# Sports you foresee going extinct in 50-100 years **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 12, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366 "2011-03-12T02:23:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fred\_Garvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c67d28/32.png) [@Fred\_Garvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fred_Garvin)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/21 "2011-03-12T19:23:29Z")
Midget bowling ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/22 "2011-03-12T19:24:52Z")
As long as alcohol is legal and there are establishments that serve it, darts and billiards are not going anywhere. Using the alternate option of sports mutating to be hardly recognizable, in 50-100 years might it not be possible that things like designer PEDs, bionic implants or even robots become more commonplace? Such things might force changes to the rules (for player safety, parity, etc.) and fields of play (greater distance between bases, higher hoops, larger fields of play, etc.) so as to alter the sport to be hardly recognizable by someone from our time. Of course, I was told that I’d have a flying car by the year 2000, so it’s probably just science fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/23 "2011-03-12T20:54:16Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > I can’t think of any. Even[jousting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jousting#Modern_jousting) is still alive and well. In fact, [it’s been the official state sport of Maryland since 1962.](http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/sport.html) It’s my understanding that pretty much all of what’s called “jousting” these days is a theatrical production with a pre-determined outcome and no actual competition occuring, much like pro wrestling. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/24 "2011-03-12T21:06:59Z")
Some of the racing variants. I don’t see quarter mile racing surviving except as say an opening act to a bigger race. Most of the NASCAR wannabes would fit in here as well, such as truck racing. Imho, racers need big bucks sponsors to survive, and I doubt they can get these sponsors on a 2-3 second race. I would also agree with the horse racing variants like harness racing. I don’t remember the last time I saw competitive horse jumping either. I think MMA is going to kill a lot of the martial arts competitions, including boxing. Kickboxing was already pretty small and regional to begin with. It seems like a lot of these will stay popular in the amateur ranks, but most of them will “go pro” in MMA. ---
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/25 "2011-03-12T21:42:37Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I was going to ask the same question. The only thing I can think of is handball, at least in the US. There used to be public handball courts in every neighborhood in my hometown; they’re all gone now, and the few that remain are just canvases for graffiti. > > As for the next 50 years: > > - Demolition derby: I used to hear more about it in the 1970s than now. > > - **Drag racing: same thing. Can’t remember the last time I saw a televised drag racing competition, where in the 1970s and 1980s it was commonplace during weekend afternoons on network television.** > > - Croquet. Used to be a staple at family gatherings. Again, something I haven’t seen in decades. > > - Lawn bowling, at least in the United States, > > I don’t see baseball, football, hockey, or basketball going anywhere. I see horse racing becoming more regional in nature, concentrated in the Northeast and Kentucky. The NHRA has been on ESPN and ESPN2 for years. Bolding mine. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/26 "2011-03-12T22:40:41Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > What? All of these sports are super popular. Well, maybe not Hopscotch. But still. I was assuming that **Cubsfan** was making some sort of parody post in an attempt to mimic the stereotyped American ignorance about sports that are not American football, baseball, and basketball. Are you saying that he seriously believes that soccer and cricket will die out? Because i find it hard to believe that any rational and informed person could make that suggestion with a straight face. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/27 "2011-03-12T23:50:23Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > - Croquet. Used to be a staple at family gatherings. Again, something I haven’t seen in decades. > > - Lawn bowling, at least in the United States, The OP was asking about professional sports. Croquet and lawn bowling have never been serious professional endeavours. They both still have some pretty ferocious adherents, though. I can say with some authority that people will pay as much for a good croquet mallet as you’d pay for a top of the line driver. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/28 "2011-03-13T00:02:20Z")
I suspect synchronized swimming will die off, as well as ballroom dancing. (“DWTS” won’t last 50 years) ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/29 "2011-03-13T02:13:12Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > - Demolition derby: I used to hear more about it in the 1970s than now. You know, I suppose that demolition derby as it is most practiced now is dependent on the supply of cheap huge rear-wheel drive sedans, the last of which were sold in this country in the mid-90’s (unless these are to become all Crown-Vic/Marquis/Towncar affairs). They do have front-wheel drive and truck classes, but somehow those don’t seem to have the same charm as the old land barges having at it. But for the time being, they’ve still got plenty of 70’s and 80’s cars and DD is enormously popular at county fairs. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/30 "2011-03-13T02:18:02Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > I actually wouldn’t be completely shocked if American football withered away over this timeframe, although it would be more like 100 years than 50. This would require some detailed studies about what hits and repeated concussions do to the brain. The death of the sport would start at the lower levels as parents were unwilling to expose their kids to that kind of abuse, and then it works its way up. I do think that that is a very real threat to football, unless the equipment makers are able to advance the technology of helmets further, and / or the rules of the game are changed to reduce those kinds of hits. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/31 "2011-03-13T02:29:45Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Are you saying that he seriously believes that soccer and cricket will die out? Because i find it hard to believe that any rational and informed person could make that suggestion with a straight face. I was whooshed, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/32 "2011-03-13T04:30:06Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > football will definitely last at least another 50 years. it’s too big to fail. boxing will never go fully extinct because it’s olympically sanctioned, and has too rich a history for the olympics to dump it. i know the olympics aren’t “professional” but there is just too many people out there to keep it afloat. > > if i had to choose, i’d say MLL (major league lacrosse) would probably be the most likely to die. We will see after the NFL lockout shuts down next season. Fans get real pissed off. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/33 "2011-03-13T05:11:10Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I was whooshed, I guess. Well, in the absence of a confirmation from the poster in question, we can’t really be sure. He could have been serious. For the sake of his credibility, i hope not, but it is possible. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/34 "2011-03-13T05:41:38Z")
I think that buzkashi is going to be pretty safe. I mean, any activity involving headless calf carcasses just oozes with timeless appeal, am I right? ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/35 "2011-03-13T07:00:28Z")
How about sumo wrestling? A pretty big professional sport in Japan but on the decline. It doesn’t have much international appeal so if the Japanese lose interest it’s in serious trouble. Plus it raises serious health concerns. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/36 "2011-03-13T07:39:17Z")
Bullfighting is another professional sport I can see dying off because of animals rights concerns and limited regional appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/37 "2011-03-13T12:47:59Z")
Auto racing. Lack of gasoline may just kill it. Technological change certainly will, over 100 years. ---
**Author:** ![peekercpa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/38 "2011-03-13T13:20:59Z")
do they still do figure 8 car races? i mean those suckers were fun to watch and depending on damage you could enter one of those races and if you got clobbered you just had an entry to the aforementioned destruction derby later in the night. plus it was always comical to see the leader get t-boned on the last lap allowing some turtle to kind of ease his way into victory lane. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/39 "2011-03-13T20:17:07Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The OP was asking about professional sports. Croquet and lawn bowling have never been serious professional endeavours. > > They both still have some pretty ferocious adherents, though. I can say with some authority that people will pay as much for a good croquet mallet as you’d pay for a top of the line driver. While croquet as a professional sport may not have ever taken off here in the States, a college buddy of mine went off to Australia and makes part of his living playing there. I believe it’s healthy in New Zealand as well. Extinction of a sport can be a regional thing. \ ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366/40 "2011-03-13T21:48:15Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > While croquet as a professional sport may not have ever taken off here in the States, a college buddy of mine went off to Australia and makes part of his living playing there. I believe it’s healthy in New Zealand as well. Extinction of a sport can be a regional thing. > > \ Also lawn bowls is actually a professional sport too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-you-foresee-going-extinct-in-50-100-years/574366.md?page=3)