# 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:** 5
**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 6, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/81 "2011-05-06T15:57:31Z")
> [@Rondembo](#): > > Soccer players could not enter a NFL game and survive, while most NFL players could enter a soccer game and fit in for the game just fine, even if only as defenders who have to kick the ball away. Soccer players could only be placekickers and that’s it. They’re too small, too weak, too feminine, too slow, it would be like putting some random accountant onto a NFL field. Total destruction. You mean those same NFL players who, after sprinting down the field for 90 yards have to sit out the next three plays while sucking on an oxygen machine? Yeah, they’d totally dominate the effeminate sport of soccer that 99% of Americans hate just because you say so. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/82 "2011-05-06T16:00:55Z")
> [@Rondembo](#): > > Super Bowl - biggest world championship by TV viewership, not to mention commerical revenue, in the world. Nothing comes close. Soccer world cup is nowhere near as big on a one game basis, and it only comes once every 4 years so its like the olympics. I just googled this one, World Cup about 260million TV viewers for final game, Superbowl 98million TV viewers. Don’t get me wrong - America is clearly God’s chosen nation when it comes to sports - that fact is simply undeniable. I think what happened with the World Cup that year was most likely a programming error in which it was transmitted to televisions that were actually trying to watch something else (like a replay of a classic American football game, probably). ---
**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 6, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/83 "2011-05-06T16:07:58Z")
> [@Rondembo](#): > > Stanley Cup - World Championship in hockey. > > All dominated by America. Foreigners are free to enter these leagues, but still make a tiny minority of the leagues dominated by AMericans. You don’t have a _clue_ about hockey, do you? Point 1: The Chicago Blackhawks (American team, Original Six team, as American as they come, right??) won the Stanley Cup last year. The makeup of that team: - 5 American players - 19 Canadian players - 7 players from other countries You can look it up yourself: [2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts | Hockey-Reference.com](http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CHI/2010.html) Yes, most NHL teams are based in the US. Most NHL **players** aren’t American. (By the way, the “National” in “National Hockey League” refers to Canada. Bet you didn’t know that.) Point 2: The Stanley Cup is _not_ the World Championship in hockey. The IIHF World Championship is the World Championship in hockey; it’s held every year. The U.S. team last won this in 1960. In the past 20 years, the U.S. has only even medaled in it twice (1996, 2004). > **[2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts...](https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CHI/2010.html)** > > Check out the latest Chicago Blackhawks Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts and more on Hockey-Reference.com Point 3: Even in the Olympics, in which the U.S. team now allows our pro (NHL) players to play on the team, the U.S. hasn’t won since the Miracle on Ice in 1980 (which was an amazing feat, but everyone agrees that it was a case of the underdog winning). Since then, we have two silvers, and that’s it. > **[Ice hockey at the Olympic Games](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey_at_the_Olympic_Games#Medal_winners)** > > Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games program in 1924, in France. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics. > The Olympic Games were originally intended for amateur athletes. However, the advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries further eroded the ideology of the pur... ---
**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 6, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/84 "2011-05-06T16:14:47Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > I just googled this one, World Cup about 260million TV viewers for final game, Superbowl 98million TV viewers. Not sure where you got that data, but the 2011 Super Bowl averaged [111 million](http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/super-bowl-ratings-cap-record-year-for-n-f-l/)viewers in the US alone. I assume the World Cup information is worldwide. It’s very difficult to get worldwide data regarding Super Bowl viewership, but I’ve seen anywhere from 200-300 million. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/85 "2011-05-06T16:15:34Z")
> [@unwashed\_brain](#): > > Manny is retired. Who’s next on that list? > > There’s also no need to exclude pitchers. Please include them. Ya, forgot about Manny’s ignoble exit from the game. The next on the list is a tie between Bobby Abreu (born in Venezuela) and Todd Helton (American). For pitchers you have this list: Roy Halladay Mariano Rivera Tim Hudson Roy Oswalt Mark Buehrle CC Sabathia Javier Vazquez Bartolo Colon Barry Zito Tim Wakefield If I’m counting that right it’s 3/10 non-Americans (Rivera, Vazquez, Colon). I’d probably put the percentage of top-flight non-Americans in MLB at around 40%. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/86 "2011-05-06T16:23:29Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Don’t get me wrong - America is clearly God’s chosen nation when it comes to sports - that fact is simply undeniable. God’s chosen nation, period. It’s in the Bible. I know the rule about not calling other posters on trolling, but really, the homosexual references that keep coming up in **Rondembo** ’s posts are flashing big on my T-radar. ---
