Bundesliga lost in the soccer crowd on U.S. TV

Managing to get a grainy picture of an Italian league game on Channel 26 on a Sunday afternoon, replete with Italian commentary, was a godsend.

Irish and English pubs smart enough to have installed large satellite dishes on their roofs beamed in big games from Europe, charging punters $20 at the door, a hefty sum before plundering the wallet to pay for Guinness at the bar.

For years, German football languished on Gol TV, out of reach for much of soccer’s burgeoning cable viewership in the United States.

Across the dial on NBC, more than 3 million people watched eight English Premier League games with Manchester City versus Chelsea netting 818,000 of that number on Sunday.

In April, the Univision network posted 3 million viewers in the Super-Clasico match between Chivas de la Guadalajara and Club America, the most watched club soccer game in the U.S. in the past five years.

Nary a week goes by without the soccer broadcasters sending ALL-CAPS press releases to the in-box proclaiming another viewing figure record smashed.

In Las Vegas last weekend, singer and avowed soccer lover Rod Stewart finished a successful run of shows at Caesars Palace.

Enough copies of his hit single, “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” were sold to keep his’s books as good as his looks for the rest of his life.

Photos on Twitter showed the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer with Celtic fans toasting their good fortune for packing their soccer tops on their vacation to Sin City, while getting to meet a legend.