American Sports

[WestNZ]

i want to know, when it comes to some sports, americans think they are the best.

Why is the winner of the MLB season called world champ, when in actuality, only 2 nations are represented in the competition. Do they think that teams from other parts of the world wouyld not stand a chance.

Also, why is the winner of the superbowl called world champ. As far as im aware, "Gridiron" is played im more places than USA.

If you ask me, sports like this should have a change of titles. No longer should they be called WORLD champs, but maybe North American champs instead.

[Bad Company]

because you're not catering to the brilliant north american minds on TPWW, you're catering to the dumbass rednecks who don't know any other countries exist besides Iraq, Canada, and Mexico.

[RP]

Bob Sanders

[CSL]

This place needs a World vs America forum for all this bollocks

Jason Sehorn

[Funky Fly]

because you're not catering to the brilliant north american minds on TPWW, you're catering to the dumbass rednecks who don't know any other countries exist besides Iraq, Canada, and Mexico.

What he said.

[Kris P Lettus]

It's funny how you never, ever see American fans blasting other countries sports out of no where but atleast a few times a year, someone from outside the US has to take shots at football, baseball, etc..

I'm guessing that other thread about how rugby is better than football inspired this, no??

Quite hypocritical..

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

I'm not exactly sure how it started but for some reason it stuck. The whole "World" part isn't as stressed as you guys think it is, not really a big deal.

[Kris P Lettus]

World Wrestling Federation is based out of Stamford, Conn..

[Gonzo]

The only other place football (see: gridiron for you poofs) is in Canada. I would wager that a team from the CFL could not beat the worst of the NFL. A lot of CFL players are those that couldn't cut it in the NFL for whatever reason. Until someone in the world comes up with a team that could beat the Super Bowl champion, I think they can call themselves the world champions.

[Juan]

I always thought it was because players from all over the world play in MLB/NBA/NHL etc

[Gonzo]

Most major sports are pretty well represented by foreign nations. I mean, I don't think they can claim world champions except the NFL really, but whatever. I sleep well at night either way.

[BCWWF]

Technically, I've never heard the Super Bowl being called the world championship. And the World Series is more of a name than it is the world champions title.

That all said, all of the world's best baseball players play in MLB. Japan is the next best bet, but the league as a whole is the equivalent of the U.S. second division and the best Japanese players routinely come to the U.S.

For football, it is an American sport. There are teams/leagues in Europe, but they are American players who weren't good enough to play in the NFL. The Canadian league is a lot of Canadian players and NFL rejects, but as somebody said, they wouldn't stand a chance.

You really don't have to call it national championship when both are THE league for the respective sports. Both are centered around the U.S.

[Gertner]

because those leagues are the best leagues in he world and have the best players in the world, so pretty much they are wold champs

[FakeLaser]

What Gertner said

[LoDownM]

I always thought it was because players from all over the world play in MLB/NBA/NHL etc

NHL doesn't call there champions World Champions, they call them the Stanley Cup Champions.

[YOUR Hero]

Super Bowl Champs... where does that say World Champs?

[Gertner]

I've heard the super bowl champs reffered to as world champs on t.v numerous times.

[MVP]

Baseball players from around the world come to the US to play in MLB, so I don't really see why it's a big deal that the MLB championship is called the "World Series".

[Gertner]

when you win the championship in the top league in the world i feel you have every right to call yourself world champions.

[Hanso Amore]

Because we have the best league in every major world sport except Soccer(Football).

Hockey - CHeck
Baseball - Check
Football - Check
Basketball - Check
Soccer- Joke

That is not to say Americans are the best at all these sports (Which is far from true.)

But our sports arent really like Soccer, so we can make that claim. I would kill for a UEFA(Right name?) type club championship like Soccer has a few of but there would really be not reason, our "CLub" teams are the only ones that can compete.

I like the World Baseball Classic, that was an amazing IDea, for those who do not know, its like a World Cup for Baseball. Sadly there arent that many countries involved, just The Americas and Asia.

[Downunder]

Your "major world sports" seem to resemble major American sports Matthew...

[BCWWF]

Lol at those being every major world sport.

[Hanso Amore]

Baseball is a major sport in Asia and South America.

Hockey Rules the Former Soviet nations as well as well as the northern Europeans.

