"Non-traditional" Pro Sports

[JWags85]

I was speaking with my rep in India this morning, and the IPL cricket league is in full swing.  Matches start at 9 CST each day so he mentioned planned to watch as one of the teams is the preferred club of many of our clients.  I wouldn't say I'm a cricket fan, but working closely with an Indian team and clients the last 6 years, Ive grown to enjoy it a bit and understand the game enough that I can follow and pick up strategy and be entertained.

But it got me thinking, what other non-American standard sports do people follow or enjoy?  And I'm exempting the Big 4 plus tennis, golf, and soccer as those are all quite mainstream.

The biggest for me is Aussie Rules football.  I knew basically nothing about it aside from occasionally seeing it late night on TVs in bars in Manhattan and a kid from a local HS that I didn't particularly get along with in my younger years had a trial with a club down there.  But when the pandemic hit, there wasn't a ton going on and Fox Sports was carrying live matches late on Fri/Sat night.  And I got HOOKED.  Not to the extent of picking a club to support or anything, I don't have the sports bandwidth for that, but I will watch matches late night if I'm up.  Its fairly simple, really fun and fast paced, and was a blast to bet overs on when I still was a degen.

On the opposite end, I had a buddy in Belgium who was nuts about cycling try to pitch me on it for years and I couldn't muster even an ounce of interest.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Darts is fun to watch.

[PBRme]

Hurling in Ireland

[forgetful]

Underwater Torpedo League is a pretty crazy sport.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I fell in love with cricket when I was in the UK. Still watch it religiously whenever there’s an international match involving England, not a fan of the domestic leagues though.

Also a big snooker fan, World Championships just finished, Ronnie O’Sullivan is the GOAT and just an incredibly interesting personality as well.

With you on cycling though, also had a Belgian friend when in the UK, but I find it incredibly boring.

[MUBurrow]

Darts is fun to watch.

+1. Going to one of those events live looks awesome too.  Bunch of dudes dressed up like jackasses, bombed at longtables, and live betting the whole way.

[brewcity77]

Soccer would be my answer as it definitely wasn't mainstream or easily accessible when I was bar-hopping from Nomad to Highbury on Saturday mornings in 2006 and Fox Soccer Channel with the Premier League was pretty much the only option for watching games, until BeIn Sports came along and provided a ton of Serie A content. I can't think of any other sport going from so far outside the mainstream to being considered in the mainstream in my life. Maybe hockey is the closest.

[MUfan12]

Soccer would be my answer as it definitely wasn't mainstream or easily accessible when I was bar-hopping from Nomad to Highbury on Saturday mornings in 2006 and Fox Soccer Channel with the Premier League was pretty much the only option for watching games, until BeIn Sports came along and provided a ton of Serie A content. I can't think of any other sport going from so far outside the mainstream to being considered in the mainstream in my life. Maybe hockey is the closest.

I remember how big it was that Highbury got Setanta on satellite. We got what, 3 games on a Saturday? Dodgy internet streams for the rest.

Ah, the pre-children days. Could spend most of the day at the pub and not have a care in the world.

[JWags85]

I fell in love with cricket when I was in the UK. Still watch it religiously whenever there’s an international match involving England, not a fan of the domestic leagues though.

I think test matches are just so hard for a casual fan to get into.  T20 is great cause you get a mixture of strategy.  Ive tried to watch ODI with 50 overs, and even that drags.  6-7 overs in a row with fielders bunched right around the batsman, 1-2 runs an over, its just a slog. 

I'd say the same about baseball too though.  If you told me 5 innings of a game would have no balls hit out of the infield and maybe 1-2 Ks total, I'd be like "hard pass".

[Its DJOver]

Don't know if it quite fits your criteria, but I've been a fan of F1 since before "drive to survive", and despite loving the fact that it's growing in popularity, I'm not thrilled with some of the decisions that have been made for the sport as a whole.

Also, put me down as one that enjoys cycling, the combination of individual talent/athleticism and teamwork is really underrated IMO, although I can certainly see how others may disagree because it can be dull at times.

[brewcity77]

I remember how big it was that Highbury got Setanta on satellite. We got what, 3 games on a Saturday? Dodgy internet streams for the rest.

Ah, the pre-children days. Could spend most of the day at the pub and not have a care in the world.

All those pixellated games broadcast on the center screen, it felt like watching a 1990s video game at times. I remember calling Joe many times asking "can you get this game" and knowing he was surfing a ton of sites trying to find the one you wanted, sometimes just to give you the little computer screen next to the taps. Start drinking at 6 am, drunk and out of the pub by noon to pass out before heading back to the bars on a Saturday night. Good times.

