THE MOST IMPORTANT SPORT IN THE USA (Page 1 of 2)

Hi Phil, here in Canada ice hockey is our big sport, oh and I stood on the ice pond that the very first hockey was played in 1887 in Windsor, Nova Scotia . In the USA football,baseball,
and basketball are huge. not sure which one is tops. Seems college football is biggest af all.
Nascar racing is also very big in the USA, some races attract a quarter of a million people
which must generate millions of dollars on race day. For me its hockey, the speed, hits,goals,
team work.

hope you have a good day...   Badeye   

Depending on how it's measured, there's a strong argument that stock car racing is America's #1 observation sport and tennis is America's #1 participation sport. 

That said, it's football and college basketball that get's the die-hards going nuts and spending cash.  Using a measurement of most money spent, I'd have to think that NFL (National Football League) beats them all, though NASCAR (something something Stock Car something Racing) probably comes close and may actually win out. 

The thing about NASCAR that is appealing to me has nothing to do with the cars.  Every event is like a party.  It's three days of tailgating and camping and loud, obnoxious entertainment.  While I've not done that, I do like tailgating and camping and sometimes (though not often) like loud and obnoxious entertainment.  Nothing about NFL appeals to me.

To answer one of your questions, it is sometimes an honor to be selected to sing the National Anthem at the start of a game, or to play at half-time.  Mostly it's considered a good money-making opportunity or good exposure.  By the time you get to the NFL absolutely everything is tainted by marketing and money.  Everything.  NFL is much more about business than it is about sport.  My opinion.  Your mileage may vary. 

While the numbers are down, baseball is still considered "America's Sport".  I guess.  It's fun to go to the games, but I'd rather do just about anything than watch it on TV, or worse yet be forced to play.  Softball, now there's a sport for the masses to play.  I can remember playing softball with beer kegs at first base and third base.  That was fun.  I don't think we even kept score.  We were doing well to count all the way to three to know when to change innings.  Baseball?  It's much too serious.  It's kind of like fly-fishing.  There are people who are very, very serious about perfection in every aspect, and then there's people who just want to catch fish.  Except, I haven't yet met the baseball guys who just want to play baseball and have fun. 

- Zurf

Hey Topdown, Glad to hear there's more hockey fans out there.
Here in London we have the Junior A London Knights. From this league they are drafted directly to the NHL. Right now we are waiting to start the final series with Windsor. It should be a barn burner. We have John Tavares who will be the #1 NHL draft this year. (he'll end up in Toronto LOL) Windsor has Tyler Hall expected to be #1 in the entry draft. I haven't checked lately but I think London is #6 ranked in the country.
We get Freebee tickets to watch the Knights and it's always a blast. The JLC holds 9,500 and is always sold out.
I gotta agree that Junior sports are gooder to watch cause the kids are playing for their future and aren't spoiled yet.
My boss's brother plays in the NHL for St Louis (I think), can't remember his first name but the last name is Crombeen.
You have a great time watching the Hurricanes and I'll be thinking of you next time my Habs take you on.

Enjoy the game

Kenny

Hey Kenny - I had the pleasure of partying with some Habs fans during our run in '06. It was amazing how many traveled all the way to NC for a hockey game. They said they could travel, buy a ticket and hotel cheaper than they could pay just see a game back home. Anyway, they ware a good bunch of fans. Now... When Buffalo fans come to town there are always problems... we don't like them much.

The Raleigh, NC area has really embraced the sport. I have friends there who have never seen ice that now love the sport and are season ticket holders holders to the canes. I live about a 1-1/2 hour drive and the canes get no press coverage at home. A mention and box score on page 6 of the sports page is about it - even when we won the cup!

Changed my avatar just for the run, done shaving for a long time too I hope!

Come on y'all!! Please don't think that the majority of us edu-mah-cated folk here in the USA consider sitting on our rumps down in the seat of an automobile, going round and round in circles for hundreds of miles, turning left( almost always),and  mashing the gas pedal down, a sport. My father is married to a widow of a verysemi- famous pioneer of car racing and I appreciate the sacrifices and risks that car racers face. But these guys are not athletes and driving a car is not a sport. My Grandmother is 89 years old and she drives a car. There is no way my Grandmother could do Mixed Martial Arts. MMA's a real sport and it's the most rapidly inclining sport in the USA over the past 3 years.

And I'm very happy no single indivdual has had the audacity the even suggest golf as a sport. (;>}

And sorry to disagree with you Zurf ( again)but although I was a tennis player back in the McEnroe, Connors, Borg days, I do not know one single person who plays tennis, or watches it on TV today. Maybe I'm just sheltered in my paths of travel but I see dozens of tennis courts down here in sunny Florida and every one of them are empty, unless skateboarders are shreddin' on 'em.................

M.M.A.!!! Watch it, you'll dig it...

Hey guys, I agree with both of you that NASCAR isn't really a sport....I just didn't want to say cause SOME of those fans are FANATICAL! You know like pro wrestling is real fanatical. Golf is hard, but I'm not sitting at a bar with chicken wings and beer to watch the Masters. MMA is definately gaining in popularity, I just can't get into it but that doesn't make a bit of difference one way or the other.

Its football all the way...we even watch the draft! : )

Definitely agree on this one ... Southpaw, I agree as well ... I was Tennis fiend in the 80's with Lendl, Edberg, Chang, Courier, Sampras, and Agassi ... but since that generation has left the game, it's not exciting IMO ... granted Federer and Nadal have some epic battles, but to me it's not the same

I just wish Soccer would ease its way in there ... I LOVE it but I dont see it surplanting the "big three" anytime soon ... although I LOVE the Seattle Sounders ... and Manchester United of course

For the record, baseball is the greatest game ever invented.

But football is a real close second.

I absolutely do not get NASCAR at all.  I *love* MotoGP, F1, and World Rally Car, etc...  but NASCAR is 50 year old push rod motors turning left all day long.  The racing is boring (check MotoGP and WSB for great racing).  The cars are uninteresting (Check F1 for cars that make you all excited) , and the track layouts are lame (Laguna Seca would eat a NASCAR driver).   I have tried several times to figure out what the appeal is, and I simply do not get it.

But, for the record, I'll misquote Hemingway, and state that there are only three sports; motor racing, boxing, and baseball.

First, I said skateboarders.  I did not say they were skateboarding at the time.

Second, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lagodigarda/100829629/ 

Third, http://www.flickr.com/photos/36961634@N00/472971844/

I second that...where do I get an asphalt front lawn....more time for strumming...

Doesn't that look cool?  Makes me want to buy one and go fall down a lot.

- Zurf

Tried to watch baseball once, but couldn't stand all the close-ups of players spitting. What's all that about? It's just not cricket, old boy!