Others: How do you rank the sports in the United States?

How would you rank the sports of the United States in order of popularity and coverage? When you make your list, differentiate between pro and college sports.

1. The National Football League - no doubt about this one; the NFL rules America
2. (but far behind #1)College Football - this one has always been strong, but now it's getting bigger
3. Major League Baseball - got a boost in recent years; we'll see if it can maintain any momentum in the post-steroid era
4. NASCAR - as much as I hate to admit it, NASCAR is huge in the United States and its fan base just keeps growing
5. NBA basketball - last year was exciting and the playoffs were amazing. Another few seasons like 2005-06 and the NBA will be back at #2 where it was in the 1980's and 1990's
6. College Basketball - March Madness dominates the sports world for two weeks, and the regular season is getting more coverage
7. Golf - For many, it's a hate it or love it kind of sport. Tiger Woods is what keeps golf popular in the United States as a spectator sport
8. NHL Hockey - This one is falling fast, and if things continue the way they have been, the NHL could be in dire trouble--even with its loyal fan base
9. Poker - Believe it or not, this one is gaining in popularity at an unbelievable rate
10. Tennis - still has its fans, but this one is diminishing in interest as well, and is being threatened by such sports as cycling and soccer

Lay it on me--what's wrong with this list?

I can't really tell you what's wrong with the list, so I'll just make my own:

1. MLB - The reason I choose this over the NFL, is that over 162 games per team, I'm sure it gets much more coverage than the NFL's 16 per team. And maybe it's not as apparent as the NFL, but the popularity of Baseball is overwhelming. Combined attendance for these events are much much higher than those of NFL games.

2. College Football - There are tons of games, with tons of people attending, with tons of coverage. This kinda goes with baseball in that, if the combined numbers at College Football Games, are compared to those from NFL games, I believe we find that College Football gets more coverage, and has a larger fan-base. I know many people that like the College ranks better than the NFL since they are playing for the fun of it all, not for the money.

3. NFL - Is working it's way to the top sport in America, but has a little ways to go yet.

4. NBA - Not nearly as popular as it used to be, it aslo is working it's way up the ladder due to players like LeBron and Wade. In a few years, it'll be back up in either the 2 or 3 spots.

5. NASCAR - NASCAR has ALWAYS been a big sport in America. Especially in those SOuthern States where there is nothing else on anybody's mind than watching these cars go in a circle. I alos include the smaller cup races in here (Like the Busch series) so it lands in a numero cinco.

6. College Basketball - There isn't too much going on the the regular season match-ups that cause for much coverage. It's not till March that people really start watching. I don't watch during the regular season unless there is nothing else on. I think the best this could get woud be number 5.

7. Poker - Poker has become extremely popular over the last few years. Every channel seems to have some form of it, whether it's Strip Poker, Celebrity poker, etc. I see more just flipping through the channels than I do any of the following sports, so it lands in at number 7.

8. Golf - For the small time Tiger was in a huge sump, much interest dropped from golf.. but now that Tiger is back into his groove, people are starting to watch more. I see this maybe rising a spot or two in the next year or so.

9. NHL - After the strike and such, it's popularity still has some work to do. It gained a great wealth of fans with the new rules and such, but it's not good enough to get them any higher than the 9 spot.

10. Tennis - Does anyone even watch this stuff anymore?

There's mine... I'm sure it's not all right, but that's just kinda how I view the top 10.

[Edited on 7/30/2006 by GiantsFan]

3. NFL - Is working it's way to the top sport in America, but has a little ways to go yet.

GiantsFan, please don't take this the wrong way, but where have you been living for the last 10 years? The NFL has been #1 in the United States for over 20 years now. Each year, the Super Bowl is by far the highest rated TV show, and the five months of NFL season outshine the rest of the sports on at the time. On sports shows in October, the first thing they talk about is the NFL season, not the baseball playoffs. For the last four years, the NFL has set attendance records--something baseball can't claim.

There really is no competition when it comes to #1.

