Uk / Us Sporting Differences

[princerupe74]

watching British tv coverage of the Superbowl and wondering how many people here are remotely interested, it occurs to me how little the two nations have in common in terms of major sports. Participation in cricket, rugby, and even soccer in the States is about as limited as UK involvement in baseball, basketball, ice hockey and American Football. Why do you think that is and can you see it changing in the future?

[RATTER15]

I don't see it changing, a lot of Brits don't like all the hype, cheerleaders etc. and we are not brought up on it seeing and hearing about it everyday in our schools etc.

[DangerUXD]

I don't mind gridiron when they actually get on with it but for a game that takes and hour to take 4-5 hours elapsed time means that there's a lot of hanging about and I just lose interest. Basketball is fun to play but horrible to watch and as far as I can tell baseball is rounders with a few mods thrown in so I'd rather watch our school girls play it!

[ChillDoubt]

Rugby is on the increase in the US and they do have some good players.
I've watched gridiron off and on since Ch 4 started showing it in the early 80's.
It has a niche market over here and that is reflected in the fact that the NFL have played a game here for the last few years and each one has sold out with great success, to the point that as of next season there will be two NFL games at Wembley.
Gridiron can be played in all weathers, whereas baseball probably needs conditions similar to cricket, which invariably gets rained off, maybe that's why it's never enjoyed the same success.

[Duncer]

Baseball is just rounders in pyjamas, much as curling is merely bowls on ice with a bit of housework thrown in.

[emmie]

i can't see us every adopting their sports nor the other way around.
I have seen American football here and it just wasn't the same, besides i prefer rugby any day of the week, and can't see the Americans getting to grips with it in a big way.

[barney15c]

I watch US sports but as a previous poster said we Brits dont take to the stop starting nature (Ie Time outs, advertising breaks) that is inherant in them. I'm sure that if the yanks could make a 'soccer' match 3 x 15 minute periods of play per half they would. They changed penalty kicks to shootouts for a short period of time i also beleive draws did not exist as in other US sports where the outcome could only be a win/loss decided by penalties.

[barney15c]

That would be in the NASL era (Win Loss Games)

[kawakiri]

I much prefer american football and baseball just hate paying through the nose to watch them.
Yes I will be at Wembley for both NFL games later this year, hopefully my beloved Steelers will get the better of the Vikings.

[Anita12345]

A big difference between the UK sports betters and the US punters has to do with the popularity of sports. In the United Kingdom, soccer or football is obviously the most dominant sport, and you will see a lot of special promotions ran by UK marketed sportsbooks directed towards the English Premier League, World Cup and any other soccer competition. Tennis, horse racing and even darts are also a lot bigger in the UK, with almost no market for the likes of darts in the US.
In the United States of America however, the most popular sports are baseball, basketball and football. These are obviously a lot different than the UK sports – for example the traditional soccer game has a set end time, while American sports usually feature the strong possibility of overtime periods, and you can often see American sports extend an hour past their usual end time.