Why do schools promote such wierd sports, such as Rugby, Squash, La Cross, and Soccer etc. ;). There are more.
Peace,
mmangeorge
Maybe such sports help students spell simple, five-letter words such as “weird”.
Because people play them or people who never have played them want to try? That seems like the most obvious answer to me.
For example, my undergrad has a Woodsmen’s Team. I know a lot of people who wanted to try it, including a couple who thought it was a joke when they first heard about it, but then really got into it as they kept working at it.
I don’t know if this is exactly what you mean by promote, but at most schools the students can form a club for any purpose they want. So if a certain number of kids wanted to play mumbledypeg every week, they’d be allowed to form the official mumbledypeg club, and then they would promote their meetings and events themselves. Happens here at FSU with stuff like Frisbee golf.
What makes you think that these sports are “weird”, mangeorge?
Rugby has more than three million players worldwide (and played in 96 countries, according to the same link).
Squash is played by over 18 million players worldwide, and an estimated 1 million in the USA.
Lacrosse has more than half a million players worldwide, and there are at least two pro leagues in the US (the National Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse).
Soccer is not only one of the most popular participant sports in the world, but has also been growing at the high school level in the US for decades. So why is it so strange that US universities would support soccer teams?
You’re in Berkeley, California, aren’t you, mangeorge? The San Francisco Bay area is one of the hotbed regions for what are considered “minor sports” in the US. The area supports a professional soccer team (the San Jose Earthquakes) and a professional lacrosse team (the San Jose Stealth). UC Berkeley has had the best collegiate rugby team in the US for years.
Squash is one of the world’s most “portable” sports. It’s played indoors in comparatively small courts, in many countries, which means that you can travel around the world with a squash racket and have a good chance of getting a game in any major city, whatever the weather. It’s an excellent participant sport, but cannot support large live audiences and does not televise well.
Do you consider these sports “weird” because they are have never been part of US television-viewing culture?
Television viewing culture, huh? Is that some kind of. elitist dig, my friend?
My tv has rabbit ears, and mostly it wakes me up in the morning. And I never watch sports of any kind, on tv or in person. So they’re all kinda weird to me. Especially professional sports.
No, I was simply wondering why these sports seem to be concentrated, for the US anyway, in colleges. And law firms, I suspect.
I was kidding about Soccer.
I do sometimes watch liberal PBS. And NASCAR.
We have one of the best frisbee golf courses anywhere, right down there at Aquatic Park. Way cool, but weird.
You posted that with a straight face. Amazing.