Soccer's lack of popularity here vs. elsewhere, I think, has more to do with culture and economics. In poor countries, and wealthier countries with urban poor, kids can literally make their own soccer ball out of whatever they can find and play on a patch of ground. You can't really do that with football and baseball - though kids in Latin countries manage to still play baseball. Look at the most popular sport in poorer urban areas in the U.S. - basketball - same concept as soccer - you just need a ball and a court, nothing else. Culturally, kids here that might otherwise take up soccer already have basketball and you can fit 3-4 basketball courts in the area it would take to have a proper soccer match.
I liked soccer as a kid and I'll tune in for some World Cup matches, but football and baseball are my sports pastimes. As I get older, I have more and more appreciation for baseball. Still though, one would think that a country of 330 million could field a respectable national team in any sport...
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