John
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Remember, the US likes to think we are the center of the universe but really our “major” sports (football, basketball, baseball) are nothing compared to the global popularity of Soccer (otherwise known as real football), Track, Cycling, F1, Moto GP, Golf, Tennis etc.
Before track and cycling, you need to stick in cricket, field hockey, volleyball, tennis and table tennis. Yes, ping pong is more popular world wide than baseball or basketball.
John
Wait, if freaking BOWLING an olympic “sport”? I sure as hell hope not.
Hey, I vote to make Wii bowling part of the Olympics. Then I would have a chance to make the team, if I could only recover from my current Wii elbow injury from playing the dumb thing.
Sorry I disagree with you.
Yes you guys are passionate about sports, but about a certain number of sports. That being said this is the case with most/all countries as well.
To say that you, Americans, are the most passionate about sports is neither true nor false.
Similarly, you cannot prove that you are more knowledgeable about sports than any county in the world, simply because I do not believe we can defined what “being more knowledgeable about sports” means and how to apply it (similar to define who is the greatest athlete).
I’ve watched the Olympics in the US (96, 00) when I lieve there and that was quite disapointing. The broadcast sucked.
Also athletes do not necessarily strive to come to America to play sports, it again depends on the sports. Do I want to play Handball in America? Hell No. Do I want to play Football (American not soccer): Hell yes.
Fred.
Unreal. I will probably waste my entire day on this thread defending my opinion and not change a single mind, but at least I tried.
Yes, there is a stereotype of cubicle working, McDonald’s eating, Five Sport focused, American that exist. But it is not the majority. It’s just the easy target that won’t get on this forum to defend themselves or travel to Europe except to go to Euro Disney.
Why do these people suck at life because they don’t like watching triathlon, or the networks won’t carry it because the masses won’t watch it. I race and have raced for a long time. But I don’t want to watch it on TV ever. Just like I don’t like watching men’s rec league softball on tv. Age group racing is the same as softball. Professional is less engaging that this even. I’m a professional, and he’s a professional but we would never race because I don’t race that month, and he won’t race this month, and he goes long, I go short, and my sponsors won’t pay for me to go to NY this week and my VW won’t make it cross country. Try to market that to the masses. That is our situation.
I would never watch NASCAR even if I was flown to Florida, and put in the seat next to Dale Earnhart. But those fans fill tracks of 200,000 every weekend. If this debate is about passion, guess what? NASCAR wins over F-1 and Soccer and ranks up there with American football (pro and college).
The United States is so passionate about our top five, big deal. And guess what’s more? We have more kids playing soccer than anywhere else in the world. Guess what’s else? We have hundreds of cities like Pacific Beach, Boulder, Ann Arbor, Portland, that have fit people working out every weekend. And when they go to dinner or the bar that night after their work out, they don’t have to deal with fat unhealthy smokers like you do in every other country outside of the US.
Unreal. I will probably waste my entire day on this thread defending my opinion and not change a single mind, but at least I tried.
We have more kids playing soccer than anywhere else in the world. Guess what’s else? We have hundreds of cities like Pacific Beach, Boulder, Ann Arbor, Portland, that have fit people working out every weekend. And when they go to dinner or the bar that night after their work out, they don’t have to deal with fat unhealthy smokers like you do in every other country outside of the US.
Wow.
You have seen the number of countries recently that have banned smoking in public places, right? I’d stack that up against the number of bars/cities in the US that still allow smoking. We do it on a municipal level, they do it country wide.
You have some valid points, in that not every sports fan here is a fat drunk following the “Big 5”, but to say that we are the most knowledgeable is presumptuous at best. Maybe you need to “emerge” yourself a little more. (BTW, the word you really want there is immerse. And lye is an ingredient in soap.)
John
Your last paragraph is a total contradiction to the facts on the ground. American kids are the fattest in the world, and American adults are the same. Sure lots of people play sports in the USA, but thats easy when you have over 300 million people. I wonder how your “facts” look when broken down per capita.
Some of what you say is true; but you’re being way over the top, and sound just like the bad American stereotype.
Ok Fred. It would be hard to set up Sports Jeopardy for every American to compete against every other member of this planet.
I will try to stick to straight facts and numbers that are debatable.
Keep in mind, the initial start of this thread came from the typical non-US resident who said Americans are ethno-centric in regards to sports and are as passionate. Besides ME, you will probably never hear an American saying that about Europeans, etc because 1. We probably don’t have time to argue with you, because there is a game on tv that we need to catch. 2. It’s boring to argue with people who are uneducated on both sides of the issue. 3. We have to take our kids to one of 12 team practices right now.
Have you gone to dinner recently in Mexico? Have you gone to dinner recently in England? Have you gone to dinner recently in Germany? No? You haven’t. Well, interesting. I have. I couldn’t taste my food because it was covered in fat. I couldn’t taste my food because I was enhaling 200 cigarettes at the same time. Sure you can still go to Panama City, Florida and have that same experience. But you won’t find those residents of Panama City taking cheap shots of Europeans.
If this debate is about passion, guess what? NASCAR wins over F-1 and Soccer and ranks up there with American football (pro and college).
I thought we had moved on to Wii bowling. A brutal game by the way. It took my elbow 3 months to recover from my post Christmas bowling binge. The Wii’s ability to convert wrist twist into ball spin is a technological marvel. I felt like Dick Webber until my arm gave out.
