Crap Summer Sports

[Worthy4England]

And I think he was referring to them as crap for the spectators, B_R

Think you're probably right, apart from the fact that the spectators that attend the sports listed would probably disagree.

Nobody is suggesting that people who like these sports should be prevented from watching them! The fact is that the majority of sports followers in this country are football fans first and foremost. Every other close season we have to put up with inferior sports because UEFA and FIFA only stage their tournaments every four years. Why? They could stage them every alternate season as Sepp Blatter has suggested. Two years between each World Cup is still a long time but it would give more countries the opportunity to stage the event, more people an opportunity to see it and more players the opportunity to play in it. Either that, or we have to suffer the bleak wilderness of summer sport every other year!

I'm sure there's another thread regarding "crap - in my opinion - sports". As I suggested further down my other post, and has Mich has picked up on, I think the issue is twofold. The qualifiying structure - which I'm sure they could sort out if they set their minds to it and clubs having to release players every year to play in a major national team finals which they gain no benefit from directly. I think the second of the two is probably a larger problem than the first.

As you correctly state, nobody is suggesting that people who like "inferior" (in your opinion) summer sports, should be prevented from watching them, but I think that sort of counteracts the assertion that you make that "we have to put up with inferior sports" every other close season - no one is making you watch them - turn them off or go to the pub or something . I'm at a loss as to how you are evaluating inferior? It's bordering on the same logic as Newcastle's "big club" argument - just because the majority of sports followers in this country prefer football, then the other sports are "inferior". That would be like arguing that Angling is the UK's number one sport because it has more participants week in, week out than any other - so we should have it on the telly all the time? maybe not....or maybe we should all support ManUre because they have a larger fan base than anyone else - so the team we watch is inferior....

[Mich Caine]

The world cup is so amazing and maybe it is made even more amazing as its once every 4 years, but it would still be amazing if it was on every 2 years. But the problem is that you need countries to qualify for it and that would mean you would never have time for the European Championships.

There would be plenty of time for the qualifiers if international friendlies were scrapped and the weaker countries had to pre-qualify to cut down on the size of the groups. Copa America and ACN could be moved to the same year as the European Championships to avoid any clashes with the World Cup.

How often would the European Championships be? It would be hard to play qualifiers for that if you have the world cup every 2 years. It would mean the qualifiers for the Euro Championships would have to be completed within about 6 months?

[Daxter]

The world cup is so special because it is every four years. Mae it every two years and it would lose that feeling.

[Worthy4England]

The world cup is so special because it is every four years. Mae it every two years and it would lose that feeling.

Given how England played last time out, I'm not sure I'd want to go through that more often than every 4 years anyhow.

[communistworkethic]

The fact is that the majority of sports followers in this country are football fans first and foremost.

that's just not true on so many levels. Just because you put that it's a "fact" doesn't make it true.

[Pete]

The fact is that the majority of sports followers in this country are football fans first and foremost.

that's just not true on so many levels. Just because you put that it's a "fact" doesn't make it true.

And neither is it false just because you say so. I'd also say that it can only be wrong on one level: either most sports fans identify as "football fans first and foremost", or they don't. How many more levels can it be wrong on?

Anyway, I'm inclined to go with you on this one anyway, I'm sure that there's many sports fans like me who are generally happy to watch almost any sport. I love cricket, rugby, athletics, anything really.

[Zulus Thousand of em]

I suspect the majority are anglers, first and foremost.

[communistworkethic]

well not quite, fishing is the biggest participation sport, but they are not necessarily the majority

But more people do not follow football than do. While it may have higher attendances than other specator sports, football followers are not the majority.

[Pete]

well not quite, fishing is the biggest participation sport, but they are not necessarily the majority

But more people do not follow football than do. While it may have higher attendances than other specator sports, football followers are not the majority.

Any evidence to support that?

[communistworkethic]

well the fact that about 4.5 million inidividual people fish and that's more than play/watch football to start with.

Unless 50.1% of all sports fans follow football as their primary sport then your assertion is wrong. Most football followers are probably football fans first and foremost, but most sports fans are not football followers first and foremost.

some exampless: Greyhound racing with just 32 tracks attracts 4million spectators in person a year, Horse racing has over 1,000 race meetings a year, attracting over 5.5million spectators plus those viewing on TV.

I see neither logic nor evidence from you to support your supposition.

[fatshaft]

well the fact that about 4.5 million inidividual people fish and that's more than play/watch football to start with.

Unless 50.1% of all sports fans follow football as their primary sport then your assertion is wrong. Most football followers are probably football fans first and foremost, but most sports fans are not football followers first and foremost.

some exampless: Greyhound racing with just 32 tracks attracts 4million spectators in person a year, Horse racing has over 1,000 race meetings a year, attracting over 5.5million spectators plus those viewing on TV.

I see neither logic nor evidence from you to support your supposition.

Doesn't Old Trafford get well over a million through it's doors annually alone?

[communistworkethic]

well the fact that about 4.5 million inidividual people fish and that's more than play/watch football to start with.

Unless 50.1% of all sports fans follow football as their primary sport then your assertion is wrong. Most football followers are probably football fans first and foremost, but most sports fans are not football followers first and foremost.

some exampless: Greyhound racing with just 32 tracks attracts 4million spectators in person a year, Horse racing has over 1,000 race meetings a year, attracting over 5.5million spectators plus those viewing on TV.

I see neither logic nor evidence from you to support your supposition.

Doesn't Old Trafford get well over a million through it's doors annually alone?

but how many are one time visitors and how many are the same people week in week out? That 1million is actually only about 75,000 inidividuals. Racing doesn't get lots of people who turn up week in week out at events purely because of the way it's structured, yet attracts more than 5,000 per event on average - and half the races are midweek afternoons.

But as I said football is undeniably the biggest spectator sport but to suggest more people follow football than all other sports combined isn't justified. 300,000 people watch the F1 weekend in person, similar numbers for Moto GP & Superbikes. 5 million turned out to watch the Tour De France the other weekend, 1million people watch the London Marathon. To add all other sports viewers together, it's a reasonable assumption that's there's more people in total watching other sports.

[Worthy4England]

well the fact that about 4.5 million inidividual people fish and that's more than play/watch football to start with.

Unless 50.1% of all sports fans follow football as their primary sport then your assertion is wrong. Most football followers are probably football fans first and foremost, but most sports fans are not football followers first and foremost.

some exampless: Greyhound racing with just 32 tracks attracts 4million spectators in person a year, Horse racing has over 1,000 race meetings a year, attracting over 5.5million spectators plus those viewing on TV.

I see neither logic nor evidence from you to support your supposition.

Thanks for the research Commie - that was the point I was trying to make...

I still can't make the link between number of people supporting/watching a particular sport giving any sort of measure on it being inferior/superior, other than to say more people like to watch this sport than that.

[Pete]

well the fact that about 4.5 million inidividual people fish and that's more than play/watch football to start with.

Unless 50.1% of all sports fans follow football as their primary sport then your assertion is wrong. Most football followers are probably football fans first and foremost, but most sports fans are not football followers first and foremost.

some exampless: Greyhound racing with just 32 tracks attracts 4million spectators in person a year, Horse racing has over 1,000 race meetings a year, attracting over 5.5million spectators plus those viewing on TV.

I see neither logic nor evidence from you to support your supposition.

My supposition, my assertion?? I was on your side. I was only criticising your lack of evidence-based argumentation. If you look at TV viewing figures, a quick web search gave the following:

Horse Racing: "A peak audience of 3.2m watched Motivator's thrilling triumph in Saturday's big race." (2005 Epsom Derby)

Cricket: "At 6.15pm on Sunday, as the home team withstood a Shane Warne-inspired fightback and edged nervously toward a 2-1 series lead, the audience peaked at 8.4 million"

Football: "Portugal v England - Euro 2004 20.7million"

But even with all of that, I still don't think it says anything about someone's "primary" sport. Though I would probably say football has the widest spectator appeal.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_s ... 617439.stm
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/ashes2005/s ... 44,00.html
http://www.footballeconomy.com/stats/stats_tv_01.htm

[trotter58]

But as I said football is undeniably the biggest spectator sport but to suggest more people follow football than all other sports combined isn't justified.

I didn't say that more people followed football than 'all the other sports combined'. What i actually said is that most sports fans are football fans first and foremost, this does not neccessarily mean that they follow football exclusively. Every other summer there is no major football tournament even though football is the 'biggest spectator sport', bigger even than that massive 'spectator' sport of fishing!

[dodgykipper]

And how many anglers are serious about it? I go for a kickabout with my mates in the park sometimes, so that makes me someone who participates in football.

[communistworkethic]

But as I said football is undeniably the biggest spectator sport but to suggest more people follow football than all other sports combined isn't justified.

I didn't say that more people followed football than 'all the other sports combined'. What i actually said is that most sports fans are football fans first and foremost, this does not neccessarily mean that they follow football exclusively. Every other summer there is no major football tournament even though football is the 'biggest spectator sport', bigger even than that massive 'spectator' sport of fishing!

by definition if most follow football first and foremost, you're saying that more than 50% of sports fans choose football as their number 1, I'm saying you've provided no evidence and the sheer number of other sports and their followers indicates otherwise too.

[dodgykipper]

Lancs are through to the Twenty20 finals day on 4th Aug at Edgbaston. Not proper cricket but entertaining nonetheless. Should be a full days drinking and if Yorkshire get there it will be a chance to have some good banter and warm up for the Newcastle game a week later. More expensive but not as far as going to Layer Road. If you think summer sports are crap then stay at home.