Judging by the TV ratings and Twitter activity, the U.S. — or at least wide swaths of it — really has gone wild for the World Cup.
The ESPN-televised U.S. vs. Ghana game drew 11 million viewers and a 7.0 overnight rating, the highest such rating ever for a men’s World Cup match on ESPN or ESPN2. SportsBusiness Daily Managing Editor Austin Karp tweeted that the rating was the second-highest for a group stage World Cup game on U.S. television.
7.0 overnight rating for US-Ghana behind only ABC's 7.5 in 2010 for US-England for top-rated group stage match on US TV
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) June 17, 2014
Related: World Cup 2014: A Guide for Americans
The TV ratings were highest in Washington, D.C. (an 11.8 rating) and New York (10.2), while viewers in Hartford and New Haven, Conn. (10.1) and Boston (10.0) also tuned in to the game in large numbers. ESPN said the game also set a viewership record for its WatchESPN app, with 1.4 million viewers.
For the World Cup overall, ESPN says ratings on its networks and ABC are up 19 percent over the 2010 World Cup.
That activity on Twitter was also high, though not record-breaking. During Monday’s 2-1 U.S. win over Ghana, 4.9 million tweets were sent, according to the official @TwitterData account. That’s the fifth highest number of tweets sent during any World Cup game so far.
Twitter reported that the Brazil vs. Croatia match (12.2 million) drew the highest number of tweets of any World Cup game. Germany vs. Portugal (8.9 million) was next on the list, followed by Netherlands vs. Spain (8.3 million) and England vs. Italy (7.2 million).
Related: 10 Reasons You Should Be Watching the World Cup
Team U.S.A.'s following isn't just making digital waves. ESPN reporter Darren Rovell tweeted that sales of Team U.S.A. gear are up 300 percent over the past 24 hours at Fanatics, an online sports apparel retailer.
As excited as U.S. fans might be, it’s hard to top the glad-handing giddiness displayed by Vice President Joe Biden when he visited the national team’s locker room after its win. Because of course.
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