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I think its fair to say that baseball is more known worldwide as a sport given the popularity in North America, parts of Central/South America, Caribbean and some countries in Asia. It covers more geography. Baseball is also associated with the US like soccer (football) with Europe and Hockey with Canada.
But I've noticed Red Sox and Yankees hats/paraphernalia everywhere from the UK to Tokyo to Cape Town to Montreal. I can't think of any other team from any other sport that I consistently see somewhere else. Maybe the Lakers or Real Madrid to lower extent?
I thinkCanadians (a lot of them on here) should realize that it when it comes to global renown,American places by virtue of their country’s size and its juggernaut culturaland entertainment industries, often automatically get the “top seed’ position inthe minds of people around the world.
This is often true of places much smaller (and sometimes less attractive) than a placelike Toronto in Canada.
For example, most Australians in my generation would know about Milwaukee and beerand the Green Bay Packers because they watched Happy Days in their youth.
People around the world know of Maine and a little bit about what it’s like because ofStephen King. They are much less likely to know about New Brunswick and NovaScotia.
And for thesame reasons, they know about New Orleans, and Chicago, and Seattle. And evenRoswell, New Mexico.
What I havealso found is that US reference markers often register with people abroad forthings that Canadians like to call their own.
Forexample, ask a non-North American to name a really cold place on this continentand the answer is likely to be… Alaska.
People alsofrequently think of the Rocky Mountains as a US thing, even though by mostaccounts the Canadian ones are more spectacular. The same goes for NiagaraFalls.
Perhapsmost shocking to Canadians is the perception in much of the world that hockeyis a US sport. Hockey scores in foreign newspapers are under the US sportssections, often with a little US flag accompanying it! Of course this isunderstandable given than most NHL clubs are in the US, but it does sometimes leadto painfully complex explanations from Canadians who go to great lengths toexplain that, in spite of it all, it’s still “our’ sport. (And our league and our championship– even tougher!)
All of thestuff I have mentioned of course has true and undeniable bi-national characteristics that straddle theCanada-US border, but it is still worthy to note how global perceptions more oftenthan not default to the US.
Anyone who thinks Toronto is bland must walk around around the city looking directly down at the sidewalk the whole time. Toronto is one of the edgiest big cities on the continent, and it's constantly changing and evolving. You never know what strange, bizarre sights or interesting characters you might see every time you turn the corner. The city is humming with activity of every sort day and night. All but a few of the biggest cities in North America would seem bland compared to Toronto.
This is a good example of what I was referring to in my previous post.
If Toronto's groove is that it is an edgy place with interesting characters, strange, bizarre sights, lots of activity day and night, an amazing skyline with lots of skyscrapers, amazing human diversity à la "the world in one city"... well unfortunately on this continent I'd say someone is already sitting in that chair and has been for quite some time.
First let me say that I am a diehard sports fan. Second let me say that I love baseball and hockey. Third let me say that I actually like hockey (to play and watch) more than baseball (while baseball requires a greater and more concentrated skill).
But world wide, in my travels and just general knowledge of sports markets, baseball is way more popular than hockey. Specifically, in South America and Asia it is practically part of / is their religion. Baseball has actually surpassed obscure regional martial arts / sports and soccer as quite a few countries official (Cuba and the DR) or unofficial national sport (too many to name / figure out as many countries don't have a 'de facto' sport).
Most of Europe definitely puts more emphasis on hockey than baseball, but none of Europe plays the sport religiously (with the exception of Russia, but hockey is not even Russia's national sport). But somewhere around 4 billion people have / are now / or will be growing up playing baseball religiously, and that's not even counting South, Central or North America.
Holy sh*t, I did it again. I responded to a series of posts in a thread with out looking at the thread's title and realized the ridiculous discussion that has been going on for pages is absolutely meaningless and extremely off topic.
P.S. Some posters have a false sense of the Boston Red Sox 'legacy'. Don't get me wrong, it's up there, but pump the breaks a bit with the hyperbole please.
P.S. Some posters have a false sense of the Boston Red Sox 'legacy'. Don't get me wrong, it's up there, but pump the breaks a bit with the hyperbole please.
For the sake of the discussion over the last few pages (which I agree is way OT), the Red Sox legacy doesn't have to be Manchester United or even the Yankees, it just has to be stronger than for any Toronto sports team. Which I think it is.
I've been to Boston and I've felt it. It's very apparent to visitors to the city.
And BTW I am not from Boston and not a fan of any of their sports teams. The Bruins in fact are probably the pro sports team I hate the most.
I think its fair to say that baseball is more known worldwide as a sport given the popularity in North America, parts of Central/South America, Caribbean and some countries in Asia. It covers more geography. Baseball is also associated with the US like soccer (football) with Europe and Hockey with Canada.
But I've noticed Red Sox and Yankees hats/paraphernalia everywhere from the UK to Tokyo to Cape Town to Montreal. I can't think of any other team from any other sport that I consistently see somewhere else. Maybe the Lakers or Real Madrid to lower extent?
Again not sure I would agree that baseball covers more geography. Seems like a very US-centric POV. Baseball is popular in North America and the Caribbean, to some extent Latin/South America, and a couple of countries in Asia. It has almost zero following anywhere else, except among US expats.
Hockey is popular in North America, Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, and a large part of the Soviet block. The Soviet block by itself is 1/6 of the world's territory, spans two continents and includes 300 million people.
Really?? That's silly. Its like saying You take picture of bunch of buildings in Paris without Eiffel Tower and people will think its somewhere in Europe.
CN Tower is no way near as iconic and well know as the Eiffel Tower.The Effel Tower is like the Statute of Liberty ,Coke or McDonalds in America.When you see them you immediately think America.
Actually, I agree somewhat. They are both known business centers (though Singapore is more important) and both have high quality of life, but both are known for being boring and anonymous, and not really touristy.
Except boring and anonymous are not words which apply to Toronto. At all.
I have to say that the level of ignorance being displayed in this thread pertaining to Toronto is quite astonishing. I think there might also be an element of jealousy behind some of these ridiculously wrong headed posts, and perhaps immaturity.
I think the issue here is that you are probably not a sports fan so you can't appreciate Fenway. If you were a baseball fan or a sports nut, you will want to see Fenway, Wrigley and Yankee Stadium as these represent iconic stadiums with a history and atmosphere that you cannot replicate. I'm a Jay fan but I'm sure every real Jay / baseball fan (not bandwagon jumpers but people who really understand the sport) would much rather watch a game in Fenway than Rogers Stadium, which is a modern, generic multi-purpose entity and not a pure traditional baseball stadium. All my buddies who came to visit me in Boston have at least attempted to do a Red Sox game because they are big sports fans. When they couldn't, they did a stadium tour instead because they want a picture with the green monster in the background. The vicinity around Fenway is rammed with bars and clubs which get packed every single game both before and after games. When you are going out to Red Sox game, it's usually a late night for most and hence understandable to stroll into the office a few minutes late the next am. I know Jay games are not like this because I've been to tonnes of them. But that's the way it is in Boston. Boston is the biggest sports town on this continent and sports defines a big part of the culture here. People love to compete and love their teams, which are among the oldest on the continent. Sports fans understand this and hence respect Fenway as an institution.
Wow, how and why did this thread devolve into several pages of Toronto vs Boston? Look, both made the top 10 for North America destinations; obviously they both have appeals for international visitors. So there, both sides should be proud At the same time, both did not make the top 20 worldwide destinations, so both side should be ashamed I keed!
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At the same time, both did not make the top 20 worldwide destinations, so both side should be ashamed 
I keed!