# Why do American sports fans call their champion teams "World Champions"? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 4, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874 "2011-11-04T17:48:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/21 "2011-11-04T21:17:47Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > You know, BTW, that the hot rumor around here is that in 2013 the Bills are going to move to Toronto and the Tiger-Cats are going to move to Buffalo. So the Bills are going to be your problem soon enough… The Bills moving to Toronto has been a serious discussion for some time, though the Ti-Cats have a new stadium deal now. Really, the ARGONAUTS would have to move to Buffalo if that happened. However, with them proposing to pour more cash into Rich Stadium, that’s probably off the table. Eventually Toronto will probaly get an NFL team, as it’s just too lucrative a market to ignore… but they’ve been ignoring LA for awhile, too. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/22 "2011-11-04T22:10:08Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Griping about the “World Champions” in baseball makes a certain amount of sense, given that the top Japanese team might be able to triumph in a best of seven series over the top American major league team. But hey, it’s traditional, there’s a separate world competition every few years (in which the “American” players are divided among numerous teams from the competing countries) and it hardly seems worth caring about.. Plus there was no Japanese baseball when the world series began. The title dates to 1884. Remember “World Series” is a name, not a description. ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/23 "2011-11-04T22:15:47Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > … all the best college football players go to the NFL, and other guys go and play in the CFL. You forget Doug Flutie? SFC Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/24 "2011-11-04T22:27:13Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > For that matter, does anybody worry that Martians or Vulcans might be offended by bodybuilding tournaments or beauty pageants calling their winners “Mr. Universe” or “Miss Universe”? Looks like somebody [does.](http://www.hs.fi/kuvat/iso_webkuva/1135269598928.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/25 "2011-11-04T23:34:06Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Because the rest of the world doesn’t matter, silly. The rest of the world has been put on Ignore. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/26 "2011-11-05T00:41:05Z")
Speaking as a non-American, when there’s no available mechanism for foreign teams to challenge to become “world champions” it smacks of arrogance. It doesn’t matter if other countries are seen as crapper, unless there is a mechanism for international competition then you simply aren’t World Champions. Oh and this … > [@RickJay](#): > > 1. Its championship match is called the “World Series,” and “World Champions” is easier to say than “World Series Champions,” Amazingly, it is even easier to say “Champions”. Or if you really have to, go with NBA/NHL/NFL/MLB Champions. Throwing “World” in because you’ve decided, without ever trying to prove it, that you’re so much better than everyone else that you shouldn’t have to prove it is just arrogance and frankly makes you a bit of a laughing stock. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/27 "2011-11-05T00:54:53Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Speaking as a non-American, when there’s no available mechanism for foreign teams to challenge to become “world champions” it smacks of arrogance. It doesn’t matter if other countries are seen as crapper, unless there is a mechanism for international competition then you simply aren’t World Champions. You’re mistaking the name for the description again. The winner of the World Series and the Superbowl are called “World Champions.” That is not a description, any more than a person named “John” is a toilet. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/28 "2011-11-05T01:01:17Z")
> [@SSG\_Schwartz](#): > > You forget Doug Flutie? > > SFC Schwartz Did you? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/29 "2011-11-05T01:09:03Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Amazingly, it is even easier to say “Champions”. Or if you really have to, go with NBA/NHL/NFL/MLB Champions. Throwing “World” in because you’ve decided, without ever trying to prove it, that you’re so much better than everyone else that you shouldn’t have to prove it is just arrogance and frankly makes you a bit of a laughing stock. I am not American, as I have clearly stated. **[MODERATING]** I would further remind you that it has been made clear in threads about the difference between American sports and sports in other countries - threads you’ve been a part of, as I recall - that nationalistic insults and trolling will not be tolerated. Discussing this linguistic convention is interesting and informative. Saying one country or another is a laughingstock won’t be permitted. No formal warning issued. RickJay Moderator ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/30 "2011-11-05T01:17:48Z")