Trust me... I know how popular the sport is, and even how much just the Super Bowl is... but coverage wise, and popularity wise, I see Baseball and College Football beating the NFL in those categories.

There are more people that enjoy Baseball than Football. It was and still is, but barely, America's past-time. Everyone, from little kids to senior citizens enjoy watching Baseball. It really is the most popular sport in America.

And for College Football... there are so many teams, and so many college students that go psycho over their school, that it has a larger fan-base. I know many poeple that prefer the NCAA over the NFL... some of which do not even watch the NFL anymore. Based off of that, and just how much coverage the NCAA gets, I put it into second.

I don't mean to make it sound that the NFL is a far way off from the Top Spot... All three spots are very close, but it'll take a little while longer before the NFL would be able to reach that top spot.

Duplicate post--my computer was acting up.

[Edited on 7/30/06 by BirdstheBest]

Duplicate post--my computer was acting up.

[Edited on 7/30/06 by BirdstheBest]

I gotta say, guy, I'm really surprised here. I consider you one of the most knowledgable and insightful people on this website, but here you're rejecting truth. It's not really an opinion that the NFL is the most popular sport in the U.S., it's a fact.

On ESPN, the NFL show runs year round--not so for the other sports. In October, the NFL is focused on rather than MLB playoffs. When the NFL draft rolls around in April, the whole sports world turns to it, ignoring basketball (which is hitting the stretch at that point) and baseball (which has just started up). The Super Bowl has been the most watched TV show almost every year since 1980. It's Nielsen ratings dwarf that of any World Series game or any college bowl game. Take a look sometime at the all time Nielsen ratings. Super Bowls comprise almost half of the top 50 shows of all time. Super Bowl XVI is still the most watched Super Bowl; 49.1% of American households watched it. As a restaurant worker, I can tell you that Super Bowl Sunday is the slowest day of the year. No one is going out to eat--maybe ordering some party platters, but not eating in. That can't be said about MLB or college football. Neither of those causes restaurant business to come grinding to a halt. Above all, though, consider how much businesses pay to get a commercial aired during the Super Bowl. No one pays that money to get an ad on a BCS title game or World Series Game 7.

The NFL rules the U.S. That is a fact. It has been America's pastime now for over 20 years.

Well.. ok, after thinking about it some more... I can give the Popularity vote to the NFL over the MLB. I didn't take into consider like NFL tonight kinda shows in account when talking about coverage. I was thinking more along the lines of actual games.

When talking about actual games, thew MLB gets much more, especially on basic cable. Every day you can find something... which obviously the NFL can't compete with being only played on Sunday's (for the most part). So going just for games, the MLB wins. Going with highlight shows and all that other side shows, then the NFL wins.

But I think that the MLB's popularity, while it may be less than the NFL is still high enough when combined with it's coverage (of games) to be put into first place.

But wherever each spot belongs... neither belongs in the 2 spot. That's just kinda how I see it all, I'm not saying you're wrong at all... I've even said I am probably wrong, it's just how I see it.

Maybe some more opinions from the others, like Gibbs, TRD, or BHN will add a little more argument for eaither one of us.

lol, and I feel kinda honored you consider me knowledgeable and such. My old buds use to call me little Schwabb and if they had a quarrel, they'd let me solve it for them.

How do "I" rank them? Well, I'd agree with your list BTB, in terms of what's popular. But here's MY list, in terms of what I like-

NFL
College basketball
College football
NBA
Major League baseball (but still not paying a lot of attention until playoff time).

And that's about it. I really don't follow racing that much, and certainly not golf. Tennis used to be interesting, but I haven't watched that for years. I'd rather be dragged behind a truck than watch people play cards.

I watch a lot of outdoor fishing/hunting type shows, but don't watch the ones involving competition. There's just something inherently wrong about fishing being a competitve sport. IMO.

(Okay, don't flame me here) Fishing's more of a meditative, Zen-like almost religious experience for me. It could no more be competitive than praying.

