I think you would be surprised how well followed soccer, fussball, or Association Football is followed in many parts of the US and the rest of North America. It is a growing sport, otherwise there would not be the MLS teams there are in such places as New York, Los Angeles, Portland (Oregon) and - SURPRISE - Philadelphia.

I can only speculate about why this year's World Cup has poor ratings. That, I suspect, is because; a, it's being held in Russiaicon; and b, the time the live broadcasts are aired (GMT +2 for Western Russia).