Americans are hugely passionate about watching and playing sports. Be it screaming at the screen during the Super Bowl or supporting a local college football team, sport is probably what brings a diverse American community together.
For more than two decades, sporting TV figures have dramatically increased following the major, never-ending advancements in new modern forms of technology. It’s now possible to livestream a game of baseball on your iPad or phone whilst out for a run.
Unsurprisingly, both the Super Bowl and NBA finals usually, always make it to the annual biggest sporting events list. But that’s not all – globally, four of the biggest deals for TV rights are for American sports. Considering its range of sports and the culture of around games, here are 10 of America’s most popular sports:
American Football:
It doesn’t matter whether you’re from America or not, the popularity of American football is attributed to Americans. It might be hard to grasp the metrics of the game if you’re not from the country but its popularity grows with age.
It’s a sport played from the grassroots with every child growing up with the hope of playing in the NFL. Easily, the Super Bowl is America’s most anticipated game that gathers families and friends for a night of entertainment.
Even more anticipated than the game is the halftime show. Every year, more than 100 million Americans tune in to the Super Bowl, which makes it not just the most popular sport in America but also one of the most popular sports in the whole wide world.
Basketball:
The two things Americans can’t do without are NBA and college basketball. It’s no wonder that a majority of NBA players are formerly American college students. Cult heroes such as Michael Jordan in the game have contributed to the growth of NBA to new staggering heights in their tenure. NBA stars are now the highest paid athletes in the world.
It’s the huge stars in the NBA that have has a massive influence on the popularity of the game and growing up, enthusiastic children are looking up to the likes of Steph Curry and LeBron James. Attendances are also at a high record across the league which places the sport at among the topmost most enjoyed ones in America.
Baseball:
Baseball is probably the most famous, most loved pass-time sport there could ever be for Americans. The MLB and baseball in general are very popular with teams of all ages participating in the sport. New York’s Yankees are inarguably the most popular team among baseball lovers and actually the most followed team in all of the United States.
Football (Soccer):
Soccer might be the most popular sport in the world but it only comes at position 4 in America. Loved by so many people around the globe, it only began gaining popularity in America recently.
Every year, the MLS keeps expanding and prominent sports people like David Beckham have contributed significantly to this cause. Following the 2014 World Cup that saw the USA team reach the knock out state of the tournament, thousands of new American football fans started gaining interest in the game.
Ice Hockey:
Adored across Canada and the United States, ice hockey has an amazingly tremendous engaging gameplay with falls, punches and hits that have made it an extremely popular sport in America. Many of the players in the NHL are from Canada, but the sport is still hugely popular across North America.
Golf:
About 15 million Americans tuned in to major golf tournaments in 2017 alone, which only goes to show that the fanbase is significantly growing by the day. The fact that Tiger Woods took the game to a whole new level in the 90s is undeniable.
However, following controversies and his injuries, the game has nearly come to new lows over the recent years. Of course it’s currently in a pretty good state in the US with new, emerging talent coming through and giving hope for future prospects.
Tennis:
Unlike in the 70s and 80s when the likes of Billie Jean King, Chris Evert and John McEnroe captured the imagination of the American population and got massive attention and growth, there’s not nearly as many Americans making top ranks in men’s events but Serena and Venus Williams have still been performing extremely well in the women’s.
And popularity is not a matter of concern here – every year, the US Open gathers large crowds of enthusiasts and tennis lovers from across the globe. Tennis is deservedly befitting as one among Americas top 10 popular sports.
See our guide on how to construct a tennis court in your backyard.
Boxing:
The greatest boxer of all time, Mohammad Ali, was indeed American. He was gifted in whatever he did in the ring. His rivals with some of the most renowned boxers made boxing as a sport even more popular.
Modern day boxing, the most recognized talent is Floyd Mayweather, who has broken PPV records making boxing more valuable than it was ever before. To this day, boxing remains a very popular sport in America.
Table Tennis:
While table tennis is not a part of America’s top five most followed or watched sports, it does deserve to appear among the top 10.
Of course it’s a growing sport and probably most people don’t understand how it works because of how difficult it is to develop. At first, it might seem like an easy one to grasp but there’s a host of skills one needs to master to be perfect. It’s like a blend of running, boxing and chess all in one sport.
The game involves hitting a ball to and fro an opponent and success is reliant on skills and using the best equipments such as paddles and tables.
When it comes to quality table tennis equipment especially ping pong tables , Killerspin , Stiga and JOOLA are very popular brands with several models available for indoor and outdoor play.
The only problem is that the popularity of ping pong is greatly overshadowed by a couple of other sports. It would however , not be as surprising if it reached its peak in a couple of years.
Mixed Martial Arts:
Mixed martial arts is a relatively new sport that just recently hit the global scene. Over the last 10 years, UFC has grown from strength to strength to produce some of the best fighters ever. The sport has become one of the fastest growing ones of later with more youngsters taking the sport up at an early age.
The likes of Conor McGregor are breaking multiple attendance records and pay-per-view records in equal measure, evidence of the growing popularity of the sport.
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