In my teens I watched NBA basketball religiously. In my twenties I was a huge MLB fan. In my 30s I watched the NFL every weekend. In my 40s I have athletics daughters and I watch them play and I also watch women’s soccer. Does it help that the US women are a dominant force in the international area whereas the men are just “no longer a joke”. Yes, yes it does.
When my highschooler was younger we’d go watch the Washington Spirit at the Soccerplex in Germantown. It sat about 4,000. This summer I travelled back to the US and caught a Spirit game in the new stadium in Baltimore. Holy shit what a big difference. The crowd now had 19,000 in attendance.