This is the war cry of about an equal number of conservatives and sports radio blowhards.
Well...about that:
# The TV audience for England against United States, on both ABC and Univision combined, was an astounding 17.0 million, according to Sports Media Watch.
# The 17.0 million USA v England viewing number is bigger than the first four games of the NBA Finals (14.1 mil, 15.7 mil, 16.0 mil and 16.4 mil). That’s quite an accomplishment considering that the first four games of the NBA Finals have hit a six-year high in overnight ratings, with the exception of Game 1 — which tied a six-year high. Game 5 of the NBA finals netted a viewing audience of 18.2 million.
The NBA finals are also broadcast in prime time, not early afternoon/late morning - though it obviously helps this was on a weekend.
You also, in this case, have to account somewhat that the numbers are low because even in the US, soccer has an awful lot of folks that go to bars to watch the game, a ritual adopted from England and other soccer crazed countries. This is somewhat true for the NFL (especially the Super Bowl) , but I would bet it's much more common among soccer viewers.
The point isn't that soccer is going to supplant the NFL or Major League Baseball or the NBA but it is certainly a popular sport amongst Americans and to look down one's noses at it when compared to other sports just shows you to be the xenophobic idiot you are. It's just as worthy of respect, and/or disinterest as the rest of them.
(pic is the emblem of Hartlepool United FC -- an English club with the rather bizarre, mythically-based, nickname of "The Monkey Hangers")