Certainly there are some sports that I could see getting the boot (race walking, rhythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming), but discus and shot put? Are you kidding?? Both are very big here. Actually, I think all the sports you mentioned should stay, but I could certainly see some others go.
Ok Fred. It would be hard to set up Sports Jeopardy for every American to compete against every other member of this planet.
I will try to stick to straight facts and numbers that are debatable.
Keep in mind, the initial start of this thread came from the typical non-US resident who said Americans are ethno-centric in regards to sports and are as passionate. Besides ME, you will probably never hear an American saying that about Europeans, etc because 1. We probably don’t have time to argue with you, because there is a game on tv that we need to catch. 2. It’s boring to argue with people who are uneducated on both sides of the issue. 3. We have to take our kids to one of 12 team practices right now.
I’ve lived here for 6 years, and frankly, Americans ARE ethno-centric. If Americans know so much about world sports, how come people are always asking me about cricket, rugby, league, AFL, etc etc. If Americans have these questions about Australian sports, then i assume they have similar questions about euro sports, or asian sports.
It’s not “bad” to have a select group of mainstream sports the population is into. It’s just the reality…something thats real in almost all countries. We all have our favourites…so what? As long as the niche sports are available if people want them…cool.
It’s not a contest dude.
Yes John, emmerse is an error as is lye. I’m sorry.
London did ban smoking. Manchester did not (at least in the past 6 months since I’ve been there last). I was in Germany nine months ago and had to buy a new lung. I was in Japan 18 months ago, and my hair still smells like an ash tray. What was your point again?
Have you gone to dinner recently in Mexico? Have you gone to dinner recently in England? Have you gone to dinner recently in Germany? No? You haven’t. Well, interesting. I have. I couldn’t taste my food because it was covered in fat. I couldn’t taste my food because I was enhaling 200 cigarettes at the same time. Sure you can still go to Panama City, Florida and have that same experience. But you won’t find those residents of Panama City taking cheap shots of Europeans.
Seriously? We’re arguing that the American population isn’t grossly overweight compared to almost all countries?
Your friends may not have played rugby. Almost every university in America has a Rugby club or varsity team. Do you know how many universities are in the united states? That’s a lot of rugby happening in this uneducated, ethno-centric country. Next…
Criquet is a very popular game in Paki, India, some of england, some of AUS, NZ, but it’s hardly a world game, and it doesn’t even rank near to hockey (which is just under curling in North America) as far as participation or viewship is concerned.
Yes John, emmerse is an error as is lye. I’m sorry.
London did ban smoking. Manchester did not (at least in the past 6 months since I’ve been there last). I was in Germany nine months ago and had to buy a new lung. I was in Japan 18 months ago, and my hair still smells like an ash tray. What was your point again?
Wow. 2 countries and 1 city.
Ireland. Australia. Bangladesh. Canada. Estonia. Finland. Greece. Brazil.
Would you like me to go on?
John
Actually, I believe it was recently in the news that Australia is the fattest nation in the world.
“You really need to travel more and see these sports from outside the US.”
Don’t say stupid stuff like this. America is the land of one million sports. That is our life. That is why athletes from around the world strive to come to America to play sports. Because we support and love these sports unlike the rest of the world. I have been around the world 15 times and never heard on BBC or any Asian news station about how Joe Blow threw a discus today. Give up on the America bashing. We’re more passionate about sports than any country in the world. Just because we don’t kill each other when our one soccer team loses doesn’t unqualify us as passionate. Or maybe we should throw bananas on the basketball court like you do in Italy during soccer matches at the black players? WOuld that make us better fans? Or more worldly? Or more accepting? Or more full of culture?
I hate this conversation. But I hate even more when ‘outsiders’ take cheap shots at americans. We love sports and are more knowledgable about sports than any country in the world, and I can prove that. You can’t. And if an American wants to see a sport removed from the Olympics, whether they are right or wrong, they are better informed than you.
Are you serious? Did you open your eyes on any of your 15 times around the world.
I think part of your problem is you’re confusing participation for passion.
I am secluded. I have lived in states where if you are fat, you are the minority (Colorado, California, Arizona, Oregon). I’m sure if you went to Jacksonville, FL or Buffalo, NY you could find your stereo-type you are looking for. But I don’t need to take a poll or read a newspaper to know that the majority of Britains our overweight. But if I did read a newspaper, I would find out that over 40% of Russians are overweight and 50% of Britains.
As an American, I appreciate your enthusiasm and clear passion and love for our country, but I’m not sure your argument is fully supported by facts. You have a lot of anecdotal evidence about you and your friends and neighbors, which is fine, but hardly proof of what the populace of the country is like. I could just as easily tell you that my friends and myself can’t name a single NBA, NFL or any major sport figure because it’s not something that interests the crowd I hang around with. It’s hardly proof the country cares or doesn’t care about sports. I can also attest that with family and friends in England, Wales and Italy, that there are plenty of people in Europe with knowledge well beyond the local football teams including cycling, track and field, rally car, F1, MMA, boxing, cricket, tennis and a host of other sports. I’ve also traveled the world and never seen a US superbowl party that would compare to the crowd at the local pub during the World Cup. Of course with little or no personal interest, maybe I’ve just missed some of the best superbowl parties. Regardless, the point is, my observations, and yours as well, are just that, personal observations. Now if you can provide per capita data on what is spent on sports in the US compared to other countries, I would be interested in seeing this. It’s not that I agree or disagree with you, it’s simply that I don’t think you have provided proof of your claims.