Tolstoy Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Heard this on the Dan Patrick show the other day, and it got me thinking. What sports do you think are in a slow decline in terms of popularity and interest? Which are becoming more popular? Here's my own preliminary list of each (with some help from Dan Patrick). On the Decline: Hockey (though not in Buffalo!) Boxing Indy Car Racing Horse Racing Bike Racing (after the Tour de France debacles) On the Rise: Nascar Soccer Football (can it get more popular in the USA? But it seems to be expanding internationally) Mixed Martial Arts (added after suggestions) Rugby? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Soccer is becoming more and more popular. Seeds are being planted with the youth of America playing soccer. It's popularity is gonna continually rise, slow and steady in America the next 20 years. I bet we win a World Cup in the next 20 years too- which will really boost Soccers appeal. Boxing is dead- MMA is gonna become one of the biggest sports in the world IMO. NASCAR I don't understand- but I agree it is only gonna gain more popularity. I think Hockey will grow. I mean can it go anywhere but up from 2006? Hockey needs to get back on ESPN and needs the exposure. Players like Ovechkin and Kovalchuk are marketers dreams. And Football is America's game! What other sport do people sit around all weekend and watch the draft? Heck baseball, hockey, golf, basketball, etc- are on TV- and people choose to watch the draft. That is very telling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 With it's recent merger, I wouldn't say Indy is on the decline right now. But it's not rising either. If they can get just 10% of the Nascar crowd to watch them also, that would be a huge boost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolstoy Posted May 3, 2008 Author Share Posted May 3, 2008 Soccer is becoming more and more popular. Seeds are being planted with the youth of America playing soccer. It's popularity is gonna continually rise, slow and steady in America the next 20 years. I bet we win a World Cup in the next 20 years too- which will really boost Soccers appeal. Boxing is dead- MMA is gonna become one of the biggest sports in the world IMO. NASCAR I don't understand- but I agree it is only gonna gain more popularity. I think Hockey will grow. I mean can it go anywhere but up from 2006? Hockey needs to get back on ESPN and needs the exposure. Players like Ovechkin and Kovalchuk are marketers dreams. And Football is America's game! What other sport do people sit around all weekend and watch the draft? Heck baseball, hockey, golf, basketball, etc- are on TV- and people choose to watch the draft. That is very telling! I agree with everything you say, though I will reserve judgment on hockey. You might be right. Oh, at the risk of sounding stupid, I have to ask: what is MMA? Is that mixed martial arts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Soccer is becoming more and more popular. Seeds are being planted with the youth of America playing soccer. It's popularity is gonna continually rise, slow and steady in America the next 20 years. I bet we win a World Cup in the next 20 years too- which will really boost Soccers appeal. Boxing is dead- MMA is gonna become one of the biggest sports in the world IMO. NASCAR I don't understand- but I agree it is only gonna gain more popularity. I think Hockey will grow. I mean can it go anywhere but up from 2006? Hockey needs to get back on ESPN and needs the exposure. Players like Ovechkin and Kovalchuk are marketers dreams. And Football is America's game! What other sport do people sit around all weekend and watch the draft? Heck baseball, hockey, golf, basketball, etc- are on TV- and people choose to watch the draft. That is very telling! blah, blah, blah. The field fairies have been saying this for 30+ years. If it was gaining so much popularity, football, baseball, and all other sports would have been out of business long ago. Soccer is just a brutal sport to sit and watch either on tv or even live. Sure it's great for your saturday morning kid thing to help your child stay in shape, but please, the pro and even higher level amateur levels are just boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 I agree with everything you say, though I will reserve judgment on hockey. You might be right. Oh, at the risk of sounding stupid, I have to ask: what is MMA? Is that mixed martial arts? yeah, MMA is mixed martial arts. It is a world wide phenomenon. It is so much more appealing then boxing- sans the shady decisions and unscrupulous people such as Don King. There is no doubt who the winner is in an MMA fight. And MMA is gonna deal boxing a knockout blow. I would not be surprised to see MMA become an Olympic sport soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolstoy Posted May 3, 2008 Author Share Posted May 3, 2008 blah, blah, blah. The field fairies have been saying this for 30+ years. If it was gaining so much popularity, football, baseball, and all other sports would have been out of business long ago. Soccer is just a brutal sport to sit and watch either on tv or even live. Sure it's great for your saturday