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It's not that all sports should be classy. But tennis is a bit cool because of the tradition and elegance. I'd rather have Rolex, Patek Phillippe or Moet endorsements over McDonald's and Gatorade.
"Fun to watch" is a matter of opinion. I wouldn't say any of the sports are more enjoyable as a spectator. They are about equal to me.
However, I think football and basketball are more relatable to the average American. The average American knows that a FG is 3 points, a "three pointer" is three points, etc. They know what a foul is (and generally what it looks like) and what holding means. With tennis, most people ask "So how does the scoring work again?"
And the rules in tennis aren't even complicated. You have faults, foot faults, lets, "not up" and a loss of point if a player runs into the net. That's really it. There's a new rule that only permits 25 seconds in between points (which Nadal consistently violates).
The more serious fans will be able to talk more about string gauge, the merits of multifilament vs poly vs gut, etc.
People find tennis as interesting as ping-pong. It is not just a lack of knowing the rules, but that does make a difference. People see basketball, they wan't to learn the rules, same with football, people see tennis and they shrug, they don't care what the rules are because no matter what the rules say, it is just a couple of people hitting a ball back and forth.
Part of the problem is how simple tennis is, in every situation, they hit the ball at eachother. In basketball and football, especially football, the strategy changes drastically from game to game. Sometimes they throw a ball, sometimes they kick it, some times they run with it.... sometimes they need a ton of yards for a first down, sometimes they need 1 yard to score. Basketball and football are more dramatic from beginning to end, more things happen... tennis is still hitting a ball back and forth two hours into a match.
But what do I know? According to tennis players here, I am just a low-class troll for not saying only positive about tennis.
There are Americans who do like tennis. There are also Americans who like NASCAR... and horse racing... and Extreme Sports... and soccer... and so many others.
It's just that the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL are the more popular sports in this country. That's why they're called "The Big Four".
One thing I don't get is why people question the popularity of sports in THIS country, more than any other and cry about why other sports aren't more well received. Especially when it comes to soccer. Hell, just the name "soccer" upsets people much more than it actually should.
Good post.
And to the OP, I actually think that the USA is one of the most diverse countries regarding sports. We basically play everything here.
You ask the question as if any country "likes" tennis as an everyday spectator sport. Name me a country that routinely fills up tennis stadiums the same way they fill up, say, soccer or baseball or cricket stadiums.
If you like tennis, watch tennis. If you don't like football or basketball, don't watch them. Nobody shivs a git which sports you do or don't like; kindly return the favor.
Why do Americans like sports with no class, violence, and "I'M A MANN!!!! 'MURICA!!!" sports like the NFL and NBA? It's always made me curious. In tennis, one has to have speed, stamina, flexibility, agility, strength, and power. The NBA and NFL don't need that because each role is relegated to one person...you don't necessarily need to be fast and flexible in NFL, because some of your other teammates do.
For me, it goes like this NFL>Tennis>NBA. So I'm in the middle somewhere.
To try to touch on what you're getting at, there's a certain demographic (certainly not all of the fans of each sport) that likes easy entertainment and there are aspects of either sport that appeal to the lowest common denominator type. There are fans of the NBA and NFL who watch because they want to see the biggest hit or the over-the-top slam dunk. The leagues themselves cater to that demographic by turning the sport into more than just athletic competition. NBA introductions and showboating border on absurd with the loud music and ridiculous laser lighting, etc. The NFL goes crazy with adding mini concerts, dancers, cheerleaders, etc. to their product. There are people who are really drawn to those aspects of each sport and it makes each league a ton of money.
That said, there are other things appealing about the NFL and NBA. The NFL in particular (I'm not an NBA fan). I certainly understand why a tennis fan appreciates that each athlete is so well rounded. It's definitely a fascinating aspect of the sport. And I would agree that athletes in the NFL and NBA don't need to be quite as well rounded as a tennis player. However, there's a "chess" aspect of team sports that I find to be particularly fascinating. Especially in football. While each player may not need to be quite as well-rounded, each team does (this is less true for the NBA, but more on that later). As a Patriots fan over the last 8 years or so, I can attest. An NFL team can be an offensive juggernaut, but it will fail in the end because it's not good enough to stop other moderately decent offensive teams while those other teams have defenses that are good enough slow the offensive juggernaut enough to win. Watching how coaches play certain match-ups and devise a strategy (and adapt if that strategy doesn't work) is a lot of fun. Football is an incredibly cerebral sport. I've watched my undermanned Patriots teams beat plenty of teams that were physically superior because they had better game plans. I've also seen mental errors kill the better team.
The NBA definitely has a huge mental component as well. However, I tend to feel that the league is too dependent on superstar physical talent for my enjoyment. That being said, you could make a case that the best basketball players in the league are the best all-round athletes in the world. I think if you took Lebron James in high school and coached him hard in football he could be the best Tight End in the NFL. Same with baseball. He could be the best power hitting third baseman in the league. I bet he'd have a mean shot in hockey and be brutal against the boards as well.
NFL games aren't over until they're over either. Sure, sometimes the best team will come out and wreck a bad team, and some teams just have bad games. The same thing happens in tennis. Sometimes a player is just overmatched. Upsets happen in football (and basketball) and many teams have big leads the whole game just to lose it on a last minute play. I will say this... the last 2 minutes of a close basketball game are incredibly slow and painful to watch.
Spare me the "class" piece. Tennis players curse, shout, slam their rackets, throw their rackets, yell at judges, ball boys, coaches, etc all the time. John Mcenroe is one of the most notoriously bad tempered, argumentative, loud mouthed, trash talking athletes that ever lived. What sport did he play? Yes, the crowd has to be quiet, and they shake hands after a game. Nice. You'll also notice that after an NFL game, coaches and opposing players shake hands and congratulate one another. Same in the NBA. There's no need to be quiet in those sports so people aren't. In fact, the crowd noise aspect of the games adds in a new level of excitement (especially in football where loud crowds can disrupt a quarterback's play calling ability). It almost allows the crowd to influence the game which personalizes the sport a bit more.
You ask the question as if any country "likes" tennis as an everyday spectator sport. Name me a country that routinely fills up tennis stadiums the same way they fill up, say, soccer or baseball or cricket stadiums.
If you like tennis, watch tennis. If you don't like football or basketball, don't watch them. Nobody shivs a git which sports you do or don't like; kindly return the favor.
That's a excellent point. But unfortunately the OP only mentions the Americans (of course) for lacking the class to love tennis first. Hey OP, how about mentioning all those countries who fanatically love soccer? Because we all know what a classy sport soccer is!
Irfox, really good post. ^^
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