Sport is one of the most important time activities in the world. We like to do it because it's fun and healthy. In addition, we flock to sports. In packed stadiums and sports halls or on television and the Internet. What are the ten most popular sports in the world when we are spectators and practitioners? The result is sometimes surprising.
American Football
American football evolved from rugby UK and became one of the major sports in the United States in the twentieth century. Not only the professional league, the NFL, attracts many viewers. The matches of college teams where the talents of the future will play in the spotlight are popular among enthusiasts. The Super Bowl, the final game of the NFL, is almost a national holiday.
The broadcast is invariably among the best-watched programs of the year. Outside the US, American Football never really developed into a popular sport. Only neighboring Canada has a full-fledged competition in which their own version of football is played on a slightly larger field and with an extra player.
Basketball
Like American football is basketball a true American invention. Unlike football, the sport does have a foothold on the ground in other countries. Until professional NBA players were allowed to participate with a dream team Olympic basketball tournament was therefore often very exciting. Basketball grew in the eighties of the last century to become one of the most popular sports in America.
In particular, the rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers respectively, and their star players Larry Bird and Magic Johnson led to unprecedented popularity. The skill level of the rest of the world gradually increased and more and more players like Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki outside America can easily keep up with the NBA.
Golf
Golf is one of the oldest sports which is still being played in its original form. From Scotland golf grew slowly until an elitist sport. But in the last thirty years thanks to several golf superstars such as Jack Nicklaus, "Seve" Ballesteros, and Tiger Woods have become a popular spectator sport, both on television and along with the greens. Moreover, the number of courses has increased worldwide explosively causing more and more people, including age, sports, and relaxation are going to play.
Baseball
Baseball, known as baseball or béisbol, was developed in the United States in the 19th century. Early sports unleashed rage. Baseball the national sport was and is inextricably linked to the US summer feeling. In addition, baseball has always been popular in Japan, where it always draws the most spectators. For a long time, Americans dominated their sport but increasingly made Asian and South American players move to the Major League.
Due to the large number of successful players in the Major League, the popularity of baseball in many Latin American countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic is unprecedentedly high. Star players have the same status as movie stars. Player strikes, the popularity of the sport not done in the early nineties. Thanks to spectacular rivalries to individual home run records the sport came in time to recover.
Table Tennis
Table tennis is certainly not the most popular spectator sport in the world. But as the years China's national sport has had a great multitude of amateur players like no other sport. Table tennis is inexpensive and can often be played with makeshift bats, nets, and tables. Thanks to an abundance of talent the international championships for decades were dominated by Chinese table tennis players. Very occasionally a European managed to break the hegemony as the Swede Jan-Ove Waldner was Olympic champion in 1992.
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Volleyball
As table tennis is easy to play volleyball. You need a net and a ball. The game can be played on all kinds of surfaces (grass, concrete, sand) making it again extremely popular in fine. If professional sport is relatively young and was not introduced at the 1964 Olympic Games.
Beach Volleyball has in recent decades become a craze and a popular beach sport. In 1996, this version was that you can make spectacular dives admitted as an Olympic sport. For years dominated Brazil and the United States beach volleyball. Conventional volleyball varies the strong countries, including the Netherlands, and much more.
Tennis
The tennis prototype dates back at least to medieval times. the sport was modernized in the 19th century and it got the shape we know today. British supremacy was quickly nullified and since top players could come from different countries. Tennis is one of the most popular spectator sports in the world and the four major tournaments (Grand Slam) are spread over three continents.
Especially Roland Garros and Wimbledon traditionally attract many viewers. Everywhere there are tennis courts where people for their enjoyment in old age hit a ball. Tennis was regarding commerce and prizes ahead of its time. Thereby tennis players are always the highest paid athletes in the world.
Hockey
The base of hockey is centuries old. Like tennis, it became a modern sport in Britain in the 19th century transformed by fixed rules. Hockey is surprisingly popular worldwide without it being in the West has become a successful commercial spectator sport. Hockey was played a lot in the British colonies, including the densely populated India and Pakistan.
In both countries along with the Netherlands long time, sometimes the service from, in addition to Germany with a great generation of players will play a significant role. In Argentina, the sport is very popular making the country increasingly get top marks at major tournaments. The some parts of the world, including the USA and Canada, hockey is taken up a level and played on ice, adding another thrilling element to the game and making it very dynamic to watch. If this sounds like something you might like to start watching, you can click here to learn more about the game before you switch the game on - going into it knowing a little bit of what to expect won't hinder your enjoyment of it!
Cricket
All too often cricket is seen as an old-fashioned English pastime. But like hockey is to bring back the popularity of cricket in the rest of the world to the British Empire. India and Pakistan follow the sport diligently and it is many times more popular than the sports that we look like in Europe. Cricket is one of the oldest sports with official rules that are difficult to follow for outsiders initially.
That matches can sometimes last for days, creating a unique loom race rhythm that is at odds with the hectic modern life. Cricket is often played in Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the Caribbean. Since 1975 cricket has a world that just as in football to be played every four years. The painful detail is that England has never managed to win the tournament. The Netherlands participated until now four times in the World Cup.
Football
By far the most popular sport in the world is football. Also, this British invention became an official sport with strict rules in the 19th century. Some clubs that play today in the Premier League are among the oldest in the world, such as Stoke City, which was founded in 1868. Quickly spread football over the rest of the world.
All you need for football is indeed a ball. A goal can be made with stones, trees, or jackets. On the street, played in the park or beach soccer can be anywhere, or you can join a football team for the full football experience. In the twenties, football in South America came, and still, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil are superpowers where the sport is followed passionately.
The rise of television has been crucial for football. This allowed more money will be generated and emerge everywhere in professional leagues. Despite temporary dips in popularity due to playing hard in the sixties to supporters' stadium riots and disasters, know football to get back on top again. In recent years women's football on the rise (also in the United States) so the number of enthusiasts is increasing.
From 1930 the World Cup was held every four years which has become the most-watched sporting event in the world. It is generally believed that at least one billion people were in the last World Cup final between Germany and Argentina. During the competition were also sent another 35 million tweets what a record for a sporting event.
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