I agree that we need Gibbs, BHN, and aegis fang to give their opinions as well.

GiantsFan, I think we have something in common. My friends always come to me when they need a sports argument settled or when they can't recall a certain stat. One time I was in church, and the preacher was trying to make a point about our memories. He said, "Who here remembers what team won the Super Bowl five years ago?" When I raised my hand, he said, "All right, who remembers what team won the Super Bowl 10 years ago?' Again, I raised my hand, prompting him to finally say, "Does anyone but ******** remember?"

You make a good point about the sheer quantity of MLB games, but I think that just emphasizes the popularity of the NFL. With most of the games on Sunday and only 256 regular season games, the NFL still dominates September through December, and the talk from Tuesday through Saturday every week revolves around the NFL.

I think both MLB and the NBA are on the rebound, but they still have a lot of ground to make up if they hope to catch up to the NFL. MLB has been revitalized by the World Series victories of both the Red Sox and the White Sox, an it is moving out of the steroid era with the increased testing and harsher penalties. The NBA has nicer stars--many of whom are quite young--and the playoffs this year were spectacular. If the NBA can ride this high, it may be in the running for #2 come five years.

If you was to do a poll in the UK as to what is the best US sport, the outcome would be a little unexpected to alot of Americans. But going on what i have read, tv coverage and people i have spoken to its Basketball. The NBA has a huge following over here and i would say the NFL are just a little way behind followed by the MLB..

Now if you wanted to know what the most popular sport is in the World, and before you ask im not making it up, go check for yourself. You Americans would say that it's low-scoring, slow-paced, and, worst of all, can end in ties. Ohh the drama of the penalties and the way the players dive. Yes you got it, its Football, european style...

TRD, that's quite interesting. So, the NBA is the most popular over there in Great Britain, huh? What I wonder is how much the Europeans follow NFL Europe--the American Football league over there. Is that league pretty popular or not?

What about television coverage? Can you see NFL, NBA, or MLB games live? Or is everything on time delay?

I would say personally that the NFL Europe doesnt have that much of a following in the UK but they do have a big following in other European countries like Germany. As far as i know there isn't alot of TV coverage in the UK either.

As for the others, NFL, NBA and MLB we get them live on the regular TV channels every week. They show upto 2 games a week for baseball and have studio analayis, stats and a round up of all the other games. Same for the NFL, they show all the regular season games, the play-offs and the superbowl. Then we get all different games on cable tv and sky tv, so your basically spoilt for choice.

We can also get coverage of the Nascar, which i always try to watch.

I'll add my 2 cents here, now these rankings are my personal rankings and i don't give a rip one way or the other what convetional wisdom and national popularity says. that being said here's my list.

1. MLB. give me a cold beer, a hot dog and a baseball game, it doesn't matter who's playing i'll watch it, heck on my days off i drive down to the park and watch the T-Ball games because there's nothing better than little kids trying to play ball.

2. NASCAR. I got into this a dozen years ago when i worked the night shift and found absolutely nothing on television on sunday morning so i watched a race, i was hooked. 3 dozen races later i still try to get to 2 or 3 a year, the best part of this sport (yes i called it a a sport) are the fans, for the most part it doesn't matter who your favorite driver is almost all the fans get along and have a great time together because it's about hanging out watching someone do what you wish you could do, go 200mph without getting arrested.

3. College Football. I was introduced to college football at my first NASCAR race, Talladega Alabama. It was after the race and while we were having a good time in the parking lot waiting to leave, someone had their tv on to the Tide/Vols game. I was again instantly hooked and now i will watch just about any NCAA game. It's not because they play for the "Fun of it" because they don't, they want to be in the NFL. I just like how the game flows, it almost seems like it's a more fluid game, not stopping every 10 seconds for a commercial or to contest a call, but there is also that yes these guys don't get paid, legally anyway.

4. NFL. I don't follow this to regular but i've been watching more since i started playing fantasy football. For some reason i just can't get into it like most people i know. If i don't have to cut the grass or shovel the driveway i'll watch the NFL. Other wise my sunday's are usually resevered for napping.

