Water polo. Some of my best friends played on our high school team and they were state tourney contenders, we'd used to jeer opponents from the stands and make them go nuts.
Count me in with sumo wrestling. Used to watch it when it was filler programming for ESPN. I like how you have no weight classes and see some of the smaller guys dominate the bigger guys. Everybody should give it a watch, you may get hooked.
Saw a rodeo a few years back, I enjoyed and would like to see another.
Legends Football League was also fun to watch.
Never saw roller derby, but imagine that would be a decent watch.
03-24-2020 09:33 PM
bill dazzle
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(03-24-2020 04:18 PM)bill dazzle Wrote: To watch: volleyball and table tennis (ping pong)
To play: juggling (though I realize most folks don't consider that a "sport" in the conventional sense)
I continue to wonder if volleyball can become a fairly major team sport in the U.S. It "lends itself" to TV: a big ball that is easy to follow, a small playing surface that allows for a frenetic pace, and athletes that are not covered in padding and helmets (as such, you can see the sweat, the muscles and the expressions). Also, and this is hugely helpful in building popularity, volleyball is (like soccer and hoops) a sport that is played by both men and women all over the world. As the U.S. becomes more international, ... you never know.
I think that's an interesting point about volleyball. You can also play it in existing arenas. It's not like you have to build a brand new infrastructure for volleyball.
I've always enjoyed the volleyball games I've watched although I've never followed it.
Very good point about the facility element. Agree.
03-24-2020 10:08 PM
bill dazzle
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1) Popular in most places. For this discussion, let's say that means very popular in the US or at least reasonably popular across the globe.
Rugby League is the most popular "football" game in the two Eastern Australian states, Ozzie Rules the most popular "football" games in the rest of Australia, Volleyball is probably sport number four in China, behind ping pong, basketball and "Association" football (soccer). Of course, Rugby Union is the number one sport in New Zealand and Wales and number two in South Africa and the Eastern Australian states and played at a club level all around the world.
All of those are professional sports in some part of the world (as is Beach Volleyball, and since it's really big in Brazil it can bounce back and forth between Northern and Southern hemisphere summer).
Quote: 2) There's enough money in it that athletes and others can make a living by being invested...I'm saying on a large scale that would need to be true.
So there's rugby league and beach volleyball knocked out.
Quote: 3) Something that a network would air and expect to get decent ratings out of...something they would use in prime time and not just as filler in the off hours.
Yeah, rugby league and beach volleyball are out, unless that is restricted to a US network.
Quote: Basically this, if you can't form a professional association around it along with making money and generating buzz among casual sports fans then I would say it's not mainstream.
"across the globe" is where you get to questions of "how long is a short piece of string" ...
... from the ones where the "pro league" is very much minor league and there aren't any broadcast stations in some part of the world competing for media rights, I'll go with Lacrosse.
When I think of the term "across the globe," here's what comes to mind...
1) It's a big time sport across much of the planet. Soccer, basketball, tennis, and golf would all meet that criteria. There are probably others I'm not thinking of.
2) A sport that has a robust international competition that is not dependent on the Olympic network in order to exist. Examples of this might be the rugby world cup or the cricket world cup. They aren't terribly popular in the US, but a lot of countries take enough interest to put something together that is must-see TV in various places around the world.
These are sports that would be considered niche here, but mainstream in various places. On the flip side of that, baseball also has an international competition. The sport is mainstream here, but niche in most of the world. Play with that definition as you will.
***Sidenote
I was once followed on Twitter by a guy that was apparently some official with an international organization over a sport called "floorball." He was from Scandinavia and most of the time I have no idea what he's going on about if I catch a tweet. I've still never seen a game of floorball.
It’s a mix of basketball and hockey. The only problem with the sport is it’s damm hard to see the numbers on the caps to know who is doing what. The sport really needs hockey announcers.
(03-24-2020 10:18 PM)ChrisLords Wrote: I watch women's beach volleyball whenever it's on during the summer Olympics.
The Olympics only??? Heck everyday and twice on the weekends. Come to think of it, why can't they be playing right now? It's only 4 ladies playing outdoors that are rarely within 6 feet of each other unless they're patting each other on the butt encouragingly.
(03-24-2020 04:18 PM)bill dazzle Wrote: To watch: volleyball and table tennis (ping pong)
To play: juggling (though I realize most folks don't consider that a "sport" in the conventional sense)
I continue to wonder if volleyball can become a fairly major team sport in the U.S. It "lends itself" to TV: a big ball that is easy to follow, a small playing surface that allows for a frenetic pace, and athletes that are not covered in padding and helmets (as such, you can see the sweat, the muscles and the expressions). Also, and this is hugely helpful in building popularity, volleyball is (like soccer and hoops) a sport that is played by both men and women all over the world. As the U.S. becomes more international, ... you never know.
I think that's an interesting point about volleyball. You can also play it in existing arenas. It's not like you have to build a brand new infrastructure for volleyball.
I've always enjoyed the volleyball games I've watched although I've never followed it.
Very good point about the facility element. Agree.
Volleyball is already a mainstream sport in Hawaii. Both the UH men's and women's teams draw big crowds. Here's what a volleyball match looks like in a sold-out 10,000 seat arena:
(03-26-2020 08:58 AM)Gamecock Wrote: I enjoy wrestling and think it would be great if more colleges had teams. I would definitely go to some SC matches.
Similarly my wife loves gymnastics and is jealous of all the SEC programs that have one
I've never been to one of the gymnastics meets here, but I know people who go regularly and they love it.
I'm a little surprised more SEC schools haven't taken it up because it seems to be pretty popular wherever you go in this region. Tons of young girls take courses at local gyms so you've got a built in recruiting base and fan base too.
(03-26-2020 08:58 AM)Gamecock Wrote: I enjoy wrestling and think it would be great if more colleges had teams. I would definitely go to some SC matches.
Similarly my wife loves gymnastics and is jealous of all the SEC programs that have one
I've never been to one of the gymnastics meets here, but I know people who go regularly and they love it.
I'm a little surprised more SEC schools haven't taken it up because it seems to be pretty popular wherever you go in this region. Tons of young girls take courses at local gyms so you've got a built in recruiting base and fan base too.
I took my daughter to an Illinois State University gymnastics meet. There were probably 1000 people in the stands. Our team isn't even nationally ranked or anything. It was really fun.
It seems like a low-cost sport to add - the equipment is easy to bring out and set up in a basketball gym. Seems like the biggest cost would be insurance.
(03-24-2020 04:18 PM)bill dazzle Wrote: To watch: volleyball and table tennis (ping pong)
To play: juggling (though I realize most folks don't consider that a "sport" in the conventional sense)
I continue to wonder if volleyball can become a fairly major team sport in the U.S. It "lends itself" to TV: a big ball that is easy to follow, a small playing surface that allows for a frenetic pace, and athletes that are not covered in padding and helmets (as such, you can see the sweat, the muscles and the expressions). Also, and this is hugely helpful in building popularity, volleyball is (like soccer and hoops) a sport that is played by both men and women all over the world. As the U.S. becomes more international, ... you never know.
I agree with both. Volleyball is super entertaining to watch when played at a high level. It's a shame it's seems to be mostly a women's sport in the US at least at high school and college level. Not that I don't find women's VB interesting but it might gain traction if both it were offered more for men as well.