BasketBall is exploding all over the world.

What makes any of those not "Major".

What sports even come close to being as widespread as any of those?

Cricket? Fuck no. Rugby? Not nearly as many counties play it.

[Bad Company]

Cricket is probably bigger than all those sports besides basketball. And that's only because the Chinese are into it.
We prefer to keep rugby for the purists :)

[Hanso Amore]

I honestly think China is into Baseketball just as much as Cricket.

Take away China, and Cricket has shit.

No way is Cricket even NEAR Hockey and BAseball Worldwide.....Maybe Baseball bu not Hockey.

[The Mackem]

I don't see the importance of it all. It's not like they come over here and say 'we are world champs, bow down and worship us.'

I can see a spectacular backfire one day when the US win a world title in football or something similar.

[CSL]

I honestly think China is into Baseketball just as much as Cricket.

Take away China, and Cricket has shit.

No way is Cricket even NEAR Hockey and BAseball Worldwide.....Maybe Baseball bu not Hockey.

China has jack shit to do with cricket. They don't even have a team as far as I'm aware. And just because a few countries in Europe play hockey and the japs love baseball, they still aren't bigger than cricket on a world stage. And I love hockey and only like cricket when England are winning :-\

[The Mackem]

Yeah Bad Company's point seemed to me to be about Chinese playing Basketball and not Cricket otherwise it wouldn't have made much sense.

[road doggy dogg]

It really is just a title. I mean, if say the Red Sox win the World Series, and some guy in England gets really fussed about it, I'm sure he could throw together a baseball team and challenge them for that title or something to prove whatever he wants. lol
crossrine

[The Mackem]

Hey leave us out of it you bloody Mexican wanker, it's those pesky New Zealanders!

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Baseball is a major sport in Asia and South America.

Hockey Rules the Former Soviet nations as well as well as the northern Europeans.

BasketBall is exploding all over the world.

What makes any of those not "Major".

What sports even come close to being as widespread as any of those?

Cricket? Fuck no. Rugby? Not nearly as many counties play it.


Cricket easily eclipses any American sport for worldwide popularity. Just having India and Pakistan being obsessed with it makes this a formality, never mind the rest of southern Asia. Add in that it's a very popular sport in Africa. And the Caribbean, which is probably where you are thinking of for baseball.

Rugby Union probably does too, but the nations who are strong at playing it are fairly thin on the ground. Though it is growing in popularity.

Calling baseball a major sport in Asia and South America is a bit silly. Japan is not very big, and they also play rugby.

You calling ice hockey, hockey is a bit stupid too. There is also field hockey, which is big in Europe and Asia and probably much more popular than ice hockey. The Eastern Europeans also like that weird handball game, probably as much as they do basketball.

But really football is the true world sport. American sports are niche at best. Rugby and cricket can claim true world championship competitions with international interest. American sports cannot and could not mobilise that sort of worldwide interest in a major championship. Only showpiece occasions like the Superbowl can manage it.

[Bad Company]

Yeah Bad Company's point seemed to me to be about Chinese playing Basketball and not Cricket otherwise it wouldn't have made much sense.
lol yeah.

[Hanso Amore]

Baseball is huge in Japan, Popular in Korea too.

In South America....Cuba, Dominican, Venezuela etc are all pretty big baseball countries, and it is really picking up in Columbia. I guess maybe it is more of a Central American, but South America is really taking to it.


I will agree that Soccer (Football) is THE worlds game, hands down.

But you guys are really underestimating "American" sports. Niche? Come on.

You say that they cant generate the same level interest in major championships as Rugby and Cricket? Come on.

Basketball World Games are some of the biggest events in the world!

[MVP]

This debate got sidetracked.

Go back to the first post in this thread. The actual argument is why Americans think their sports are worthy of having their championships called "world championships". Based on ECG's argument, American sports are certainly worthy of having world championships because they aren't even the biggest sports in the world. American sports attract players from around the world, but the sports are not necessarily the most popular in their respective country.

Whether cricket and rugby are bigger sports than baseball and basketball, I really don't know. All I know is that soccer is the world's most popular sport, rightfully so.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Cricket is definitely bigger than baseball and basketball. There is absolutely no arguing that. The Asian subcontinent is obsessed with it. Rugby Union is more debatable, but again neither baseball nor basketball would be able to have a international world cup of the standard Rugby Union does. The sun never set on the British Empire as they say so where the Brits went, so did their sports.

