hasn’t necessarily been the case in prior years. Fox is touting an audience of 30 million viewers for Monday’s game, a figure that will likely increase once Nielsen releases its final tally. More than 26 million viewers watched the first knockout game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. And USMNT group-stage games were clocking in at near 20 million viewers. Those figures aren’t even counting Telemundo’s Spanish-language audiences.

To put these audiences in perspective, the USMNT averaged viewership comparable to a solid Sunday Night Football game or the NFL Wild Card round during its run. The English-language audience for Monday’s game against Belgium will likely surpass the College Football Playoff National Championship between Indiana and Miami (30.1 million viewers) when all is set and done.

Obviously, the momentum of a home World Cup helped draw in a lot of casuals. This country felt the excitement in real ways. Fan fests sprang up across the U.S. Every sports bar became a de facto watch party for whatever game was on. And, of course, the time zone’s convenience made this year’s World Cup much easier to consume than, say, the 2022 edition in Qatar.

But perhaps an underrated part of the USMNT’s run in the tournament was the newly expanded format. For the first time, the World Cup featured 48 teams instead of 32. The result? More days between games to build momentum. Instead of a match every four days, as under the previous format, the U.S. played about once a week, guaranteeing a longer stay in the tournament regardless of performance. 48 teams also meant weaker competition, equating to more U.S. wins and more goals. (This was also helped by the U.S. hosting the event, placing it in a pot with other top-rung countries during the draw.)

Here’s a handy chart made by our own Ben Koo.

As you can see, the USMNT spent 10 extra days still alive in the World Cup this year as compared to the three prior tournaments, despite exiting at the same stage each time. That’s valuable time to keep the American audience engaged and dreaming the impossible dream.

The step down in competition also created a mirage of sorts that this team might’ve had a deeper run. The Americans scored 11 goals, more than double their previous four World Cup appearances. Additionally, the team won more games in this World Cup than any American team ever had in a single World Cup and equaled the combined win total of the past three appearances.

To be sure, this was the most talented roster the USMNT has ever brought to a World Cup, and advancing past the round of 16 was a reasonable expectation. People’s high hopes were justified. But the new format helped build expectations to new heights as well.

It’s why the disappointment around this team is palpable. No longer are American soccer fans simply happy to make the final 16. We all saw the flashes of brilliance. Instead of sweating through two weeks of tight games capped off with a loss to a superior European side, Americans cruised through the World Cup for nearly a month, only to get trampled by a Belgian team that, by market value, isn’t that far superior to the USMNT.

For a solidly middle-of-the-road team like the U.S., the expanded format is a recipe for dreaming. Perhaps as the cadence of the 48-team World Cup becomes more normal during future editions, those expectations will be adjusted. Maybe there will be less stake given to the group stage. But for now, FIFA has successfully captured the imagination of soccer fans in America for longer than any prior World Cup. Keeping fans engaged longer could prove just as valuable as the added game inventory itself in media companies’ evaluation of the World Cup as a television product.