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The Next Great Sport

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will.ksr

All-American
Nov 18, 2008
5,383
7,465
113
75-100 years ago the most popular sports in the US were horse racing, boxing, and baseball. 50 years ago the most popular sport was baseball. 25 years ago it was probably baseball, NFL, NBA, and maybe also NASCAR.

Today, it's the NFL, college football, and then a big gap before everything else. Point being, things are always changing. What's popular in the past isn't popular today, and what's popular today probably won't be in 25-50 years. Some say the next popular sport will be soccer in the US. Then there's the F1 hipsters.

But I'll tell you the answer. I've seen the future and the next great sport is: rock-climbing.









 
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funKYcat75

funKYcat75

Heisman
Apr 10, 2008
32,417
41,024
112
Nah. Guys look at sports like golf, football, and baseball and (mostly incorrectly) think, “I could do that.” Anyone can have a basketball goal and be a driveway superstar. All you need to play soccer and football is a field and a ball. Golf might be relatively expensive, but there’s a course damn near everywhere.

You can’t just go play rock climbing. Very few if any manufactured walls in most places and it’s not really accessible for most people. You could go actual rock climbing, but without hundreds of dollars of gear, you’ll probably end up dead. It’s exciting to watch every once in a while, but like curling, gymnastics, luge, and other Olympic sports, it will never be huge.
 
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BlueRaider22

All-American
Sep 24, 2003
15,562
9,058
0
I know some people have trashed soccer saying, "They've all been saying soccer for 10-20 yrs and it hasn't happened yet.....blah, blah, blah....." It just takes a lot longer than that. But, I think it's going to be soccer.


1. Soccer is one of the largest and widely played youth sports.....and continues to grow rapidly. Basketball is also played at a young age and is very popular.

2. MLS - Major league soccer has only been around for a short while now, but continues to grow rapidly....and the product continues to improve.

3. Change in population.




Think about the data above. Most Asian countries list soccer/basketball as their #1/2 sports......followed by cricket, table tennis, etc. Most Latino countries have Soccer as #1 by far. Also, most Black countries list soccer as their #1 sport by far. Now, certainly a good portion of this growth is due to breeding within the US population, but it's also growing due to immigration.












4. Change in other sports. As much as I love football, there are major rule changes very frequently. The current sport is quite a bit different than it was 30 yrs ago......and much different than it was 50 yrs ago. While the intention of these rules are often pure, they also "might" take away from the fan or player enjoyment.

Now, contrast this to soccer. Since this is mostly a world sport, almost all countries use the same rules/format. This inherently makes it harder to make significant changes. And outside of adding technology (replay, goal-line tech, etc), the rules haven't changed a great deal in the last 30 yrs. This leads to a very consistent product.....at least as far as rules go.




5. Multi-level - Let's take football for instance. Living here in Kentucky......you pretty much just have the HS, NFL and college. But with soccer, you have HS (both men's and women's) college (both men and women's teams), MLS, USL, NWSL, USWNT, USMNT, etc.


6. World Cup and other large tournaments - In the current American sports, you always have the regular season followed by playoffs and a championship.....then it's done for the year. With Soccer, you have the regular seasons.....but also have rotating tournaments like the recent Gold Cup......or of course The World Cup.
 
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B

bkingUK

Heisman
Sep 23, 2007
18,693
22,496
0
BlueRaider22 said:
I know some people have trashed soccer saying, "They've all been saying soccer for 10-20 yrs and it hasn't happened yet.....blah, blah, blah....." It just takes a lot longer than that. But, I think it's going to be soccer.


1. Soccer is one of the largest and widely played youth sports.....and continues to grow rapidly. Basketball is also played at a young age and is very popular.

2. MLS - Major league soccer has only been around for a short while now, but continues to grow rapidly....and the product continues to improve.

3. Change in population.




Think about the data above. Most Asian countries list soccer/basketball as their #1/2 sports......followed by cricket, table tennis, etc. Most Latino countries have Soccer as #1 by far. Also, most Black countries list soccer as their #1 sport by far. Now, certainly a good portion of this growth is due to breeding within the US population, but it's also growing due to immigration.












