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02-08-2008, 08:54 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
75 posts, read 115,028 times
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Greatest Sport
What is the overall greatest sport in the WORLD?
Things to consider...
Sportsmanship
Tradition
Loyalty/Pride
Popularity
Participation
ETC.
I am sure I left one or two out that people will cry about
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02-08-2008, 10:57 PM
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Is it really that difficult?
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Huntsville, AL
1,953 posts, read 727,188 times
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It has to be American Football.
You can have so many great things happen just on one play alone.
Great block, throw, catch, move, run, hit, tackle, etc. and all on the same play.
Sportsmanship: Some could argue that certain coaches/players lack this, but overall the NFL has great sportsmanship.
Tradition: It may not go back as far as a lot of other sports. But, it is well documented and is constantly referred to in all aspects of the game.
Loyalty: NFL fans are among some of the most loyal there are. Take Cleveland, when the Browns left for Baltimore, the city took the rights to the name/stats/records, everything. Also in Baltimore, they still can't stand that the Colts up and left. Look at Green Bay, a small city in the middle of nowhere, where the city owns the team. Everyone who lives in Green Bay has one share of stock in the team.
Popularity: The NFL without a doubt is the most popular sport in the United States, and the revenue it generates cannot be compared. I am sure you can go to most any country in the world and see someone with an NFL jersey or shirt. The Super Bowl is always the most watch show.(well besides the last episode of MASH)
Participation: You have football starting as early as 5 years old. Go to a lot of small towns and it will be shut down on Friday nights. There are only 32 teams in the NFL, to get a shot at the pros with 53 players on each roster. So you have the best of the best playing every Sunday. It's not like other sports where you have great players playing on different continents so the talent is watered down. We have the creme of the crop right here.
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02-08-2008, 11:58 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Dec 2006
147 posts, read 199,408 times
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Field hockey is there.... yet you omit ice hockey which is professionally organized in North America.
I'm puzzled.
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02-09-2008, 12:23 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Oct 2007
1,004 posts, read 694,860 times
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World football (soccer) by far. No other sport truly brings the entire world together. 1.5 BILLION people watched the world cup final on television (compared to a measly 85 million that watched the Super Bowl). A competition in which every nation on the planet partakes, crowning a true WORLD champion. No other sport in the world can say that. Most sports are very localized in popularity.
Even when clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, and Chelsea go on American tours (A nation that supposedly hates world football) they still fill stadiums with 60-70,000 people to see an exhibition game.
I don't know how anyone in their right mind can say American football (which I'm guessing most people on here will vote for). The vast majority of people don't even know what the heck American football is around the world. To be the greatest sport in the world you've got to capture the imagination of every country in the world. Not 1 or 2 countries. Although, American football is the 18th most popular spectator sport in the world (between cycling and water polo) which is definately respectable considering only 2 countries have professional leagues.
Last edited by Interpol76; 02-09-2008 at 12:54 AM..
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02-09-2008, 01:00 AM
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Not a member
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: California
3,436 posts
Reputation: 138
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Interpol76
World football (soccer) by far. No other sport truly brings the entire world together. 1.5 BILLION people watched the world cup final on television (compared to a measly 85 million that watched the Super Bowl). A competition in which every nation on the planet partakes, crowning a true WORLD champion. No other sport in the world can say that. Most sports are very localized in popularity.
Even when clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, and Chelsea go on American tours (A nation that supposedly hates world football) they still fill stadiums with 60-70,000 people to see an exhibition game.
I don't know how anyone in their right mind can say American football (which I'm guessing most people on here will vote for). The vast majority of people don't even know what the heck American football is around the world. To be the greatest sport in the world you've got to capture the imagination of every country in the world. Not 1 or 2 countries. Although, American football is the 18th most popular spectator sport in the world (between cycling and water polo) which is definately respectable
considering only 2 countries have professional leagues.
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100% agreed!
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02-09-2008, 03:51 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: New York
872 posts, read 733,060 times
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Horse Racing
Horse racing is the greatest sport in the world. In no other sport is the exciting juxtaposition of highs and lows so great as in horse racing. One day a jockey can win a $500,000 stakes race and the next day he can be severely injured in a fall.
No other sport can match racing on tradition. This sport has been contested for hundreds if not thousands of years. The culture of racing is timeless. The art of racing horses is something that has been part of human culture for a long time. This is a sport that traces back to the ice age in Mongolia.
Sportmanship in racing exceeds that of any other sport. The pressure to win in racing is why. Racing is a gentleman's game and maybe the only sport where the social rules of yesterday survive. Racing differs from team sports in that the spoils go to the winner. There are no employment contracts, the winner gets the loot and the also-rans get little to nothing. The motivation to perform and to act civil among the jockeys and trainers is great. A jockey with a poor social reputation will not get good horses to ride so therefore a jockey must not only be a great athlete he most also be a gentleman. Also the tremendous danger of horse racing make the jockeys the greatest sportsman in the world. There is nothing more dangerous in the world than riding racehorses with little to no protection at 40MPH around a track. The knowledge of how to extract the greatest effort out of 1200lb beast, one of gods greatest creations is the art of being a trainer. There is a real risk to the life of those that participate in racing.
Racing is also the most or second most popular spectator sport in the world. The fan base is found in many countries such as; US, England, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Jamaica, Barbados, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Hong Kong, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Australia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan and New Zealand. For example 157,00 attended the 2007 Kentucky Derby or 125,000 attended the 2004 Belmont Stakes. Over $100 billion was wager on horse races last year around the world.
The Sport of Kings endures from century to century.
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02-09-2008, 07:36 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Austin TX 78730
1,424 posts, read 1,006,268 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ProLogic
100% agreed!
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Disagree, Basketball has to be the true world sport today.
Look at its popularity in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East as well as in South America and even here in North America!
My $0.02 |
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02-09-2008, 07:54 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Sep 2007
583 posts, read 332,785 times
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US college football hands down
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02-09-2008, 10:16 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Way on the outskirts of LA LA land.
2,394 posts, read 2,113,619 times
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Where are all the racing sports? In particular, where are the various forms of auto racing?
I love stock car racing, but I know there are others that don't. It is a very popular sport, and has been growing in popularity in recent years. I think it fits all the criteria of the original post, as do all the other auto racing sports I can think of.
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02-09-2008, 10:36 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: The great state of New Hampshire
791 posts, read 873,996 times
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College basketball from a viewership standpoint. Participation-wise, probably skiing.
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