**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 6, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/87 "2011-05-06T16:24:58Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Point 2: The Stanley Cup is _not_ the World Championship in hockey. The IIHF World Championship is the World Championship in hockey; it’s held every year. The U.S. team last won this in 1960. In the past 20 years, the U.S. has only even medaled in it twice (1996, 2004). > > [2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts | Hockey-Reference.com](http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CHI/2010.html) Ooops, wrong link. Here’s the right one: > **[List of IIHF World Championship medalists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IIHF_World_Championship_medalists)** > > The Ice Hockey World Championships is an annual event held by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It was preceded by the European Championship which was held from 1910 to 1932. The first World Championship tournament was decided at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Subsequently, ice hockey was featured at the Winter Olympic Games, where the World Championship was decided when the two events occurred concurrently, until the 1968 Winter Olympics. The first three championships were contested a... ---
**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:** [May 6, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/88 "2011-05-06T16:25:03Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Not sure where you got that data, but the 2011 Super Bowl averaged [111 million](http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/super-bowl-ratings-cap-record-year-for-n-f-l/)viewers in the US alone. I assume the World Cup information is worldwide. It’s very difficult to get worldwide data regarding Super Bowl viewership, but I’ve seen anywhere from 200-300 million. How could the Superbowl double its audience outside of the US when it is hardly followed outside of the US? ---
**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 6, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/89 "2011-05-06T16:29:32Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Yes, most NHL teams are based in the US. Most NHL **players** aren’t American. Link: [http://www.quanthockey.com/TS/TS\_PlayerNationalities.php](http://www.quanthockey.com/TS/TS_PlayerNationalities.php) Over half of NHL players are Canadian. Only about 25% of NHL players are American (though the percentage is now higher than it’s ever been). ---
**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 6, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/90 "2011-05-06T16:29:48Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > How could the Superbowl double its audience outside of the US when it is hardly followed outside of the US? Another 100 million out of nearly 6 billion shouldn’t be completely unbelievable. They like the commercials? ---
**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 6, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/91 "2011-05-06T16:30:54Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > How could the Superbowl double its audience outside of the US when it is hardly followed outside of the US? The NFL as a whole isn’t strongly followed outside of the U.S. The Super Bowl is as much about spectacle as it is a football championship, and, as such, it does draw a fair number of viewers in other countries. ---
**Author:** ![Rondembo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@Rondembo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rondembo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/92 "2011-05-06T16:39:07Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Not sure where you got that data, but the 2011 Super Bowl averaged [111 million](http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/super-bowl-ratings-cap-record-year-for-n-f-l/)viewers in the US alone. I assume the World Cup information is worldwide. It’s very difficult to get worldwide data regarding Super Bowl viewership, but I’ve seen anywhere from 200-300 million. That says it all, the Super Bowl has biggest global ratings then the World Cup, even though other countries don’t play football because they can’t afford it. Super Bowl is a spectacle, its big, high production values, expensive commericals…etc. World Cup is none of that. I know Europeans will disagree, but its a fact that the Super Bowl is the biggest, most important and most watched sports World Championship in the world. I heard on NBC that close to a billion viewers watched the last one. ---
**Author:** ![Rondembo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@Rondembo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rondembo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/93 "2011-05-06T16:40:51Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The NFL as a whole isn’t strongly followed outside of the U.S. The Super Bowl is as much about spectacle as it is a football championship, and, as such, it does draw a fair number of viewers in other countries. Somewhere between 300 million to 1 billion viewers. Other countries don’t have to have football to like the Super Bowl, its watched worldwide because its like American culture: all penetrating and everywhere, the glamor and importance of the biggest sports competition in the world is alone enough to garner worldwide media attention. ---
**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 6, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/94 "2011-05-06T16:41:26Z")
> [@Rondembo](#): > > even though other countries don’t play football because they can’t afford it. Do you seriously think that wealthy countries like Germany, Norway, or Australia don’t play football because they “can’t afford it”? ---
