I was around in those days (in Chicago, of all places). Chess was never "mainstream." The Fischer-Spassky match got some press, and a few receptive people may have been inspired by it, but the masses didn't flock to the stores to buy chess sets and books, and chess clubs did not spring up on every street corner.
Then, as now, a lot of people knew how the pieces move and play an occasional game. A few people were serious about it, but they tended to be inconspicuous. Back then, more people played softball. Today, more people play video games. Not a lot has changed one way or the other as far as chess and the average person is concerned.
I've only been on God's green earth for 18 years. There has never been a time in my life when chess was mainstream. But apparently back in the day chess made the news everyday. Was this due to Fischer's awesomeness? What happened to the popularity of chess? I guess it might have been fueled by competition with those commie sons of guns but idk....
Anyone that was around back in those days, fill me in
(please).