So yes as regards the original question, for American sports the national leagues effectively represent the world championships.

[Rob]

It's funny how you never, ever see American fans blasting other countries sports out of no where but atleast a few times a year, someone from outside the US has to take shots at football, baseball, etc..

I'm guessing that other thread about how rugby is better than football inspired this, no??

Quite hypocritical..

Other sports like rugby are played in many countries at a competitive level. The American sports aren't.

[Kris P Lettus]

Then why do you guys care??

If if football, basketball, and baseball mean so little around the rest of the world, then why does it matter?? It would actually make more sense to be mad if say, the UK, had a football league which compete against the NFL, and we still called our SuperBowl champ "World Champ".. If the NFL is the only big American football league, why would their championship not be considered the "world championship" considering they are the only ones in the world playing that particular sport at that particular level?? Same with baseball etc..

[ct2k]

Isn't the World Series name just a throwback to its early 20th century origins designed to hype it up some?

People really get way too hung up on that one

[ct2k]

Also baseball is huge in certain parts of the world, ie North and Central America and Japan, but I think like ECG said, Cricket is easily 'the' sport of the British commonwealth, more than Rugby purely because of its number one pegging in the Indian subcontinent, definitely more popular than the American sports.

[Stickman]

America is not be all end all of sports or the world. Americans have a hard time realizing this.

[Kris P Lettus]

But we are when it comes to our sports.. i.e. Football

There is no where in the world that plays American football on the level that the NFL does..

[Kris P Lettus]

It works the same way in MMA.. Rampage Jackson is the WORLD Light Heavy Weight Champion yet he hasn't fought every LHW in the world..

[ct2k]

MMA is a pretty ambiguous one though, I mean its a banner term for a number of disciplines not a specific sport.

[Stickman]

It works the same way in MMA.. Rampage Jackson is the WORLD Light Heavy Weight Champion yet he hasn't fought every LHW in the world..

Yeah, World LHW Champion of the UFC.

[Kris P Lettus]

World Champion of the NFL

Same difference..

[Kris P Lettus]

MMA is a pretty ambiguous one though, I mean its a banner term for a number of disciplines not a specific sport.

WTF are you talking about??

Mixed Martial Arts is def a specific sport, which is sanctioned under a specific set of rules..

How can you even say that??

[ct2k]

CALM DOWN??!!:p


I thought 'MMA' was a generic term to cover a host of different promotions etc

[El Capitano Gatisto]

It works the same way in MMA.. Rampage Jackson is the WORLD Light Heavy Weight Champion yet he hasn't fought every LHW in the world..

No, that's not the same thing at all. Firstly I think he'd more accurately be described as the UFC LHW champion, though the UFC has fighters who are actually from all over the world they are representing themselves as individuals. It's different for individual sports.

The World Cup winners don't play every team in the world either.

[Rob]

World Champion of the NFL

Same difference..

Stupid on so many levels.

[Kris P Lettus]

It's all semantics and your argument is borderline at best.. Bottom line is, MBL holds the World Series to crown a World Champion from all the MLB teams.. It's doesn't matter how many of those teams are outside the US..

BTW, there are pro athletes competing in the MLB, NFL, and NBA from all over the world, the simple fact that they play a team sport, in the US, doesn't matter..

Super Bowl winners are the NFL World Champ's..

[Zen v.W.o.]

This debate got sidetracked.

Go back to the first post in this thread. The actual argument is why Americans think their sports are worthy of having their championships called "world championships". Based on ECG's argument, American sports are certainly worthy of having world championships because they aren't even the biggest sports in the world. American sports attract players from around the world, but the sports are not necessarily the most popular in their respective country.

Whether cricket and rugby are bigger sports than baseball and basketball, I really don't know. All I know is that soccer is the world's most popular sport, rightfully so.

Yeah because everybody can play soccer. Just need a ball to kick around.

It doesnt rely on weather conditions, and other factors.

The cheapest sport in the world will naturally be the most played and thus watched.

[Kris P Lettus]

Stupid on so many levels.

How is it different though??