4. Change in other sports. As much as I love football, there are major rule changes very frequently. The current sport is quite a bit different than it was 30 yrs ago......and much different than it was 50 yrs ago. While the intention of these rules are often pure, they also "might" take away from the fan or player enjoyment.

Now, contrast this to soccer. Since this is mostly a world sport, almost all countries use the same rules/format. This inherently makes it harder to make significant changes. And outside of adding technology (replay, goal-line tech, etc), the rules haven't changed a great deal in the last 30 yrs. This leads to a very consistent product.....at least as far as rules go.




5. Multi-level - Let's take football for instance. Living here in Kentucky......you pretty much just have the HS, NFL and college. But with soccer, you have HS (both men's and women's) college (both men and women's teams), MLS, USL, NWSL, USWNT, USMNT, etc.


6. World Cup and other large tournaments - In the current American sports, you always have the regular season followed by playoffs and a championship.....then it's done for the year. With Soccer, you have the regular seasons.....but also have rotating tournaments like the recent Gold Cup......or of course The World Cup.
Click to expand...
One thing I actually like about Louisville City games locally is that you see a different side of the community that you don’t see at a Kentucky or Louisville game. See a lot of Mexican immigrants and European immigrants 100% onboard and excited to have a local team they can call their own. Definitely adds to popularity I think.
 
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G

ganner918_rivals60369

Heisman
Mar 13, 2004
14,745
12,925
0
BlueRaider22 said:
I know some people have trashed soccer saying, "They've all been saying soccer for 10-20 yrs and it hasn't happened yet.....blah, blah, blah....." It just takes a lot longer than that. But, I think it's going to be soccer.
Click to expand...
Louisville City FC is averaging just shy of 10,000 attendance over 10 games this season. Minor league soccer in not very large city. MLS teams average over 20,000 attendance. I'm 100% with you on this.
 
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LineSkiCat14

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
38,069
59,363
113
If it's soccer it's 99% due to it being the world's sport.. and globalization continues to bleed into the US, and out of the US. It's almost a default choice. Plus it's cheap to play, which is why the rest of the world plays it.

I think Lacrosse is going to rise. Never to the top, and maybe not near it. But that sport is growing. Exciting to watch, the perfect amount of scoring, has a good "manly" factor to it.. but it's expensive to play, and the manly factor might not matter in a few years.

NBA will still be big.. part for the same reason as Soccer (becoming a global game, cheap to play), but it's heavily ingrained in African-American culture. The US might not dominate basketball in the coming decades, but it will be bigger than it is now.
 
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R

Ron Mehico

Heisman
Jan 4, 2008
15,473
33,054
0
I think golf, soccer, basketball, and e-gaming will continue to grow, and baseball will continue its decline and football will start its decline in about 10 years when this current generation of kiddos gets older.
 
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K

kyeric

Heisman
May 23, 2002
17,192
10,197
113
BlueRaider22 said:
I know some people have trashed soccer saying, "They've all been saying soccer for 10-20 yrs and it hasn't happened yet.....blah, blah, blah....." It just takes a lot longer than that. But, I think it's going to be soccer.
Click to expand...
10-20? It has been way longer than that. I know it was a thing (saying it was THE next big sport) when i was in high school and that has been 32yrs ago.

Now, it's almost like it has to be the next big sport, if there is going to be one, because it's the one with the most amount of room for growth that has any traction.

The big thing is, it takes the least amount of money to play of ALL sports. All you need is a ball and somewhere to kick it. Like someone mentioned, it's probably the main reason it is so popular worldwide. Kids grow up with it as their first sport and it sticks because it is cheaper (by a longshot) to play. It's probably the main reason football is such a decidedly American sport. It is entirely too expensive for most to play anywhere else in the world.

Here in the US, there are a couple other reasons it can catch on aside from the inexpensiveness...
1. At a young age, it requires the least amount of skill to play (kick and run) and the least amount of rules that NEED to be enforced for it to be playable. This allows for even younger kids to be able to play it.
2. Also, as it has already been pointed out, people immigrating into the US have brought the "world's sport" with them. Now their kids are growing or already grown with soccer as their sport.

