World Cup 2014 (football, leagues, league, English)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just for comparison, the hockey league (which is the biggest spectator sport in Finland), draws around 4500 on average. The football league maybe 2500, the basketball league 900. But when France is playing WC quals against Finland in Helsinki, it's sold out with 37k spectators, and the Finland-Spain match last autumn was sold out in hours. Even in totally sports crazy nations like Serbia, a football league match between weak teams may attract 300 spectators.
This WC has had a spectator average of over 900k out of a population of 5.5m so far, and we don't even play in it!
Some other sports events attract huge crowds, as long as it's once a year or every 4 years. Going to a match on a rainy late October evening between the league 10th and 12th is a niche thing all over Europe, just as you said.
And the WC is a spectacle, and everyone wants to be a part of it, never mind if they can't care less for the next year.
Attending league games in general is just not a European thing. Sports don't have the same entertainment factor here as they do in the US. There's no half-time show, no cheerleaders, no snacks, no commercials. There's the sport and nothing else. People who are just looking for some family-friendly entertainment wouldn't necessarily attend a football league game. Only the big clubs (like Ajax in the Netherlands) can draw 50,000+ on average for league games.
The Bundesliga has the highest attendance record in Europe with 45,000 spectators on average. The EPL has an average attendance of 36,500. The Spanish PD has an average attendance of 27,000. And these are the three biggest leagues in Europe.
Attending league games in general is just not a European thing. Sports don't have the same entertainment factor here as they do in the US. There's no half-time show, no cheerleaders, no snacks, no commercials. There's the sport and nothing else. People who are just looking for some family-friendly entertainment wouldn't necessarily attend a football league game. Only the big clubs (like Ajax in the Netherlands) can draw 50,000+ on average for league games.
It's a thing in few countries. Like in the UK, Germany, Poland, Sweden and Norway. In the rest of Europe only certain clubs may attract big crowds, like Ajax or Barcelona. Go to a Portuguese league match and someone might be surprised. Benfica had an average attendance of 44k last season, small Rio Ave 2.3k.
The entertainment and spectacle factor is true. A NFL match or something is a familly event, and can offer you heated seats, good food and every possible entertainment troughout the match, before and after. Compare that to a Hungarian league match where you sit on a crappy chair in a stand without roof and if you're lucky you may have a sausage and a beer at half time.
I can think of 1000 better ways to spend an Sunday evening than watching an VVV Venlo match in 3C and sleet, if I weren't a devoted fan.
... except if there's a fight! Then there's a reason! (Not serious.)
Attending league games in general is just not a European thing. Sports don't have the same entertainment factor here as they do in the US. There's no half-time show, no cheerleaders, no snacks, no commercials. There's the sport and nothing else. People who are just looking for some family-friendly entertainment wouldn't necessarily attend a football league game. Only the big clubs (like Ajax in the Netherlands) can draw 50,000+ on average for league games.
The Bundesliga has the highest attendance record in Europe with 45,000 spectators on average. The EPL has an average attendance of 36,500. The Spanish PD has an average attendance of 27,000. And these are the three biggest leagues in Europe.
Yes, sports, especially football is mostly a love for the game. Its a business second. It's the other way around in the states. American sports are a HUGE lucrative enterprise. Since there is only twelve mins of actual action in an American football game, there needs to be a lot of distraction. Everything from cheerleader, halftime shows, shooting t-shirts out into the crowd, family entertainment, etc. Its all money making machine for the sponsors. Ad revenue must be protected at all costs.
That's why there is less drama in American sports. That's why Americans don't get the emotion behind it and why they're always just laughing at tearful fans and players and shouting its just a game. To us, sports is just entertainment first, an athletic competition 2nd
Speaking of American sports, did you know Kobe Bryant grew up in Italy and is an avid football fan and AC Milan supporter? I thought this was quite surprising
Yes, sports, especially football is mostly a love for the game. Its a business second. It's the other way around in the states. American sports are a HUGE lucrative enterprise. Since there is only twelve mins of actual action in an American football game, there needs to be a lot of distraction. Everything from cheerleader, halftime shows, shooting t-shirts out into the crowd, family entertainment, etc. Its all money making machine for the sponsors. Ad revenue must be protected at all costs.
That's why there is less drama in American sports. That's why Americans don't get the emotion behind it and why they're always just laughing at tearful fans and players and shouting its just a game. To us, sports is just entertainment first, an athletic competition 2nd
Lets not act like because a soccer ball is in play 90 minutes there is 90 minutes of action
Lets not act like because a soccer ball is in play 90 minutes there is 90 minutes of action
There's more then 12 mins of action man. The stoppage time factors in most of the time loss and it's usually not any longer than five mins. So its proly more like 80-85 mins of continuous play which dwarfs the total amount of action in the NFL and MLB.
Yes, sports, especially football is mostly a love for the game. Its a business second. It's the other way around in the states. American sports are a HUGE lucrative enterprise. Since there is only twelve mins of actual action in an American football game, there needs to be a lot of distraction. Everything from cheerleader, halftime shows, shooting t-shirts out into the crowd, family entertainment, etc. Its all money making machine for the sponsors. Ad revenue must be protected at all costs.
That's why there is less drama in American sports. That's why Americans don't get the emotion behind it and why they're always just laughing at tearful fans and players and shouting its just a game. To us, sports is just entertainment first, an athletic competition 2nd
So is soccer. They don't pay these athletes millions of Euros just so their fans can enjoy the sport.
Dude its not the same. Soccer clubs have horrible business models compared to American sports teams. A lot of clubs go broke attracting top talent. Celtics FC has been on the verge of bankruptcy. They owe money to everyone. Other leagues need to be owned by rich oligarchs from Russia or rich oil sheiks from the Middle East who can afford to throw money at the team.
NFL, NBA and MLB on the other hand are money generating machines. There's no contest.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