Your argument is like saying the guy who holds the world record in eating hot wings really isn't the world champ because there is some guy somewhere eles who didn't compete who could possibly eat more wing than him..

There is no league in the world that plays the level that the NFL does.. If there was, you would have a point.. Until there is, whoever wins the Super Bowl is the World Champion of American Football..

[Zen v.W.o.]

Other sports like rugby are played in many countries at a competitive level. The American sports aren't.

Hockey is.

[Rob]

You can't call yourself world champions without competing against other nations or teams from across the world. FACT.

NFL - Champions of America
"World Series" - Champions of America.

[Rob]

Yeah because everybody can play soccer. Just need a ball to kick around.

It doesnt rely on weather conditions, and other factors.

The cheapest sport in the world will naturally be the most played and thus watched.

Running is the cheapest sport actually.

[Zen v.W.o.]

Running is the cheapest sport actually.

Talking team sports here. And dont bring up relay running.

[Kris P Lettus]

You can't call yourself world champions without competing against other nations or teams from across the world. FACT.

NFL - Champions of America
"World Series" - Champions of America.

If there's no one to compete with, I really don't see what the problem is..

[ct2k]

Surely American Football also only requires the right ball and somewhere to play?


Also what the fuck has weather got to do with it?

[Kris P Lettus]

Ok, then start a UK American Football League and you can compete with American teams for the World Title..

LOL

[Stickman]

Why isn't the World Series competed between say MLB and Japan? They already play 500 games a year what's 4-7 more?

[Kris P Lettus]

Because the Japanese League isn't part of the MLB..

[Zen v.W.o.]

Surely American Football also only requires the right ball and somewhere to play?


Also what the fuck has weather got to do with it?

Try playing ice hockey in africa.

[ct2k]

Why isn't the World Series competed between say MLB and Japan? They already play 500 games a year what's 4-7 more?


Because the World Series is the face-off between the champions of the National and American Leagues, it is not an international competition, I already explained the origin of the name:roll:

[Kris P Lettus]

This is all semantics anyway, so who really cares??

[Kris P Lettus]

OMG Arnold Schwarzenegger is a fake!!

He didn't really compete with people from around the universe to win the Mr. Universe title..

What a fraud??

:roll:

[Stickman]

Try playing ice hockey in africa.

It's played in Florida, Texas, Georgia, California and other warm climates :p

[Stickman]

WWE and World Heavyweight Champion.

[Zen v.W.o.]

It's played in Florida, Texas, Georgia, California and other warm climates :p

Yes, although they built arenas. You cant just pick up and play it in the south without one, like in cold cities where an arena isnt even needed.

With soccer anyone can just go outside and start it up.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Hence why hockey (field hockey that is with ice hockey being the derivative) is a much more popular sport.

They're both shit anyway. Ice hockey is fucking rubbish. You can't even see the ball. Plus they wear loads of padding like fucking gays.

[ct2k]

Yes, although they built arenas. You cant just pick up and play it in the south without one, like in cold cities where an arena isnt even needed.

With soccer anyone can just go outside and start it up.


Like I said, same goes for Gridiron, get something resembling a hoop and you have basketball, get a stick and a ball and you've essentially got baseball

[El Capitano Gatisto]

He's talking balls. It's a simple game at heart but can be immensely technical. It appeals to the masses by its nature. No other sport can have that team ethic and level of individual flair all at once.

Football still beats it in other icy countries anyway.

[Hanso Amore]

The American Champs of Baseball do go play japan.....they play the japanese All stars, and usually win.

[Zen v.W.o.]

Hence why hockey (field hockey that is with ice hockey being the derivative) is a much more popular sport.

They're both shit anyway. Ice hockey is fucking rubbish. You can't even see the ball. Plus they wear loads of padding like fucking gays.

Pretty ignorant for a few reasons. It's a puck first of all, and secondly it's the fastest game going, with the hardest hits, toughest players of any sport.

Padding is needed mainly because besides Boxing or MMA, which are individual sports, Hockey is the team sport where it's most likely you could possibly die.

You have sharp weapons that can slice right through you, like skate blades..btw, some guys have gotten their neck sliced and blood gushed from their bodies, yet a couple days later they ask when they can come back to play. Guys break their bones and continue on playing. Toughness personified.