I'm not a fan, personally, and probably never will be. Too old, not over the hill old, but too old to invest enough time into a sport that i've never cared one bit about up to this point. If i wanted to get into soccer, it would be at the expense of NBA, college basketball and college football. Not going to happen.
 
funKYcat75

funKYcat75

Heisman
Apr 10, 2008
32,417
41,024
112
I can imagine the young generation enjoying watching e-sports when they’re in their thirties and beyond.
 
U

Ukbrassowtipin

Heisman
Aug 12, 2011
82,109
89,931
0
kyeric said:
10-20? It has been way longer than that. I know it was a thing (saying it was THE next big sport) when i was in high school and that has been 32yrs ago.

Now, it's almost like it has to be the next big sport, if there is going to be one, because it's the one with the most amount of room for growth that has any traction.

The big thing is, it takes the least amount of money to play of ALL sports. All you need is a ball and somewhere to kick it. Like someone mentioned, it's probably the main reason it is so popular worldwide. Kids grow up with it as their first sport and it sticks because it is cheaper (by a longshot) to play. It's probably the main reason football is such a decidedly American sport. It is entirely too expensive for most to play anywhere else in the world.

Here in the US, there are a couple other reasons it can catch on aside from the inexpensiveness...
1. At a young age, it requires the least amount of skill to play (kick and run) and the least amount of rules that NEED to be enforced for it to be playable. This allows for even younger kids to be able to play it.
2. Also, as it has already been pointed out, people immigrating into the US have brought the "world's sport" with them. Now their kids are growing or already grown with soccer as their sport.

I'm not a fan, personally, and probably never will be. Too old, not over the hill old, but too old to invest enough time into a sport that i've never cared one bit about up to this point. If i wanted to get into soccer, it would be at the expense of NBA, college basketball and college football. Not going to happen.
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Yes...the inexpensive part is the reason it's so big globally and why basketball is 2nd. The 2nd reason is bc theyre something you can practice by yourself. You can learn and practice the main aspects of the game...to dribble/handle the ball and shoot by yourself.
 
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BigBlueDave_rivals76951

Heisman
May 30, 2009
4,019
18,397
0
31 posts and I am disappoint.



If 1989 taught me one thing...


I'll tell you a couple of things about myself, I'm nineteen, been overseas for a couple of semesters, but now I'm back. I'm an athlete, so I rarely drink.

Kickboxing.

You heard of kickboxing, sport of the future? Don 'The Dragon' Wilson, Lenny Merciless, one of the champions of the sport? I can see by your face, no. My point is, you can relax because your daughter will be safe with me for the next seven to eight hours.
 
RunninRichie

RunninRichie

Heisman
Sep 5, 2019
27,518
64,951
113
YaketySax said:
75-100 years ago the most popular sports in the US were horse racing, boxing, and baseball. 50 years ago the most popular sport was baseball. 25 years ago it was probably baseball, NFL, NBA, and maybe also NASCAR.

Today, it's the NFL, college football, and then a big gap before everything else. Point being, things are always changing. What's popular in the past isn't popular today, and what's popular today probably won't be in 25-50 years. Some say the next popular sport will be soccer in the US. Then there's the F1 hipsters.

But I'll tell you the answer. I've seen the future and the next great sport is: rock-climbing.









Click to expand...

what the ****?
 
C

CardHack

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
120,002
4,975
113
Worldwide soccer is inexpensive; in the US it is expensive but I think the most glaring reason why it has taken a noticeable step forward in the US in the last ten years or so is a simple one. Girls participate at a large level as well. Back when I was in HS in the 80's and it started becoming a sport offered at High schools invariably they were CoEd teams. It was an outlier sport where a kid deemed too small or unathletic to play football or basketball might play in between cross country seasons; in fact to your football and basketball coaches they derided it.

...that's not the case anymore. I think it's been somewhat at the expense of baseball.
 
V

vhcat70

Heisman
Feb 5, 2003
57,418
38,483
0
YaketySax said:
75-100 years ago the most popular sports in the US were horse racing, boxing, and baseball. 50 years ago the most popular sport was baseball. 25 years ago it was probably baseball, NFL, NBA, and maybe also NASCAR.

Today, it's the NFL, college football, and then a big gap before everything else. Point being, things are always changing. What's popular in the past isn't popular today, and what's popular today probably won't be in 25-50 years. Some say the next popular sport will be soccer in the US. Then there's the F1 hipsters.

But I'll tell you the answer. I've seen the future and the next great sport is: rock-climbing.









Click to expand...

They need to do away with the ropes.
 
V

vhcat70

Heisman
Feb 5, 2003
57,418
38,483
0
BlueRaider22 said:
I know some people have trashed soccer saying, "They've all been saying soccer for 10-20 yrs and it hasn't happened yet.....blah, blah, blah....." It just takes a lot longer than that. But, I think it's going to be soccer.


1. Soccer is one of the largest and widely played youth sports.....and continues to grow rapidly. Basketball is also played at a young age and is very popular.

2. MLS - Major league soccer has only been around for a short while now, but continues to grow rapidly....and the product continues to improve.
Click to expand...
MLS quality will peak below Euro levels due to the different financial models: Teams quality balance due to salary caps for MLS in order for franchise owners to be guaranteed profit. With unlimited/near-unlimited salaries available in Euro, the best will always play there. As close as I can tell, MLS teams average around $15M total per team in salaries. Messi just signed with PSG for $80M/yr. Teams go bankrupt all the time in Euro & out of business. Net, MLS quality will remain around top second level leagues in Euro such as English Championship League. ECL Champ vs. MLS Champ would probably be even-steven. I'm OK with this. Who knows the quality difference watching the games? Few less spectacular plays, few more missed passes. Beer is the same regardless.
 
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bkingUK

Heisman
Sep 23, 2007
18,693
22,496
0
ganner918 said:
Louisville City FC is averaging just shy of 10,000 attendance over 10 games this season. Minor league soccer in not very large city. MLS teams average over 20,000 attendance. I'm 100% with you on this.
Click to expand...
If MLS grew some balls and implemented a promotion and relegation system this talk of minor and major leagues would go away and soccer would eventually take on major popularity. It’s the biggest weakness in American sports and I can rant about it for days if tempted.
 
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BlueRaider22

All-American
Sep 24, 2003
15,562
9,058
0
vhcat70 said:
MLS quality will peak below Euro levels due to the different financial models: Teams quality balance due to salary caps for MLS in order for franchise owners to be guaranteed profit. With unlimited/near-unlimited salaries available in Euro, the best will always play there. As close as I can tell, MLS teams average around $15M total per team in salaries. Messi just signed with PSG for $80M/yr. Teams go bankrupt all the time in Euro & out of business. Net, MLS quality will remain around top second level leagues in Euro such as English Championship League. ECL Champ vs. MLS Champ would probably be even-steven. I'm OK with this. Who knows the quality difference watching the games? Few less spectacular plays, few more missed passes. Beer is the same regardless.
Click to expand...


You could be right. Hard to predict the future when something is changing as quickly as it is.
 
V

vhcat70

Heisman
Feb 5, 2003
57,418
38,483
0
bkingUK said:
If MLS grew some balls and implemented a promotion and relegation system this talk of minor and major leagues would go away and soccer would eventually take on major popularity. It’s the biggest weakness in American sports and I can rant about it for days if tempted.
Click to expand...
Balls have nothing to do with it. Owners aren't ever giving up their share of the MLS pie - as in every US pro sport league. That's what they paid for. Doesn't work that way in relegation areas. There you buy the club & pay to win to get a bigger revenue share. You lose & you lose revenue & your place at the table. It's capitalism, not socialism.
 
B

bkingUK

Heisman
Sep 23, 2007
18,693
22,496
0
vhcat70 said:
Balls have nothing to do with it. Owners aren't ever giving up their share of the MLS pie - as in every US pro sport league. That's what they paid for. Doesn't work that way in relegation areas. There you buy the club & pay to win to get a bigger revenue share. You lose & you lose revenue & your place at the table. It's capitalism, not socialism.
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I know why.

And you’re 100% going to lose this argument if you’re trying to say the relegation vs promotion mode is less capitalistic. That’s the other way. It’s based on achievement where pro leagues in America are closed systems based on rev share.

MLS is a backwards organization attempting to implement the NBA, MLB and NFL models in a sport where scalability and democratization has made already made it the biggest sport in the world. It’s a small minded philosophy when it comes to MLS.

No sports fans should ever defend these systems. There’s a reason that even having discussions on changing the systems in Champions League led to mass protest.
 
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