Hey ya'll,
I am so sorry that it has been a while since my last post, but life as a college student has been CRAZY. I feel like every teacher has piled tons of work on but that isn't what I am here to talk about.
Sports are huge at the University of Tennessee and I feel like every one has a special place in the UT students hearts except one; Baseball. Now I know that there must be a few students that know all of the players names and positions, but I didn't even know that the baseball season begins this weekend. UT even has an opening game where they are giving away mini statues to try to get fans interested in their program.
All of this got me thinking about the majors sports that don't seem to get any attention even though they are entertaining sports and have amazing athletes. Now most of the ones I will mention weren't created in the United States but I still feel like if people would watch them, then they might develop major fan support in America.
Maybe it is because I used to live in an area where hockey is king but being in the South it seems like hockey doesn't even exist.There are teams all over the US and Canada, and portions of our country appear totally indifferent to the game.Visualize a football team on ice and throw in body slams, fist fights, and loose teeth. It is the only sport in the United States where you can get charged with aggravated assault while playing the game. Besides the fights it also takes real talent and skill to play hockey. Being on ice skates seems like a big enough challenge but to be able to keep control of a stick and puck will impress anyone. Hockey has the spirit of football and the speed of soccer. If people could just embrace it like another American sport. Plus hockey makes anyone happy that they have all of their teeth.
Why is it that Americans cant love soccer? I know that it is the sport of the world and one of the only sports that has a world tournament outside of the Olympics. I really wish that the people of America would wake up and start watching this sport. The teams that play in the states aren't as intense or as fast paced as the European teams but the game is still amazing. You can tell that the soccer players are true athletes just by watching 15 min of them running across the field or kicking the ball 3/4 the length of the field. Soccer has so much history and the fans are way crazier than any NFL fan. If you don't believe me watch a movie called " Green Street Hooligans" it is an exaggerated look into the life of European football fans and will open your eyes as to how loyal a fan can be.
I feel like America needs some new sports and these are perfect ones for the country to embrace. I hope ya'll have a great rest of the week and enjoy opening weekend of college baseball!
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Baseball:
ReplyDeleteUT Baseball hasn't been as productive in the past (football) or even as of late (Bruce Pearl and his squad) to warrant the attention of the student body. While we may have produced a few greats and award winners such as Todd Helton and Luke Hochevar, they don't compare to the talent the football team has produced or the atmosphere the basketball team has accomplished. That being said, opening the season with 2006 and 2007 CWS Champion Oregon St. is a great way to start with a bang.
Hockey:
Americans turned their back on the NHL after the strike.
That's all I have to say about that.
Soccer:
My theory is that Americans don't love soccer because we are a nation with ADD. Think about it, football restarts every 5 seconds.
Basketball is new every 20 seconds, with fast breaks and shots in between. Why does baseball have a struggling fan base? The same reason soccer does: It's too slow paced for the American attention span. That's why baseball was popular in 1908, but not 2008. In an era where we can know everything whenever we want, we want immediate gratification. Soccer takes too long and doesn't score enough. Plus, from a commercialistic standpoint, there's no time for...ahem... commercials. Soccer plays continuously and has no time outs, not commercial breaks, therefore fewer sponsorship dollars. Sure they advertise on the shirts and the boards around the stadium, but that's no where near the amount you can make off one football game.
That being said, I completely agree with you.
I am glad that UT baseball has some sort of regocnition on campus but I still it deserves more.
ReplyDeleteSo baseball can have 4 different strikes and it is still considered "America's favorite sport"? That makes NO sense.
I am sorry soccer is not shorter, but I stil think it deserves a chance. Maybe the advertising companies could do like they do in Europe where they put it on the teams jerseys. Or on the pannels that go all the way around the field.
When were the 4 different strikes? I'm pretty sure they've only had one and that was in 1994. And it took Hockey screwing up and going into strike to finally make Americans turn back to the MLB. And with baseball, it's generally accepted that baseball is Americas PASTtime, but America's game now is football. Football is king.
ReplyDeleteAs a huge fan of the European, British, and South American form of Football, it is a travesty that it's not worshipped here the way it is there. But, it is the fastest growing sport and league in the US, and in the MLS they do put sponsorships on the jerseys and panels, but it's still not as much money as a football game, when you can have about 60-80 commercial spots in one game.