Growth of Sport

Harris Poll: NFL Remains King Among U.S. Adults, But Gap With Baseball Close

 http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2015/01/28/Research-and-Ratings/Harris-Poll.aspx

MAP: The most popular sport in every country (soccer is really popular) 

http://www.vox.com/2014/7/3/5868115/most-popular-sports-world-cup

The first week of semester on January 17th, 205, my American Sport in the 21st Century we discussed the topics What is Sport and Why Study It? Today people describe sport as a competitive entertainment to watch, but their is a difference between sport and play. Play is individuals choosing to engage in activities that have no temporal or spatial boundaries. Just plan fun. In class we came up with a definition for sport that separates the sport from play.

 Sport is Defined As Discussed In Class

• Physical
• Competitive
• Institutionalized
• GBs  (Governing Bodies)
• Motivated by a combination of personal enjoyment & external rewards. 

  

In class we discussed that those who have played sports at a young age and never made it to the level of professional athlete become extraordinary sport fans. The millions of people interested in sports are one of the many reasons for the billion dollar industry. Around the world the popularity of a sport relates to the fans culture and value. A sport can be growing in profit in one country, but in other countries that sport can be less impacted. About 3.2 billion people watched at least a minute of the World Cup in 2010. That means about half, if not more, of the world's population will have watched the 2014 World Cup. But, after taking a look at this map of the most popular sports around the world, that shouldn't surprise us all that much (Beauchamp, 2014, p.1). 

In a recent poll by Harris shows the favorite sports among U.S. fans. Professional football kept its large lead as the favorite sport among United States. However, the second favorite sport in America is baseball, which is the closest it has been in five years, according to results of an annual study from Harris Poll. Around 32% of U.S. citizens said the NFL was their favorite sport during a recent study. Now down three percentage points from 2013. Meanwhile, baseball is at 16%, up two points (Harris, 2015, p.1). Sport is a growing industry that will become even more popular in the future. We will be seeing favorite sports around the world become famous in other countries. Sport is a billion dollar industry that in a few years could become a trillion dollar business. Which is a reason so many people are interested in learning more about sport.     

FAVORITE SPORTS AMONG U.S. FANS (CHOOSE ONE)
SPORT	'14	'13	'12	'11	'10	'09	'98	'85
Pro football	32%	35%	34%	36%	31%	35%	26%	24%
Baseball	16%	14%	16%	13%	17%	16%	18%	23%
College football	10%	11%	11%	13%	12%	12%	9%	10%
Auto racing	7%	7%	8%	8%	7%	9%	7%	5%
Men's pro basketball	6%	6%	7%	5%	6%	5%	13%	6%
Ice hockey	6%	5%	5%	5%	5%	4%	3%	2%
Men's soccer	6%	2%	2%	1%	4%	2%	4%	3%
Men's college basketball	3%	3%	3%	5%	4%	3%	4%	6%
Boxing	2%	2%	1%	2%	1%	2%	n/a	n/a
Men's golf	2%	2%	2%	2%	2%	4%	4%	3%
Track & field	2%	1%	1%	1%	2%	1%	3%	2%
Women's tennis	2%	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	n/a	n/a
Not sure	2%	3%	2%	1%	3%	2%	1%	*
Men's tennis	1%	2%	2%	2%	2%	1%	4%	5%
Swimming	1%	2%	2%	2%	1%	1%	n/a	n/a
Horse racing	1%	1%	1%	2%	1%	2%	2%	4%
Bowling	1%	1%	1%	1%	2%	1%	2%	3%
Women's soccer	1%	*	*	*	*	*	n/a	n/a
Women's college basketball	*	1%	1%	*	*	*	1%	n/a
Women's pro basketball	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	n/a
Women's golf	*	*	*	*	*	*	n/a	n/a