Survey sports that are hated in the US

Red Card · Sep 27, 2003

I guess this is the companion to "popularity" surveys. Which sport do you hate? An insight to the American psyche.

http://www.tribnet.com/24hour/sports/story/1011101p-7099489c.html

G Enriquez · Sep 27, 2003

Even though i don't really care what polls say, 9th place isn't that bad.

Lithium858 · Sep 27, 2003

Haha, poor baseball. I happen to like it and also think it's 10 times better than the crappy NFL.

bradley · Sep 27, 2003

Don't know why they have bullfighting, dogfighting or Pro wrestling in the survey. However the most intersting part of the survey is discussed at the end of the article:

But the big story in this list of sports Americans hate most -- based on a telephone poll of 1,000 respondents that is a prelude to a larger study later this year -- is what comes next: the NBA, with 19.7 percent of the country hating or disliking it, and Major League Baseball, with 17.5 percent strongly against it.

For most of the sports, with the exception of NASCAR, which has grown both in popularity and unpopularity with increased exposure on television, there was little change from the Sports Marketing Group's study that asked the same questions 10 years ago.

For the NBA, though, the hate/dislike responses increased sharply from 11.9 percent a decade ago, while baseball's negative numbers nearly doubled from 9.9 percent.

Baseball isn't quite as bad off as the NFL is claiming from a Harris Poll that says pro football is more than twice as popular as baseball. In the Sports Marketing Group poll, the NFL was loved or liked a lot by 42.8 percent of Americans, while baseball's popularity number was 31.8 percent.

"In the NBA, there are underlying racial issues and resentment about how the players act, how many get arrested and how much they're paid," said Sports Marketing Group managing director Nye Lavalle. "In baseball, the labor disputes, the huge salaries, the perception of players on steroids and their perceived arrogance are factors."

Ten years ago, only 12.5 percent of white Americans had strong feelings against the NBA. In the poll this year, that soared to 21.1 percent of whites who hated or disliked the NBA. The number of black respondents who felt that way stayed virtually unchanged at under 3 percent.

"There's been a seismic shift in the fan base of the NBA," Lavalle said. "If the league keeps going in the same direction, it's going to be in deep trouble. Baseball is on the decline and it could be dying if it doesn't change the way it's structured."

In other words, both sports may be going to the dogs.
Click to expand...

So NBA is 11th and MLB is 12th on the list. Note that the three non sports on the top of the keep the NBA and MLB out of the top ten.

otterulz · Sep 27, 2003

Originally posted by bradley
Don't know why they have bullfighting, dogfighting or Pro wrestling in the survey. However the most intersting part of the survey is discussed at the end of the article:
Click to expand...

Don't understand why dog fighting is there. I mean, to me it's more of a betting thing, not to mention illegal here. Why didn't they add cockfighting while they're at it? And pro wrestling? I always thought it was a form of entertainment. Surprised to see hockey didn't make the list. I always though majority of the people didn't like it. Where's curling by the way?

Fkesoccer · Sep 27, 2003

how bout synchronized swimming??

giggs88 · Sep 27, 2003

espn is so *#*#*#*#ed up,, they are showing dog shows again???

Roehl Sybing · Sep 27, 2003

Be glad that MLS is recognized to the point that it is hated by a quarter of those surveyed.

RevdUp · Sep 27, 2003

Originally posted by Lithium858
Haha, poor baseball. I happen to like it and also think it's 10 times better than the crappy NFL.
Click to expand...

On the contrary; I think it's 10 times worse than the crappy NFL!

LA Galaxy Fan · Sep 28, 2003

WRESTLING VOTED 2ND MOST HATED SPORT

Professional Wrestling was voted the 2nd most hated sport, behind only dogfighting, in a poll conducted by the Sports Marketing Group.
In a similar poll currently being conducted on CNN, wrestling is faring better.

To read more about the polls, or to cast a vote in the CNN poll, CLICK HERE

Justin O · Sep 29, 2003

I think this survey is a positive thing. If one considers the results valid, then the still often-expressed notion that "Americans hate soccer" would seem to have no more vailidity than the notion that Americans hate golf or boxing or NASCAR, things you never really hear.

Dr. Wankler · Sep 29, 2003

Originally posted by otterulz
Don't understand why dog fighting is there. I mean, to me it's more of a betting thing, not to mention illegal here
Click to expand...

Dogfighting fans discuss that issue here:

http://www.bigdogfighting.com/pphp?action=newreply&postid=1640005

I'll see if they find their "Dogfighting bashers" threads, which are pretty funny. As are threads like "ESPN Sucks, we should try to get our matches on Animal Planet."

TOTC · Sep 29, 2003

What's worse, finishing high in a "most hated" poll, or finishing low in a "most liked" poll?

I remember there was a survey done about 15 years ago that named the 141 most-liked sports. American Gladiators beat field hockey and truck pulling.

Women's figure skating was FOURTH.

(of course, this being 15 years ago, MLS wasn't in the picture, and Brandi Chastain was just a failed striker)