Usa sports in other part of the World

[Actilius]

Here usually we speak about the situation of soccer in usa. But what about the situation of the typical USA sports in other part of the world? What about the struggling of NFL Europe, or the hockey beeing a niche sport, like baseball?

[anderson]

:D

http://www.cbbs.com.br

http://www.cbbs.com.br/fotos/capa_site.jpg

[PercyB2362]

Originally posted by Actilius
Here usually we speak about the situation of soccer in usa. But what about the situation of the typical USA sports in other part of the world? What about the struggling of NFL Europe, or the hockey beeing a niche sport, like baseball?

Yeah, what about it? Where is the relevancy? Let's take it to the extreme and suppose NFLE shut down completely, and the others also never really became mainstream. Now what? Why would any sports fans in the US give a care one way or the other? Listen to any sports talk show or discussion group and see how much anyone is concerned with that. I personally am a long-time fan of many of the sports we have here, starting from high school. Ever hear of Hoosier Hysteria, or March Madness? Do you ever hear anyone concerned about how our Can. & Mex. neighbors relate to these phenomenal events, if at all? Can you just imagine the impact for these events if there was zero interest from our neighbors? Now try NFL and Europe. Same thing, huh? So, where is the relevancy?

[RichardL]

Depends on whether you mean coverage of American sports leagues, or just American sports.

TV wise, in the UK, the NFL is shown on one of sky sports channels and some of the tabloids have (sponsored) columns devoted to it, perhaps 400 words once a week, maybe less. Channel 5, the small free national channel, shows a few live play-off games on sunday night/Monday morning. The superbowl itself is shown on sky sports, but goes unnocticed by the overwhelming majority of the population.
NFL Europe may get a bit of coverage in Scotland, but none at all in england, where most people who even knew about it probably assume it has ceased to exist.

Channel 5, who seemingly buy up as much cheap sport as they can to fill the dead zone between midnight and 6am, also show live baseball in this slot.

I think they show the odd live NHL game too, but less often. I'm not sure if NBA is shown anywhere, but if it is, it's probably on SKY.

As for the sports themselves, there probably are some American football teams at recreational level somewhere, but you certainly don't hear about them.

There are baseball teams (baseball was actually reasonably popular in England in the late 19th century) in Britain, organised into leagues etc. The town where I live, Bracknell, has a team, and they qualified for the 4-team national championship play-offs last year. Sadly if participation is growing, crowd support isn't and they play all of their games in a local park.

Basketball and hockey both have professional leagues, although even in the top divisions crowds above 3000 are considered big. Hockey draws slightly better than basketball, although basketball get slightly better coverage in the papers. Every few years a big arena opens up and that team draws good crowds, which tend to slip away over the years. First were Sheffield in the early 90s, filling their 7,500 home regularly. Then came Manchester, capable of pulling in a stagering 17,500 to some games. Nottingham also pull in much more thanks to a new arena and the latest are Belfast Giants who often fill their 8000 seats in an example of that very rare thing - a good news story from N.Ireland. Sadly, virtually all of the talent is imported from North America in both sports, something which basketball has seemed to cope with better than the hockey. the hockey league had a great idea of setting up a league with no import restrictions (until these big arena team came along, the max was 3 per team) with the theory being the higher standard would bring in more fans and a bigger TV deal to pay for it. In fact the opposite was true. The TV deal was poor as ever as the uncommitted had no idea the talent levels had risen, and although the standard may have been higher, many uncommitted fans were turned off as the goals per game ratio plunged - and also, perhaps more crucially - the entire league season was rendered meaningless as only 8 teams felt able to take part in this new league and all 8 qualified for the play-offs. Many teams have folded and reformed in the last few years.

Basketball doesn't seem to have got itself in quite the same mess, but has taken the horrible step of allowing the clubs to sponsored by a company, meaning they are officially called things like the Birmingham Monroe Reflex Bullets or Scottish Pheonix Honda Record Rocks.

[Actilius]

The reason why I started the thread was another one, perhaps my bad english make difficult for me to let you understand what i wanted to say.
I have red a lot if threads about how many americans think soccer is a minor sport, and i have wondered: but all this people know that the sport they think are " major" in the other part of the world ara almost ignored (american football ecpecially, but also baseball) or they are niche sports? Somewhere here i red about some newspapers saying tha the superbowl was last year most watched TV sport event....but do they realize that in Spain, in China, In France, In England and in almost all the world few knew what teams were playing that game?

[trmbrasil]

Originally posted by Actilius
The reason why I started the thread was another one, perhaps my bad english make difficult for me to let you understand what i wanted to say.
I have red a lot if threads about how many americans think soccer is a minor sport, and i have wondered: but all this people know that the sport they think are " major" in the other part of the world ara almost ignored (american football ecpecially, but also baseball) or they are niche sports? Somewhere here i red about some newspapers saying tha the superbowl was last year most watched TV sport event....but do they realize that in Spain, in China, In France, In England and in almost all the world few knew what teams were playing that game?

