article_snippet: Attendances are higher than ever before while the number of teams involved has doubled from 10 in the 1996 campaign to 20 in 2015.
article_snippet: Can it be the number two, number three sport in this country?
article_snippet: These positive assertions are backed by the huge interest U.S. fans showed in last year's World Cup in Brazil.
article_snippet: Team USA's group stage clash with Portugal attracted 25 million viewers, according to figures from TV ratings firm, Nielsen.
article_snippet: That's considerably more than the 15 million baseball's 2013 World Series averaged on FOX or the similar audience that tuned into the 2014 NBA finals on ABC.
article_snippet: Anyone who saw 20,000 pumped-up young fans pack out Chicago's Grant Park to cheer on Anyone who saw 20,000 pumped-up young fans via big screens, meanwhile, would find it hard to argue against soccer in U.S. now being anything other than a big deal.