# Why do you think America dominates the sports world? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 5, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839 "2011-05-05T15:02:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/41 "2011-05-05T18:52:22Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Ignorant twaddle. > > Sebastian Vettel, Michael Shumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Hannes Arch, Higgins, Ding Junghui, Paul Bonhomme, Max Biaggi, Martin Lel, Paula Radcliffe, and Helen MacArthur are all Not American. Nor are **Crouch** and Beckham and Maradona and… Let’s not even start on sports like cricket. > > We’re here to fight ignorance, so can I suggest you Google these luminaries? Bolding mine. Are you absolutely sure about this, **Quartz**? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/42 "2011-05-05T19:00:18Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Bolding mine. Are you absolutely sure about this, **Quartz**? 😃 Crouch played for England and was born in Macclesfield. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/43 "2011-05-05T19:04:09Z")
> [@Rondembo](#): > > Well, if population was the key then India and China would dominate, but they don’t. If Wealth was the key, then Japan and Norway would produce NFL MVP’s, but they don’t. Norway produces the best cross-country skiers on the planet. Japan produces championship baseball players, speed skaters, soccer players. I mean, if your idea of sports dominance is just the NFL then, yeah, you’re going to have a funny perspective on this. Peyton Manning is a fine athlete but you’d be hard pressed to convince me that he’s one of the one hundred best athletes in the world. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/44 "2011-05-05T19:11:37Z")
Maybe someone could set up one of those elimination threads for the world’s best sports player. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/45 "2011-05-05T19:45:59Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > I would really love to see this tested. As it stands now, I don’t fret about the term “World Series” because I think the World Series Champion could take on any existing team on earth and win 9 out of 10 seven-game series, but it’s just a gut feeling, and I’d be riveted to see if that’s true. Jas09 a couple posts above you pretty much nailed what I was getting at. The Dominican Republic is producing a lot of top baseball players. I don’t think the US has won a baseball World Classic, or whatever that thing’s called. If you’re talking about teams assembled in the US consisting of players with different nationalities, yeah nothing comes remotely close to MLB. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/46 "2011-05-05T19:49:27Z")
OK, I’ll bite a little. > [@Rondembo](#): > > We dominate the Olympics The USA has a strong history at the Olympics, but China topped the medal table in [2008](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics#Medal_table). > [@Rondembo](#): > > …and we dominate football, baseball, basketball True, but a bit like saying the UK dominates at Snooker and Darts. Hardly anyone else plays these sports much. > [@Rondembo](#): > > Even obscure sports like cycling, we can dominate with simply sending one of our elite athletes like Armstrong. At the last Olympics, the UK [dominated cycling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics#Medal_table), with 8 gold medals out of 18 available. No one else got more than 2. > [@Rondembo](#): > > Golf was dominated by Tiger. Was. Here are the current [world rankings](http://www.officialworldgolfranking.com/rankings/default.sps). The USA no longer dominates the sport. None of the majors are currently held by an American. > [@Rondembo](#): > > Tennis by Agassi and Sampras. Apparentely Roger Federer is figment of my imagination, made of cuckoo clocks and chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/47 "2011-05-05T19:49:56Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > Maybe someone could set up one of those elimination threads for the world’s best sports player. My heavens, the debate over who was left out could rend the very fabric of the space-time continuum. :eek: ---
**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:** [May 5, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/48 "2011-05-05T19:52:49Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I don’t think the US has won a baseball World Classic, or whatever that thing’s called. Though, ISTR that a lot of top American players wound up not playing in the WBC (and, because the WBC took place during spring training, a lot of players were concerned about getting injured). I’m not sure what the results would be if you were able to truly get the top players from each country, and get them to compete “all-out”. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/49 "2011-05-05T20:15:54Z")
I think the most obvious answer is that we were chosen by God. And probably the 2nd most important factor in our utter domination of all levels of all sports known to man, bar none, is…Wheaties ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/50 "2011-05-05T21:31:53Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > I think we’ve just found a reverse **pinguin**. Sounds like the same guy to me.Different rants,but very similar. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/51 "2011-05-05T21:42:26Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Jas09 a couple posts above you pretty much nailed what I was getting at. The Dominican Republic is producing a lot of top baseball players. I don’t think the US has won a baseball World Classic, or whatever that thing’s called. Yeah, but a lot of the sport’s best talent is **not** playing in the WBC. And also, I’m sure, say, the Dominican All-Star team could beat the standing World Series Champs, but I’m more interested in actual, existing teams. Pit the World Series champion against the Japan Series champion; something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/52 "2011-05-05T22:46:34Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > Sounds like the same guy to me.Different rants,but very similar. He reminds me of Qin / Curtis when he first started. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_from\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Man\_from\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_from_Mars)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/53 "2011-05-05T23:30:37Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Americans dominate Rugby, soccer, cricket, womans golf, table tennis and Australian rules football? Those sports don’t matter because Americans don’t care about them. Only sports that are important to the OP are sports which Americans care about (i.e. baseball, football, basketball, and hockey). I also find the comment that our best soccer players are “fourth rate” to be offensive. Just because they aren’t six feet ten and built like a house doesn’t mean they aren’t exceptional athletes. They’d fail miserably on a gridiron but I’d say the same for a muscle-bound linebacker running around for ninety minutes trying to kick a ball accurately after all that time. ---
**Author:** ![Wash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@Wash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wash)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/54 "2011-05-06T01:06:53Z")
Incidentally, Chad Ochocinco, who gave up soccer in high school at the request of his grandmother because there was more money in American football, did try out for Sporting KC (formerly Kansas City Wizards) this off-season. He’s now an honorary member of their reserve team, which sounds good, but basically just means he’ll be training with the team to keep fit, should there be an NFL lockout. Having seen his “skills” in a segment on the trial, I can’t see him getting meaningful minutes at even the reserve league level, let alone ever making the first team. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/55 "2011-05-06T01:29:56Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > … then the answer is easy: Population+Wealth. Generally I’d concur with that view, but it’s not that clear cut. For baseball you wouldn’t equate wealth with Cuba or Dominican Republic Beijing Olympics 2008 4x100m relay Gold: **Jamaica** (Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell) 37.10 WR Silver: \*\*Trinidad and Tobago \*\*(Keston Bledman,Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender, Richard Thompson) Bronze: **Japan** (Naoki Tsukahara, Shingo Suetsugu, Shinji Takahira, Nobuharu Asahara) Middle and long distance running has been dominated by Kenya and Ethiopia for decades, not exactly economic power houses either. ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/56 "2011-05-06T02:47:28Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Generally I’d concur with that view, but it’s not that clear cut. > > For baseball you wouldn’t equate wealth with Cuba or Dominican Republic > > Beijing Olympics 2008 4x100m relay > Gold: **Jamaica** (Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell) 37.10 WR > Silver: \*\*Trinidad and Tobago \*\*(Keston Bledman,Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender, Richard Thompson) > Bronze: **Japan** (Naoki Tsukahara, Shingo Suetsugu, Shinji Takahira, Nobuharu Asahara) > > Middle and long distance running has been dominated by Kenya and Ethiopia for decades, not exactly economic power houses either. Running is something of a special case, though. If you want to become a runner, the costs amount to free time and calories. And the ability to contend with sore knees and feet. ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/57 "2011-05-06T02:52:55Z")
When the US starts to dominate football (ie, soccer) and cricket I’ll take the question seriously. Don’t get me wrong, though. Every world cup seems to create greater and greater interest in the USA. Having the US heavily invested in football could only be great for the game. Were Americans to get into football the way they are currently into baseball, the country could easily become another Brazil. Even speaking as a non-American, that would be a wonderful thing. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_of_Lucan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/58 "2011-05-06T11:00:47Z")
The real issue is not sports domination by one country. It is about domination of sports by big business. Manchester United is no longer a local football team from the North of England. It is now a huge brand like Coca-Cola, sold through the media to kids (of every age) round the world who think they have formed a personal connection to it. Like most of the major soccer teams in Europe, its players are largely foreigners bought in at large cost to perk up the brand every year. Indeed the lack of encouragement of home-grown players is the reason why England does not thrive at international level, although it has the strongest football league in the world. I assume the same applies to the American sports brands, which are almost as successful as Man United - see the parallel thread on this issue. The increasing dependence on foreigners by these brands is also dampening US success in team sports at international level. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/59 "2011-05-06T12:06:30Z")
**Why do you think America dominates the sports world?** Because we’re #1! USA! USA! USA! ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/60 "2011-05-06T13:18:04Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Interesting… I wonder who the greatest baseball players in the world are, currently. > > So I went with lifetime WAR for active position players… > > Alex Rodriguez > Albert Pujols > Chipper Jones > Jim Thome > Derek Jeter > Ivan Rodriguez > Manny Ramirez > Scott Rolen > Andruw Jones > Vladimir Guerrero > > This is the national past-time, mind you. And Pujols, Pudge, Manny, Andruw, and Vlad were all born elsewhere. Even A-Rod, who was born here, lived in the Dominican for awhile as a child. Manny is retired. Who’s next on that list? There’s also no need to exclude pitchers. Please include them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839.md?page=4)