Hi Actilius. Most Americans you will encounter here do not consider soccer a minor sport, but do recognize the challenges for its growth in the US. Even pretty thick-headed American sports fans know that soccer is the most popular sport in the world, they just have their own reasons for not liking it. As far as US sports outside the country, I don't think many people are disillusioned about American Football having world wide success. However Baseball does pretty well in the Americas and Asia. Hockey is Canadian, but has popularity across Europe and North America. Basketball, without question, is rising in world popularity all the time and being played with good skill by players from every continent. The marketing smarts of the NBA has been quite successful too.

[brassmonkey]

Baseball is huge in Japan. Here is a link
http://www.japanesebaseball.com/ . It is by far the most popular sport there. I am a big fan of Japanese baseball, and of the Hanshin Tigers. Basketball is the second most popular sport in Israel. I follow Israeli basketball somewhat.

[pc4th]

Originally posted by Actilius
Here usually we speak about the situation of soccer in usa. But what about the situation of the typical USA sports in other part of the world? What about the struggling of NFL Europe, or the hockey beeing a niche sport, like baseball?

that should answer most of your question

http://www.iht.com/articles/126344.html

[Craig the Aussie]

For what its worth, in Australia:

Local Leagues:
Ice Hockey & American Football: Pretty much non-existent (there are probably some small recreational leagues for expats)

Baseball: Pretty strong on an amateur basis, but the few attempts to set up a national pro/semi-pro league have collapsed in a heap. No media coverage.

Basketball: Has a reasonable semi-pro/pro national league, but no TV contract. Very strongly supported by its core devotees, but doesn't really register with others - although this varies between states. Popular as an amateur/recreational sport especially amongst the young. Peaked in 1990's when it did have network TV coverage and pretty big crowds.

US Leagues:
No coverage on free to air network TV - you need cable to watch any of them, except for the Superbowl. This is shown on the SBS network, which is the smallest in the country and not received in many areas. It is a network mainly dedicated to "ethnic and multicultural" broadcasting - subtitled Brazilian soap operas, Vietnamese movies, Polish news etc.

[nyrmetros]

How about the CART Champcars at the Gold Coast Indy in Aussie land???

[Craig the Aussie]

Gold Coast Indy is on free to air (as are all F1 and MotoGP). I don't think any other CART or any NASCAR are - but I think they are on cable.

(I'm not a big motor racing fan - the only motor racing I watch is the V8 Supercars which is the biggest form of motor sport here and is kind of the Australian version of NASCAR, except not on oval bowl tracks)

[nyrmetros]

Originally posted by Craig the Aussie
Gold Coast Indy is on free to air (as are all F1 and MotoGP). I don't think any other CART or any NASCAR are - but I think they are on cable.

(I'm not a big motor racing fan - the only motor racing I watch is the V8 Supercars which is the biggest form of motor sport here and is kind of the Australian version of NASCAR, except not on oval bowl tracks)

How is the attendance at the CART Gold Coast Indy compared to F1, the V8's, and the AFL Grand Final ?

[DoyleG]

In Canada

Baseball: The CBL started off with all the hype last year but only got halfway through before it folded. Teams in the minor league systems are dissaperaing fast.

Basketball: The NBL in the 90's was the lat real attempt at a nationwide pro league. Some of the teams were jumpers from the old WBL.

[k11el]

I have the chance to watch the Super Bowl in Hong Kong. There are two interesting observations:

1) The working population in Hong Kong has absolutely no interest in the Super Bowl. People in the office don't even talk about it. The telecast time, in the morning of a working Monday, doesn't help. The good thing is that there is very little chance to be spoiled by someone in the office, when I have to watch the game in the evening after work.

2) For those who want to watch the Super Bowl ads shown in the U.S., you will be very disappointed. The game is shown on the local ESPN. There is no commercial at all. All the ads are announcements of the upcoming games of the week on ESPN: Chelsea vs Charlton on the upcoming Monday, the NBA game of the week: San Antonio vs Sacramento, etc. Conclusion: Super Bowl can't sell ads in Asia. It's the same kind of dismal appeal to the sponsors as the Champions League on ESPN2.

[FCBasel1893]

Here in Switzerland we do have an american football league but it's very small and doesn't have TV coverage. Same with Baseball. Basketball is a favourite to play in your spare time, but not as a sport to follow and be a fan of.

Hockey on the other hand is very big over here and it is considered to be just as important as football / soccer in our country (not by me though, heh). The league is a lot different from the NHL; the skill level is obviously lower, but the atmosphere is better. Like in football there are tifos, flares etc. (let me know if you want to see some pictures).

I know lots of people who also follow the US leagues. Super Bowl parties exist over here too, they just take place in the middle of the night ;)

[nyrmetros]

Originally posted by FCBasel1893


(let me know if you want to see some pictures).



Yes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FCBasel1893]

okay, i'll just post them as links so as not to overflood the thread.

HC Lugano:

http://www.ehc-fans.ch/gallerie/03-09-12_lugano-ehc/images/DSC06900.jpg
http://www.rdn.ch/modules.php?set_albumName=collages&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

HC Lausanne:

http://www.sectionouest.ch/photos/img2074.jpg
http://www.sectionouest.ch/photos/img2085.jpg
http://www.sectionouest.ch/photos/img2035.jpg
http://www.sectionouest.ch/photos/img2092.jpg
http://www.sectionouest.ch/photos/img2072.jpg

HC Ambri-Piotta:

http://home.datacomm.ch/conliner1/28102003ambri/28102003ambri2.jpg
http://home.datacomm.ch/conliner1/28102003ambri/28102003ambri8.jpg
http://members.surfeu.ch/daniela.baertschi/fotos/sonstiges/choreographie.jpg
http://members.surfeu.ch/daniela.baertschi/fotos/hcap-lugano/hcap-lugano102.jpg

SC Berne:

http://archiv.hockeyfans.ch/teams/bern/stadion9.jpg
http://www.baeregrabe.ch/startbild.jpg
http://archiv.hockeyfans.ch/teams/bern/stadion10.jpg
http://archiv.hockeyfans.ch/teams/bern/stadion6.jpg

Genève-Servette

http://www.ig02.ch/photos/photosdumoment/10grand.jpg

HC Friboug-Gottéron

http://www.fb02.ch/images/galerie/lausanne180104_2.jpg
http://www.fb02.ch/images/galerie/bale041003.jpg
http://www.fb02.ch/images/galerie/lausanne221103_1.jpg


SC Rapperswil-Jona

http://web72.line24.net/fanatics/Davos/PICT0002.jpg

EHC Basel:

http://home.datacomm.ch/bsc/Fotogallerien/Collagen/BSC_Collage_2_show.jpg

i left out 2 big clubs (ZSC Zurich and HC Davos) due to laziness (couldn't find pictures within a minute, so.. ;) )

Basically a fanbase can be built around anything, in Eastern Europe there is also ultra-style support in Basketball and Waterpolo. It's not ONLY a football-thing.

[trmbrasil]

I think it's reasonable to say that Volleyball, which was invented in the US, has done well internationally.

http://www.volleyball.org/history.html

[nyrmetros]

Originally posted by FCBasel1893
okay, i'll just post them as links so as not to overflood the thread.

HC Lugano:

http://www.ehc-fans.ch/gallerie/03-09-12_lugano-ehc/images/DSC06900.jpg
http://www.rdn.ch/modules.php?set_albumName=collages&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

HC Lausanne:

http://www.sectionouest.ch/photos/img2074.jpg
http://www.sectionouest.ch/photos/img2085.jpg
http://www.sectionouest.ch/photos/img2035.jpg
http://www.sectionouest.ch/photos/img2092.jpg
http://www.sectionouest.ch/photos/img2072.jpg

HC Ambri-Piotta:

http://home.datacomm.ch/conliner1/28102003ambri/28102003ambri2.jpg
http://home.datacomm.ch/conliner1/28102003ambri/28102003ambri8.jpg
http://members.surfeu.ch/daniela.baertschi/fotos/sonstiges/choreographie.jpg
http://members.surfeu.ch/daniela.baertschi/fotos/hcap-lugano/hcap-lugano102.jpg

SC Berne:

http://archiv.hockeyfans.ch/teams/bern/stadion9.jpg
http://www.baeregrabe.ch/startbild.jpg
http://archiv.hockeyfans.ch/teams/bern/stadion10.jpg
http://archiv.hockeyfans.ch/teams/bern/stadion6.jpg

Genève-Servette

http://www.ig02.ch/photos/photosdumoment/10grand.jpg

HC Friboug-Gottéron

http://www.fb02.ch/images/galerie/lausanne180104_2.jpg
http://www.fb02.ch/images/galerie/bale041003.jpg
http://www.fb02.ch/images/galerie/lausanne221103_1.jpg


SC Rapperswil-Jona

http://web72.line24.net/fanatics/Davos/PICT0002.jpg

EHC Basel:

http://home.datacomm.ch/bsc/Fotogallerien/Collagen/BSC_Collage_2_show.jpg

i left out 2 big clubs (ZSC Zurich and HC Davos) due to laziness (couldn't find pictures within a minute, so.. ;) )

Basically a fanbase can be built around anything, in Eastern Europe there is also ultra-style support in Basketball and Waterpolo. It's not ONLY a football-thing.


I can not wait untill NY Rangers fans realize that there is so much more we can do. Talking about scarring the crap out of the coporate wankers....

[Craig the Aussie]

Originally posted by NYR Metros
How is the attendance at the CART Gold Coast Indy compared to F1, the V8's, and the AFL Grand Final ?

AFL Grand Final is always a sellout. The capacity of teh MCG was reduced last year due to building works, but will be around 90,000 I think when finished.

Not sure about motot racing crowds. They are large, but are usually more 'carnival' than sporting event. People go to get drunk, party and have fun more than to watch the races.