5. Golf. I still can't watch this on tv, if i had an opportunity i might go and sit in one of the galleries of a PGA event. Personally i'd rather go golfing than watch it.

6. NBA. I haven't watched an entire game ever, this sport ranks up there with tiddlywinks for me. Got a tire iron, beat me with it please the NBA finals are on, what's with the NBA playoffs anyway they start in late April and run through June?????????? this is a sport i'd probably rather play than watch.

7. Poker. come on give me a break.

8. NCAA basketball. Can't watch it, don't like it, but i'll fill out my bracket.

9. Tennis. didn't Anna Kournikova play this game?

10. Last but not least the Scripps-Howard national spelling bee. Who thought this would be a good idea to put on tv? more importantly why do these kids know how to spell words that haven't been commonly used ever?

There's my list, i may have to edit it later while i do some thinking about my list.

[quote=aegis fang]9. Tennis. didn't Anna Kournikova play this game? According to Martina Hingis, Anna wants to make a tennis comeback.

Originally posted by BirdstheBest
How would you rank the sports of the United States in order of popularity and coverage? When you make your list, differentiate between pro and college sports.

1. The National Football League - no doubt about this one; the NFL rules America
2. (but far behind #1)College Football - this one has always been strong, but now it's getting bigger
3. Major League Baseball - got a boost in recent years; we'll see if it can maintain any momentum in the post-steroid era
4. NASCAR - as much as I hate to admit it, NASCAR is huge in the United States and its fan base just keeps growing
5. NBA basketball - last year was exciting and the playoffs were amazing. Another few seasons like 2005-06 and the NBA will be back at #2 where it was in the 1980's and 1990's
6. College Basketball - March Madness dominates the sports world for two weeks, and the regular season is getting more coverage
7. Golf - For many, it's a hate it or love it kind of sport. Tiger Woods is what keeps golf popular in the United States as a spectator sport
8. NHL Hockey - This one is falling fast, and if things continue the way they have been, the NHL could be in dire trouble--even with its loyal fan base
9. Poker - Believe it or not, this one is gaining in popularity at an unbelievable rate
10. Tennis - still has its fans, but this one is diminishing in interest as well, and is being threatened by such sports as cycling and soccer

Lay it on me--what's wrong with this list?

What's wrong with this list is the comment about baseball's "post-steroid era." Yes, steroids MAY be pretty much a thing of the past, but only because everyone is using HGH instead. The same b.s. assault on the record book, the same unnatural and absurd bulking up of players, and thus the same cheating, continues.

And remember, we only got around to addressing a fraction of the cheating during steroid ball--the gigantic muscle freaks who hit preposterous numbers of HR's for preposterous distances. Nothing was done about all the middle infielders who suddenly could hit 20 HR's per year, and hit them 20 rows deep to the opposite field. Jeff Kent, whose so-so career just exploded in S.F., got off scot free.

And MUCH worse, not a thing has been done to date about the use of performance-enhancing drugs (steroids and HGH--i.e., cheating) by pitchers. How many of us want to believe Roger Clemens' season of historic proportions last year, at age 43, was a product of massive HGH use? Not me. But Jeez Louise, since when can a 43-year-old throw like THAT. And now, days from his 44th birthday, his ERA is something like 2.08, although I understand the fastball has declined considerably this year, so he may really be doing it on guile now. But even if he's innocent--a huge assumption, but one which would make me oh so happy--there are tons of other pitchers who are not.

As I've mentioned on this site, I know a guy from Internet poker who pitched briefly in MLB, with no distinction, and then when to Japan to pitch there. He candidly said that of course he's on HGH--and that so is virtually everyone in MLB, because you are at an enormous competitive disadvantage if you're not. He said MLB will go to any lengths to conceal that fact and avoid making an HGH test workable.

This is exactly what I already believed. My belief is set in stone now.

BHN