Thursday, December 09, 2004
The Other Football Wednesday December 08, 2004 6:00PM PT
David Beckham Forget the BCS and NFL, we're talking about the footy the rest of the world is crazy for. The super European professional leagues such as England's Premier League and Spain's La Liga are in full swing. But the contintent-wide non-league competition, the UEFA Champions League (+322%), is what's really heating up around the world and sparking searches in anticipation of each big game. This week's big match between Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid and Roman Serie A Club AS Roma will be played in an empty stadium as punishment for fans throwing objects at referees in a previous game. (Maybe NBA Commissioner David Stern should ponder staging the Christmas Day rematch between the Pacers and Pistons in a barren gym.
The FIFA World Cup doesn't kick off until the summer of 2006, but searches continue to rise as qualifying takes place throughout the footy-mad world. Even the normally soccer-apathetic U.S. is waking up a bit as the college soccer season comes to an end. Searches are climbing on "NCAA soccer" (+58%) and "college soccer" (+55%).
Top Team Searches:
Arsenal FC
Inter Milan
AC Milan
Liverpool FC
Manchester United Top Player Searches:
Mia Hamm
Maradona
David Beckham
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo
David Beckham Forget the BCS and NFL, we're talking about the footy the rest of the world is crazy for. The super European professional leagues such as England's Premier League and Spain's La Liga are in full swing. But the contintent-wide non-league competition, the UEFA Champions League (+322%), is what's really heating up around the world and sparking searches in anticipation of each big game. This week's big match between Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid and Roman Serie A Club AS Roma will be played in an empty stadium as punishment for fans throwing objects at referees in a previous game. (Maybe NBA Commissioner David Stern should ponder staging the Christmas Day rematch between the Pacers and Pistons in a barren gym.
The FIFA World Cup doesn't kick off until the summer of 2006, but searches continue to rise as qualifying takes place throughout the footy-mad world. Even the normally soccer-apathetic U.S. is waking up a bit as the college soccer season comes to an end. Searches are climbing on "NCAA soccer" (+58%) and "college soccer" (+55%).
Top Team Searches:
Arsenal FC
Inter Milan
AC Milan
Liverpool FC
Manchester United Top Player Searches:
Mia Hamm
Maradona
David Beckham
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo
