And yet, it seemed like there was nary a Gold Cup highlight on ESPN.... In fact, in the brief ESPN Deportes highlight featured an MLS game instead. What was the real soccer story on Sunday, ESPN?
I don't think you can draw that many conclusions on viewership of the Stanley Cup Finals because a Canadian-based team was involved. If there were two American teams, particularly a northeast US team, then I think there would have been more viewers. I'm sure there are plenty of Canadian Expats in the United States, but they're not all from Ottawa.
A US National Team game against a rival with millions of expats in the Mexican's favorite sport does not connotate the same feeling as a Stanley Cup finals between American and Canadian cities. It's not that big a deal that American-based teams have won every year since 1993, but it is in Canada.
If a US-Canada Olympic medal hockey game or WCOH Final had similar poor ratings as the Stanley Cup finals, then I would be more convinced that this means something significant. There was plenty of national pride on the line with the Gold Cup, but I don't think many Americans watched the Stanley Cup hoping to see a Canadian team lose another finals.
I think the comparison is apples to oranges. It does not mean anything.
A response to U.S. households tuned into Gold Cup final
Prospect