"Biggest" sport in your country

[spalco]

There was some discussion about this in the pro cycling transfer thread, but since it doesn't really belong, I'll ask here, what you think anecdotally the most popular (specator) sports are in your country.

For Austria I suppose it's
#1 soccer/alpine skiing (not certain, probably more or less ex aequo)
#2 other winter sports - ski jumping and biathlon especially
#3 Formula 1 maybe or ice hockey
and a huge gap after that.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

what you think anecdotally the most popular (specator) sports are in your country.

Can do better than anecdotally for Australia:

The most popular sports attended by people aged 15 years and over in the 12 months prior to interview were Australian Rules football (16% or 2.8 million), horse racing (11% or 1.9 million), rugby league (9% or 1.6 million) and motor sports (8% or 1.4 million) (Table 3).

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@...10~Main+Features~Most+popular+sports+attended

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

Do you mean in participation or in viewing terms?

That said in England I would guess

1. Football

a
big
gap

2. Everything else.

 

[gooner]

Ireland.

1. Gaelic Football/Hurling
2. Football
3. Rugby

 

[etymology]

united states:

1.politics
2.american football (as opposed to *real* football)
3.baseball

basketball & motorsports (nascar)

 

[Netserk]

Denmark:

1st: Soccer
2nd: Handball
3rd: Cycling

With handball and cycling close to each other. Huge gap down to number 4.

 

[elapid]

Canada:

1. Hockey
2. Hockey
3. Hockey

 

[The Hitch]

Poland

1 Football (even though they absolutely suck at it it's still the only sport anyone watches, absolutely pathetic)
(Huge gap)
2 F1, again because western Europe says it's big, therefore it must matter right.

3 anything Poland happen to be good at atm. Doesn't last a moment past the success. Some boxers have loyal fanbases and volleyball gets some interest I suppose.
Pudzianowski did not get much media attention but he probably has as many fans as anyone from the last decade

 

[Samson777]

Denmark:

1st: Soccer
2nd: Handball
3rd: Cycling

With handball and cycling close to each other. Huge gap down to number 4.

Very huge probably. What would be number 4? NFL?

 

[Christian]

Poland

1 Football (even though they absolutely suck at it it's still the only sport anyone watches, absolutely pathetic)

Poland has some great players right now though and is light years ahead of my country.... and football is still the biggest sport here That's what I call pathetic Although on the other hand who cares if you are good at it or not, if people like it then who are we to judge them...

For Luxembourg it is hard to say... Football probably has the most people who actively practice it. It gets probably the most coverage in the papers too. But the games are pretty sparsely visited. I think Basketball and Handball games have more spectators than football and the ambiance is much better. So it really depends how you look at it.

I would say

1. Football
2. Basketball
3. Handball

In terms of cycling the most popular, despite Schlecks et al is Cyclocross I would say. In the winter there are races every week with sometimes pretty good international fields and they have a lot of spectators and a good ambiance. But that comes with the nature of the sport, it is spectacular, muddy and they do laps. Road cylcing doesn't offer that so much

 

[kanari]

Norway probably something like this:

1) Football: "Everybody" plays for a club when they're kids, gets high ratings on TV. In the book Soccernomics by Simon Kuper they measured participation rates, stadium attendance and TV viewing figures around the world and compared to population size. They concluded that Norway was the most football-loving country in the world.

2) XC skiing: The national sport. A huge number do it or have done it on a recreation/exercise basis but not that many have been active competitors. Draws huge viewing numbers for WC's and Olympics. The WC in Holmenkollen Oslo had more than 100 000 live spectators at a couple of the events.

3) Handball: I give it a third place thanks to incredible TV ratings when there is an Olympics or WC. Especially the womens team...

In the tier below you have biathlon, ski jumping, alpine skiing, athletics.

Below that again but still fairly popular: Ice hockey, road cycling, speed skating.

 

[del1962]

In England in terms of everyting but possibly participation (I thonk fishing may be higher) it is football, thats watching (both at turnstiles and on TV) and money.

I really could not tell you the next most popular.

 

[Froome19]

In England in terms of everyting but possibly participation (I thonk fishing may be higher) it is football, thats watching (both at turnstiles and on TV) and money.

I really could not tell you the next most popular.

Cricket and then probably rugby and then tennis even if the professional aspect of it we are rubbish at, but of course Football is light years ahead.

South Africa is a proper nation with both Rugby and then Cricket ahead of Football.

 

[Cyivel]

In England in terms of everyting but possibly participation (I thonk fishing may be higher) it is football, thats watching (both at turnstiles and on TV) and money.

I really could not tell you the next most popular.

Consistently probably Cricket or Rugby I'd guess but certain sports would probably have a higher peak interest, Tennis during Wimbledon as an example.

 

[hoerpi]

I would put it like this for Sweden when it comes to general interest.

#1 Football
#2 Ice hockey
#3 XC-skiing, Biathlon and Alpine skiing (they are broadcasted together at weekends during the winter).

Innebandy (floorball) is very popular to play on a recreational level and getting more and more popular at a professional level. Ice hockey is not so popular to play anymore since it's expensive but alot of people care about the national team, especially in the olympics and world cup play offs.

 

[AngusW]

New Zealand:

1. Rugby Union

2. Binge drinking

3. Rugby League, Cricket, motor racing

4. Racing

5. Other sports (except for two weeks in Olympic years, when Olympic sports that NZers are competitive at rate at #2 - in 2016 rugby sevens will be in the Olympics)

 

[kanari]

Poland

1 Football (even though they absolutely suck at it it's still the only sport anyone watches, absolutely pathetic)
(Huge gap)
2 F1, again because western Europe says it's big, therefore it must matter right.

3 anything Poland happen to be good at atm. Doesn't last a moment past the success. Some boxers have loyal fanbases and volleyball gets some interest I suppose.
Pudzianowski did not get much media attention but he probably has as many fans as anyone from the last decade

I always had the impression that ski jumping seemed quite popular in Poland?

 

[del1962]

Cricket and then probably rugby and then tennis even if the professional aspect of it we are rubbish at, but of course Football is light years ahead.

South Africa is a proper nation with both Rugby and then Cricket ahead of Football.

I would say among the majority Football is more popular in SA.

 

[Froome19]

I would say among the majority Football is more popular in SA.

Indeed you are right probably, depends on how you evaluate what makes the sport bigger though.

 

[ferryman]

There was some discussion about this in the pro cycling transfer thread, but since it doesn't really belong, I'll ask here, what you think anecdotally the most popular (specator) sports are in your country.

For Austria I suppose it's
#1 soccer/alpine skiing (not certain, probably more or less ex aequo)
#2 other winter sports - ski jumping and biathlon especially
#3 Formula 1 maybe or ice hockey
and a huge gap after that.

Even without Rangers and Celtic it's football by a country mile here, probably followed by Rugby Union, no idea what sport would be third. If the evil two were ever both allowed to play at home on a Saturday (and they are not) it would roughly equate to 2% of the population out watching them alone

 

[Cyivel]

Even without Rangers and Celtic it's football by a country mile here, probably followed by Rugby Union, no idea what sport would be third. If the evil two were ever both allowed to play at home on a Saturday (and they are not) it would roughly equate to 2% of the population out watching them alone

Curling?

 

[Zam_Olyas]

1. Calcio
















2.Roman Catholicism
3. and the rest like aquatics,volleyball etc

 

[Zam_Olyas]

In my present location.

Cricket




















football

 

[Master50]

Canada:

1. Hockey
2. Hockey
3. Hockey

You missed ...... um...what about........ what is it? or maybe ..... um no its hockey And CFL football for one sunday for the grey cup where the sports guys are usually telling us about the last hockey game

 

[gooner]

Even without Rangers and Celtic it's football by a country mile here, probably followed by Rugby Union, no idea what sport would be third. If the evil two were ever both allowed to play at home on a Saturday (and they are not) it would roughly equate to 2% of the population out watching them alone

What's the popularity of shinty like in Scotland? I heard it was popular in the Highlands but would it be a minority sport?

They used to play our guys in hurling in internationals years ago where they combined the two aspects of the games. While I like hurling myself, I found the game between the two quite entertaining on the occasions I watched it. I don't think they play each other anymore if memory serves me right.