**Author:** ![Rondembo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@Rondembo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rondembo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/95 "2011-05-06T16:48:13Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Do you seriously think that wealthy countries like Germany, Norway, or Australia don’t play football because they “can’t afford it”? Well maybe not those, but even in a place like Australia or Germany its much easier to just kick a ball around than go through the complex, highly specialized and equipment heavy sport that is football. Not to mention that nobody ever gets injured during a soccer game while its a common occurance in football. However to deny that soccer’s popularity outside of our country isn’t due to it being a cheap sport that third world countries can afford is asinine. Brazil likes soccer because most Brazilians are poor and soccer is the most accessible sport, not because its the most chosen among other sport. If Brazilians could afford football, they might very well prefer it over soccer. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/96 "2011-05-06T16:49:59Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Another 100 million out of nearly 6 billion shouldn’t be completely unbelievable. That’s like saying curling could be a mass event sport because most of the six billion pop Earth has hasnt taken an interest in it yet. I’m sorry but I have never ever seen an American football match watched outside of the US. I’m only familiar with Europe, Africa, and North America, so maybe just outside of Europe and Africa, there are masses of South Americans and Asians losing their minds in mad Superbowl orgies. But I’ll have to have better proof here that the assumption that the world’s greatest desire is to mimic the US in everything it does, even in sports whose rules are totally incomprehensible. > [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > They like the commercials And, no, for most people, commercials are an annoyance you have to endure to actually get to the program you wanted to watch. I dont know how much despair you can raise in me by thinking that some people would actually turn on their TV to watch commercials for enjoyment. If any people on Earth acted that way, it must have forfeited its collective soul a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/97 "2011-05-06T16:53:20Z")
> [@Rondembo](#): > > Somewhere between 300 million to 1 billion viewers. Where are you getting these imaginary numbers? “Somewhere between 300 million and 1 billion” means you simply don’t know. [QUOTE=Rondembo] Well maybe not those, but even in a place like Australia or Germany its much easier to just kick a ball around than go through the complex, highly specialized and equipment heavy sport that is football. [/QUOTE] But that’s also true in the United States. What is the most popular participation sport (in terms of actual physical games, not just exercising) in the United States? I’ll bet you can’t tell us without looking it up. ---
**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 6, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/98 "2011-05-06T17:17:42Z")
I can tell you that the 1 billion number is fiction. What I think they mean is that it was available in 1 billions households. I’m guessing the actual worldwide Super Bowl viewership is ~250 million. As for other countries, I can only speak to Germany, and only with anecdotal evidence at that, but I gather there is some interest in the Super Bowl there. Mostly just for the spectacle of it and not so much for any genuine interest in the teams or the game. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/99 "2011-05-06T17:24:46Z")
Figures I found suggested 700,000,000 viewers for the 2010 worldcup final. [http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/07/13/us-football-idUSTRE66C0ZV20100713](http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/07/13/us-football-idUSTRE66C0ZV20100713) ---
**Author:** ![carm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@carm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carm)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839/100 "2011-05-06T17:24:48Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Two serious nitpicks: > (1) Australian rules is actually only popular in half of Australia (Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia) > (2) Arguably the most popular team sport in Australia is netball – a sport played only by girls and women. However, that is most popular in terms of player participation, not in terms of size of audience. Yeah, I’ve heard that it’s not as popular in the east, but according to [this](http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/4174.0~2009-10~Main+Features~Most+popular+sports+attended?OpenDocument) it’s easily the most popular spectator sport. (In terms of attendance, tv figures may be different). > [@](#): > > The most popular sports attended by people aged 15 years and over in the 12 months prior to interview were Australian Rules football (16% or 2.8 million), horse racing (11% or 1.9 million), rugby league (9% or 1.6 million) and motor sports (8% or 1.4 million) (Table 3). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-think-america-dominates-the-sports-world/580839.md?page=6)