European Sports

[Lionsfan]

So this has to do sports worldwide and what the world plays. Ok, so I was listening to a sports radio show yesterday and they were talking about the expansion of soccer in the US. A caller said that if the US were to beat England and then make a run for the finals in the World Cup, that soccer would expand in the US a lot. The hosts said no it won't happen and then went on to talk about the level of soccer in Europe

Radio Host 1: Whats the top five sports in the US
Radio Host 2: Football, Baseball, Hockey, Basketball....and then regional sports (MMA, tennis, NASCAR)
Radio Host 1: Alright, then whats the number one sport in Italy?
Radio Host 2: Soccer
Radio Host 1: Ok, whats the number two sport?
Radio Host 2: ....................bad soccer?

After that it got me thinking. What else does the world play? In the US we have the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, and the MLB. Those are just the big dogs. Now all the know about in Europe is soccer and maybe a little formula one racing. Since the Escapist is a multinational community I was wondering what other sports are there that the entire country can and will watch.

P.S.- This is my first thread so go easy on me

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

Well, I can speak for Russia - we do play soccer, hockey and basketball.
Also, tennis, rugby (not too prominent in Russia), a lot of non-team sports, etc.
EDIT: Oh, damn, didn't list my favorite - Formula One Racing.

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

In Europe there's lots of football (soccer), loads of Rugby - which is basically American Football, but without all the padding and protection - and some cricket, though that's mostly England.

Example: Rugby player vs. American Football players.

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

rugby, (imagine american football without pads and only aloud to through the ball backwards so more manly) criket, tennis, F1 and golf.

 

[Willis_D]

Well, one of the major sports, after football I'd say for most, is rugby. And rugby is awesome.

 

[AvsJoe]

I assume that ice hockey is popular in Scandinavian countries. Many of the greatest NHL players of the last 30 years have hailed from the area, from Borje Salming to Teemu Selanne, and a whole bunch in between (like Ulf Samuelsson and Tomas Sandstrom).

 

[Ickorus]

Football (Soccer to you thieving americans)
Rugby
Cricket
Boxing
F1
Golf

Just naming the biggest ones here.

Football is really the big sport here though.

 

[SimuLord]

Spain in particular has excellent basketball players---so does Lithuania.

Hockey's popular in Scandinavia and the Czech Republic as well as in Russia.

Rugby's found in the British Isles.

But yeah, soccer is king.

 

[Radeonx]

In Europe there's lots of football (soccer), loads of Rugby - which is basically American Football, but without all the padding and protection - and some cricket, though that's mostly England.

All of these, with a few more.
Hockey is pretty popular among a good amount of European countries, and tennis is also fairly popular. Overall, though, I'd say most of the non-US sports world is dominated by soccer/football.

 

[DividedUnity]

Hurling, Gaelic football and rugby are all just as popular here as football.

 

[Feriluce]

Football is the biggest obviously. Then there is handball here in denmark (We invented it afterall), and then a lot of smaller sports like tennis etc.

Handegg is also a bit popular, at least a lot of people likes to stay up and watch super bowl. There is very few players here though.

 

[SuccessAndBiscuts]

One thing worth a mention in here (on the level of regional sports) is Shinty.

Think a cross breed of Hockey with the "Angry Scotsman" stereotype, less rules less protective gear more awesome.

Edit:

I saw on the Colbert Report the other day they had some guy on talking about how soccer is to simplistic and no one in the states cares because they like complexity. Where i think its more because its the fact that soccer is one of the most draining sports you can play and the fattest nation on the planet doesn't want to watch people running cause it makes them sweat.....But thats just my thought.

Its funny but myself and a friend had a conversation about this the other day and we figured it was less popular in the states because its less commercial.

What do you need for a game of football? A ball, a pitch and two teams.

What do you need for a game of American football? A ball, a pitch, body armour and two teams. (There might be other requirements I'm not aware off)

And that's not including the long commercial breaks etc that I'm told are a part of the game.

 

[Player 2]

In rugby you get extra substitutions if your players start bleeding. It's also the only sport when a referee has told me he will send me straight off if I stamp on players while they're on the floor, assuming I would think otherwise.

 

[Nickolai77]

Football's the main sport of Europe. Rugby and Cricket are big in England, games like basketball and handball more popular on the European mainland. Things like tennis, badminton and golf i think have general popularity wherever you go, although i wonder if indoor sports such as badminton are more popular in chilly Scandinavia?

 

[Mechanix]

Northern Europe is big on hockey for sure. And I know lacrosse and tennis are played a little (at least when people aren't watching big boy sports).