morning kid thing to help your child stay in shape, but please, the pro and even higher level amateur levels are just boring. Uh oh. I am getting out of the way on this one. Bullets will start flying. If I had to pick a side, however, I am backing up the soccer side. But not to get sidetracked, hey VABills, what do you think about hockey? On the rise or fall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 blah, blah, blah. The field fairies have been saying this for 30+ years. If it was gaining so much popularity, football, baseball, and all other sports would have been out of business long ago. Soccer is just a brutal sport to sit and watch either on tv or even live. Sure it's great for your saturday morning kid thing to help your child stay in shape, but please, the pro and even higher level amateur levels are just boring. The vast majority of the world would stongly disagree. Soccer is the world's game- and it is a beautiful game at that. The ADD, hot pocket, instant gratification segment of America will never get the game. Those that have ever played it will respect and admire the nuances of the game and the skill level required. Soccer players are some of the best athletes in the world. Don 't believe me? Try playing midfield- then get back to me. Soccer will never catch on to the closed minded and there will always be haters. But there is over 300 million Americans, and our hispanic population is on the rise- there is a large segment of America that really loves soccer and the numbers are only gonna increase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 The vast majority of the world would stongly disagree. Soccer is the world's game- and it is a beautiful game at that. The ADD, hot pocket, instant gratification segment of America will never get the game. Those that have ever played it will respect and admire the nuances of the game and the skill level required. Soccer players are some of the best athletes in the world. Don 't believe me? Try playing midfield- then get back to me. Soccer will never catch on to the closed minded and there will always be haters. But there is over 300 million Americans, and our hispanic population is on the rise- there is a large segment of America that really loves soccer and that numbers are only gonna increase I'm reading this while eating a hot pocket, but you better believe the rising Latino population in the US WILL DICTATE the rise in soccer's popularity. VABills: I totally understand your qualms with soccer, but try not to paint with such broad strokes. Soccer is an incredibly demanding sport, one which requires intelligence, stamina, skill, and agility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 and for hot pocket eating, ADD suffering types- Soccer makes for an awesome highlight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 blah, blah, blah. The field fairies have been saying this for 30+ years. If it was gaining so much popularity, football, baseball, and all other sports would have been out of business long ago. Soccer is just a brutal sport to sit and watch either on tv or even live. Sure it's great for your saturday morning kid thing to help your child stay in shape, but please, the pro and even higher level amateur levels are just boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSpeed Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 I'm reading this while eating a hot pocket, but you better believe the rising Latino population in the US WILL DICTATE the rise in soccer's popularity. VABills: I totally understand your qualms with soccer, but try not to paint with such broad strokes. Soccer is an incredibly demanding sport, one which requires intelligence, stamina, skill, and agility. I was in a restaurant in Mexico City during their nation championship match. Not that I know anything about soccer, because I don't, but the crowd seemed cheer for the silliest plays. Oh and best I can remember the score was 1-0 with maybe 5 total shots on goal. Not my idea of excitement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 If it was gaining so much popularity, football, baseball, and all other sports would have been out of business long ago. Hey, there's room enough for all of 'em, baby!! I love soccer, but I love other sports, too. I want to see it all Soccer is the world's common sports language...you can step foot on six out of the seven continents and probably find a pick-up game within the first thirty minutes. It's the game that doesn't discriminate, and it's available to anyone and everyone in the world. I love that aspect of the game, and I love when the World Cup brings us all together every four years to celebrate its awesomeness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 I was in a restaurant in Mexico City during their nation championship match. Not that I know anything about soccer, because I don't, but the crowd seemed cheer for the silliest plays. Oh and best I can remember the score was 1-0 with maybe 5 total shots on goal. Not my idea of excitement. Most games will have more than five total shots on goal, but there is so much more to the game than just the scoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 W....T....F!!!! That's the part of the "culture" (notice I said culture, not game ) that I hate...people need to control their sh--! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fewell733 Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Heard this on the Dan Patrick show the other day, and it got me thinking. What sports do you think are in a slow decline in terms of popularity and interest? Which are becoming more popular? Here's my own preliminary list of each (with some help from Dan Patrick). On the Decline: Hockey (though not in Buffalo!) Boxing Indy Car Racing Horse Racing Bike Racing (after the Tour de France debacles) On the Rise: Nascar Soccer Football (can it get more popular in the USA? But it seems to be expanding internationally) this list is a little dated now and was probably more accurate about 5 years ago - hockey bottomed out about 2 years ago, and I would say is now a little bit on the rebound - so its low, but not still falling - soccer is definitely on the rise - but its a slow growth - Nascar has been on the rise but I've read that it's growth has flattened in recent years - Indy Car, Horse Racing, and Bike racing are one or two event a year sports and don't really fit with the others - boxing has been falling for 10 years and is definitely still falling on the rise - you have to put in the MMA type events - UFC etc. , they've basically supplanted boxing football and baseball seem to be pretty constant basketball i would say is back on the rise a little - the product is a lot better now than it was 5, 6 years ago - its too bad all the good teams are in the west Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ax4782 Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 blah, blah, blah. The field fairies have been saying this for 30+ years. If it was gaining so much popularity, football, baseball, and all other sports would have been out of business long ago. Soccer is just a brutal sport to sit and watch either on tv or even live. Sure it's great for your saturday morning kid thing to help your child stay in shape, but please, the pro and even higher level amateur levels are just boring. I have to completely disagree. Baseball is boring to sit and watch, though I'm becoming more of a fan living in Detroit. That being said, the reason most people think that Soccer is boring to sit and watch is three fold. 1. They don't understand the game. Most people don't understand the strategy or the complexity of upper level professional soccer. A lot more strategy goes into soccer than in a number of other sports. Also, soccer has a number of rules that people do not understand which they think only slow the game down, when in reality, they are part of an exceptional team's strategy. 2. American soccer is sub-par. MLS is NOT a premier quality soccer league. Sorry for you MLS fans, but it isn't. MLS has been getting better, but none of the current teams could compete in any of the European top-quality divisions. Period. That being said, US Soccer is on the rise. The sport is getting more fans to their live games and their TV audience is growing significantly. With World Cup qualifying starting this summer, the Confederations cup in 2009 and the World Cup in 2010, the US National Team is going to get a ton of exposure. They are likely to have a significant increase in terms of fans and viewership. 3. American's don't get to see quality soccer. Most of the European league games are very interesting and are much faster paced than the MLS and National Team contests. If people were able to actually watch a Premier League Game or a UEFA or Bundisleagua game, their opinions about the game would likely change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Well said, ax... Fact is, even the MLS guys will tell you (meaning the owners, not the players) that the MLS clubs couldn't compete with the Euro clubs. But the talent will rise with time, and thus the quality of games will improve. Also, one of the best aspects of the game from a fan's standpoint (IMO) is that the games are typically finished in two hours. I don't usually mind investing three hours of my time into an NFL game, but for a baseball game? Give me a break...I'm not going to sit there for three, three and a half hours to watch baseball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 and for hot pocket eating, ADD suffering types- Soccer makes for an awesome highlight! some of my favorite goals on that video- #32 Zola - sweet goal! #25 Seedork- what a blast! #10 Carlos - one of my all time favorites- amazing! #5 Carlos again - try and do that next time you kick a soccer ball! #3 van Basten - a bicycle kick is one of the prettiest things in sports! That Beckham goal is sick too! I didn't get the number, but an excellent goal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Soccer is stupid. The only reason our kiddies are playing it is because- with the exception of a kick in the shins- it's safe and with such a big field, it tires the little heathens out. Any activity that strickly bans the use of our fabulously dexterious fingers is ridiculous. Boring as hell. Doesn't transfer well to TV. Will never suceed in America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts