Obviously I am biased, but to me, basketball should be the most popular sport in the world. When I think of all the components, and the obvious "OMG" moments of all of the sports, basketball has the most by far. Here are some things basketball has going for it. -It is one of the easiest sports to pick up and play, you can't play a real pick-up football game, you need helmets/pads, a bunch of people, not to mention no one would want to play offensive line. -Players play both offense and defense. In order to be good, you have to be good at all aspects of the game, not just offense or defense like in football, or pitching in baseball. -A bunch of potential highlight reel moments: awesome dunks, posterizations, crazy blocks, clutch shots, anklebreakers, finesse lay-ups, etc. -It's easily the most unselfish sport, you really need to work as a TEAM. Baseball is an individual type sport, so is football for the most part. These are just a few things I can up with.
Baseball and Football have been American traditions... long before basketball even started here in the U.S. really. I mean the NFL started in 1920... and the MLB in 1869... the NBA was founded in 1946.
My Top Three Favorite Sports are #1 Baseball #2 Football #3 Basketball Baseball is by far my favorite, but all sports in general are just so exciting. Can't go wrong with any of them.
Not everyone is good at it. You really have to be tall and athletic to play it, which includes too few people outside the US
Basketball is easily my favorite sport I have never liked baseball, its just sooooooo boring Football is fine, but it can also become boring with so many penalties and stops between plays Basketball is non-stop for the most part, it just makes it far more enjoyable, and like the OP said, you can have a pickup game of basketball very easily, you can even shoot around by yourself. Easily the most appealing sport in America imo
Football is the ONLY sport where I might sit through and watch a game that doesn't involve a HOUSTON team. 1. American Football 2. Baseball 3. Basketball .....about 10 years ago it was 1. Basketball 2. Baseball 3. Football.
The reason i get so much enjoyment out of baseball is the fact of there being no shot clock or timer to stop the play. Football and Basketball become very lame when they are all based around the game clock. Once the clock hits a certain point it becomes hold the ball foul etc..... It's just hard to have a comeback in the last few moments. Where as in baseball no matter what the score is, the pitcher is going to have to make HIS pitch and beat the batter. There is no running down the clock or kneeling just to end the game. You have to toughen up and finish it yourself.
The referees in Basketball make it frustrating to watch sometimes. #1 Futbol / Soccer #2 American Football #3 Basketball
Cuz it's a n***** sport, duh. Seriously, I guess it's not traditional, in the end. Honestly, I grew up on basketball, and it's always been my main following: Football I've never seriously got into, though admittedly I don't know why, while baseball's problems were that playing a pick up baseball game is completely impossible (you can easily do it with basketball and sort of with football, but not at all with baseball), it's too slow, and steroids.
Love Baseball because of the strategy involved which in turn creates incredible tension buildup with every pitch. I remember sitting in the stands for the Kent HR in 04 and just how everyone would hold their breath with every pitch. Basketball is my second favorite because of the speed and incredible athleticism involved but I agree with the above poster, the officiating drives me nuts sometimes. Football has fallen behind mainly because of all the dam rules that have been put in place where a player can barely touch certain QBs or WRs and flags come flying.
So hockey can make a good fight for 3rd. I don't really understand baseball, so for me it's NBA, Soccer, Football... respectively.
Could we maybe look up some statistics before we take this any further? I thought it was pretty popular, maybe even #2 or #3, as far as team sports go.
Wrong on many levels. Football is by far the cheapest sport to play, as all you need is a ball. You can drive through almost any neighborhood and see kids playing football. You will never see them fully dressed out. That doesn't even make sense. You also will usually see 4 on 4, or something like that. You don't need a full team to play a pick up game of football. In the pickup game of football, and most players all through highschool, you play both ways. So like any other sport, you have to be good in all aspects of the game. It is rare to see highschool kids who don't go both ways. Football is by far the most team oriented sport there is. I cannot believe you even said that. In basketball one player can ball hog, get hot, snow bird, among many other things. In football you have to have almost your whole 53 man roster and coaching staff working in unison to get a w on any given day. If one guy is off, it can throw the whole gameplan out of whack. While there are plays in basketball, when a guy is hot, snowbirding or ball hogging, they really do not matter. One guy can litterally take over a basketball game with help from nobody else. There is no comparison in the teamwork required for each. I would also say there are more highlights on any given Sunday than there are on any NBA night, but that is purely subjective as all people have different preferences and taste.
Racism... Basketball is beautiful... Larry Bird says the NBA needs a white superstar, or several. He is correct.