You've got hard ice, hard pucks flying around at sometimes over speeds of 100mph, guys going at full speed to knock you on your ass, or sometimes into hard boards and glass...they aint playing on a soft surface like your lilly soccer players(who btw dive and roll around on the ground for simply bending their finger the wrong way)

There is not one team sport that compares to the toughness of Hockey players. And when they fight, they go. No holding back.

So go ahead and enjoy your pussy fest soccer and cricket bullshit. And fucking Field hockey, whatever the fuck that is.

[Rob Ban Fan]

<font color="#ff6600">Field hockey, as one would have thought the name implied, is hockey played on a field, instead of ice.</font>

[NoJabbaNoBogRoll]

Last time I watched Ice Hockey, I didn't know where the puck was until the goal siren started going off... What's the point?

[The Mackem]

To be fair when someone's team on here wins something like the Superbowl or eqivalents, I don't hear them banging on about being 'World' champs, just champs.

[Kris P Lettus]

That too..

[Rob]

There's nothing wrong with American sports by the way aside from the fact a couple are boring as fuck at times (in my humble opinion). Just the world series isn't a world title.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

So go ahead and enjoy your pussy fest soccer and cricket bullshit. And fucking Field hockey, whatever the fuck that is.

You ever felt how hard a cricket ball is you fanny? Go find one then imagine standing there while some bastard bounces it at your head at 100mph. Takes more balls to stand there and take delivery after delivery in cricket than it does to dress up as the Michelin man and skate about like a fairy.

If we all had 6 layers of padding on I imagine we'd be a lot braver skating about too.

[Rob]

With 6 layers of padding, I'd fight Anderson Silva.

[D Mac]

We're the best in basketball, that's for sure.

[Rob Ban Fan]

<font color="#ff6600">To be fair, part of the thing that makes international tournaments interesting is that having the best domestic league or players doesn't guarentee you'll win.

England has arguably the best domestic league in the world and some of the best players in world football but we're utter shit internationally, haven't won the world cup for 50 years and haven't qualified for the European championships this year. Spain has probably the second best domestic league and a lot of world class players but they're shit internationally too.

Meanwhile Greece who's league is shit and whos players are average went and won the European championships in 2004, more through hard work and great tactics than through ability.

I don't care about this arguement. Americans can play their sports the way they want and call their championships what they want. Just saying, having the best league and the best players doesn't mean you'll dominate on a world stage (if there was one)</font>

[Zen v.W.o.]

You ever felt how hard a cricket ball is you fanny? Go find one then imagine standing there while some bastard bounces it at your head at 100mph. Takes more balls to stand there and take delivery after delivery in cricket than it does to dress up as the Michelin man and skate about like a fairy.

If we all had 6 layers of padding on I imagine we'd be a lot braver skating about too.

Is that all you got?

LOL, how many times does it actually hit anyone, and secondly, do the players intentionally dive in the way of a zooming shot to block it before it reaches it's destination? Oh no, that's done in Hockey.

Your cricket ball isnt as solid as a puck. That's just fact.

[Rob]

You are wrong. Cricket balls are more solid, bigger and heavier than a hockey puck.

I'd rather be hit by neither personally.

[Stickman]

I used to stand in front of lacrosse balls being thrown close to 100mph. wtf was i thinking?

[Zen v.W.o.]

You are wrong. Cricket balls are more solid, bigger and heavier than a hockey puck.

I'd rather be hit by neither personally.

Either way, that's the only "danger" you'll find in cricket, which is perhaps equal to the one of MANY dangers you will find in Hockey.

The sports aren't comparable when it comes to toughness. ECG was simply trying to rile me up.

[The Mask]

what's the deal with all americans needing their sports to be violent and have danger?

if i want to watch a sport that is violent and dangerous, i'll watch boxing or MMA. getting straight to the point. you don't need a ball for that.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

The only thing they point to with ice hockey is the brawls. I could watch better brawls in town for free after 11pm most nights. Wrapping yourself up in big cushions and skating about isn't dangerous. Figure skating is more dangerous for fuck's sake. They chuck each other about and kneecap each other.

I don't think there's even a ball involved in ice hockey either. I think they just pretend.

[Zen v.W.o.]

My goodness.