Times Poll Shows 60% of L.A. Getting No Kick From ’94 Cup

A Los Angeles Times poll taken June 25-26, the eve and day of the U.S. team’s pivotal game against Romania at the Rose Bowl, indicated that 60% of Los Angeles residents were largely uninterested in news of the World Cup, although the games had attracted the interest of more than half of younger Angelenos.

Poll results indicate that men were more interested than women, and that Latinos led other ethnic and racial groups.

The poll surveyed 1,023 city residents. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points.

Of all respondents, 39% said they were following the World Cup very closely or somewhat closely, with 14% claiming to be following very closely. More than one-third said they weren’t watching the World Cup at all.

The Cup is doing best in the youngest age group (18-29 year-olds), of which 55% were interested, and 23% claimed the highest level of interest.

But at least one-quarter of respondents 45 and older were following very or somewhat closely.

Men greatly outpaced women in their interest. While 55% of men said they were following very or somewhat closely, only 25% of women did so. Only 5% of women respondents said they followed the World Cup very closely compared to 25% of men.

More than one-quarter of all Latinos--28%--were following very closely, with 29% following somewhat closely. Only 35% of whites said they were following very or somewhat closely, as did 23% of blacks.