> [@SSG\_Schwartz](#): > > You forget Doug Flutie? > > SFC Schwartz As to this, I doubt any Canadian forgets Doug Flutie, or would forget Warren Moon. Nobody would suggest that a professional sports league is invariably perfect in selecting its talent. Moon was passed over because the NFL was egregiously racist; Flutie was passed over because, well, he’s small. But two players does not a league make. And actually, Flutie and Moon demonstrate the rather staggering difference in play quality. Flutie in hte NFL was a tolerable but mediocre quarterback; in his best year he threw 19 TDs against 16 picks and completed 55.2% of his passes. In his CFL years he put up numbers that are unheard of in American football; one year he passed for 6614 yards, plus rushed for 610 more and scored 14 touchdowns. He went from being a God to being a guy who was only a starter because his team had no other options. Warren Moon’s numbers aren’t as dramatically different, but he was a young QB in Edmonton and was probably a better player when he was in Houston, but even then you sure didn’t see him racking up 5,648 passing yards in one year in the NFL, like he did his last year in Edmonton. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/31 "2011-11-05T01:29:14Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I am not American, as I have clearly stated. > > **[MODERATING]** > > I would further remind you that it has been made clear in threads about the difference between American sports and sports in other countries - threads you’ve been a part of, as I recall - that nationalistic insults and trolling will not be tolerated. > > Discussing this linguistic convention is interesting and informative. Saying one country or another is a laughingstock won’t be permitted. > > No formal warning issued. > > RickJay > Moderator Just curious, what about post #6? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/32 "2011-11-05T01:36:21Z")
If the winner of whatever the American soccer league is started calling themselves World Champions, _that_ would be arrogant, since soccer is widely played all over the place, and the US is far from dominating the sport. But the team that wins the Superbowl really is the best team in the world at American football, and the team that wins the World Series really is the best team in the world at baseball, so it makes sense to call them the world champions. It’s not our fault that most of the world isn’t interested in trying to compete in those sports. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/33 "2011-11-05T01:43:18Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Just curious, what about post #6? Does **silenus** have a history of nationalistic trolling in other sports threads? ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/34 "2011-11-05T01:45:04Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > As to this, I doubt any Canadian forgets Doug Flutie, or would forget Warren Moon. > > Nobody would suggest that a professional sports league is invariably perfect in selecting its talent. Moon was passed over because the NFL was egregiously racist; Flutie was passed over because, well, he’s small. But two players does not a league make. I could’ve been more clear with my response. Flutie was drafted into the NFL and played from '86 - '89, which was before he ever played in the CFL. He just wasn’t that good and kind of crapped out. He’s not a case of a great NFL prospect going to the CFL instead of the NFL; it’s of a one-time NFL washout making good (or pretty good, at least, like you noted) later in his career. Moon did go straight to the CFL, so that’s a good example, although the racial issue probably makes it one that doesn’t apply anymore. ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/35 "2011-11-05T04:32:28Z")
Yeah, I take back Flutie, I knew there was a QB in the CFL that should have gone to the NFL, but I tried for awhile to think of who it was, and Warren Moon never did come to me, but I knew Doug Flutie kicked ass in the CFL so I chose him. Forgive my lapse. SFC Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/36 "2011-11-05T06:18:45Z")
[CFL fan]Calling the CFL a _minor_ league isn’t really accurate, if only because the term tends to apply to farm and development leagues associated with major league teams, and the CFL most definitely isn’t filling that role for the NFL. Nor would I want it to. It’s a professional league, though not in the salary and player calibre range of the NFL. And I don’t care what NFL fans say, Anthony Calvillo is the king of awesomeness. And…and, the NFL may have the better players, but the CFL has the better game! 🙂 [/CFL fan] ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/37 "2011-11-05T07:38:12Z")
Back to the OP, and more specifically the “World Series”. Japan has won the last two World Baseball Classics. What the fuck? We invented that game and they have the _temerity_ to play it better than us! That wounds me in the left ventricle of my jingoistic heart. For shame. You got to give it up to the asian style of “small ball” baseball. Singles win you more games than swinging for the fences. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/38 "2011-11-05T08:18:00Z")
> [@Molesworth\_2](#): > > The winners of the Indian Kabaddi title don’t call themselves “World Champions” of Kabaddi. I don’t see why they wouldn’t. India beat all the other countries that competed in the 2010 Kabbati World Cup tournament (including the United States). You guys beat us fair and square (62-26) and went on to beat Canada and Pakistan. India is clearly entitled to call themselves the World Champion of Kabaddi. (At least until November 20 anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/39 "2011-11-05T08:32:56Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > Does **silenus** have a history of nationalistic trolling in other sports threads? Do I? ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874/40 "2011-11-05T08:48:24Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I am not American, as I have clearly stated. Good thing I didn’t accuse of being one then, isn’t it? > [@RickJay](#): > > **[MODERATING]** > > I would further remind you that it has been made clear in threads about the difference between American sports and sports in other countries - threads you’ve been a part of, as I recall - that nationalistic insults and trolling will not be tolerated. > > Discussing this linguistic convention is interesting and informative. Saying one country or another is a laughingstock won’t be permitted. > > No formal warning issued. > > RickJay > Moderator For the rest, there’s this: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14430809](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14430809) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-american-sports-fans-call-their-champion-teams-world-champions/601874.md?page=3)