[JWags85]

Don't know if it quite fits your criteria, but I've been a fan of F1 since before "drive to survive", and despite loving the fact that it's growing in popularity, I'm not thrilled with some of the decisions that have been made for the sport as a whole.

Also, put me down as one that enjoys cycling, the combination of individual talent/athleticism and teamwork is really underrated IMO, although I can certainly see how others may disagree because it can be dull at times.

I think that plays.  I honestly think F1 is the next big thing in the US.  When I was a kid, IndyCar was a pretty big deal and I think there is a hole missing there.  Obviously it was kind of a zero sum game with NASCAR, but I think there is an open wheel/non-oval empty space.  Combine that with F1's glamour and international flare and a bunch of great personalities.

[MU82]

My favorite non-major "sport" to watch on sports networks is poker.

It's amazing how skilled some of the players are. Most impressive is their ability to fold a great hand when they are convinced an opponent has an even better hand. Sometimes I find myself saying, "How the hell did he get away from that straight? No way I coulda folded that!" Which is why they're pros and I'm not.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I think test matches are just so hard for a casual fan to get into.  T20 is great cause you get a mixture of strategy.  Ive tried to watch ODI with 50 overs, and even that drags.  6-7 overs in a row with fielders bunched right around the batsman, 1-2 runs an over, its just a slog. 

I'd say the same about baseball too though.  If you told me 5 innings of a game would have no balls hit out of the infield and maybe 1-2 Ks total, I'd be like "hard pass".

ODI’s are definitely my favorite format, 50 overs is the perfect balance for me personally.

But man, there’s nothing quite like a test match that comes down to the final day with all three results available.

It certainly can be an absolute drag, especially if it’s not close. But fifth day test matches are awesome.

Got my dad into test cricket by having him live bet the over/under on runs every over.

[MUBurrow]

I think that plays.  I honestly think F1 is the next big thing in the US.  When I was a kid, IndyCar was a pretty big deal and I think there is a hole missing there.  Obviously it was kind of a zero sum game with NASCAR, but I think there is an open wheel/non-oval empty space.  Combine that with F1's glamour and international flare and a bunch of great personalities.

It would be really cool if F1 continues to become more popular in the states. My family have been big open wheel fans since before Indycar shot itself in the foot, and then the other foot, and then both hands. Michael Andretti has been trying to scrap together the resources to fund an F1 entry likely piloted by American Colton Herta, but there are a lot of questions as to whether he will get the investors and whether the other F1 teams want him there.  I am a bit concerned about whether having a solely back of the pack American entry could be a little counterproductive. 

[tower912]

Co-worker is a high level amateur pickle ball player.   I have watched some, though the appeal is still lost on me.

[Spotcheck Billy]

But it got me thinking, what other non-American standard sports do people follow or enjoy? 

Hatchet throwing and cornhole games on TV crack me up. Decades ago we saw a tiddlywinks tournament on ESPN, I kid you not.
School bus demo derby on ESPN-OCHO a few years back was really cool.

[#UnleashSean]

Soccer would be my answer as it definitely wasn't mainstream or easily accessible when I was bar-hopping from Nomad to Highbury on Saturday mornings in 2006 and Fox Soccer Channel with the Premier League was pretty much the only option for watching games, until BeIn Sports came along and provided a ton of Serie A content. I can't think of any other sport going from so far outside the mainstream to being considered in the mainstream in my life. Maybe hockey is the closest.

Id say both of those are pretty mainstream honestly.

[brewcity77]

Id say both of those are pretty mainstream honestly.

Today? Sure. But if you were trying to follow hockey in the late 1980s or European soccer in the late 1990s to early 2000s, you would have a different take.

Video games made a big difference. NHLPA '93 made a huge difference for that sport. The combination of EA putting out the best sports video game available at the same time ESPN started more regular nationwide broadcasts shifted the attention massively.

In the 1990s, about the only European soccer you were getting on American TV was maybe the FA Cup Final and UEFA Champions League Final. And while FIFA is big now, Winning Eleven was the real kicker that drove interest. Winning Eleven 6 was the first you could get in the US back in 2003, though it was tough to find. It had by far the best sports video game gameplay at the time and gained popularity as Fox Sports World was becoming Fox Soccer Channel. Add Setanta Sports in 2005 and you had access to many of the top leagues.

You can call it mainstream today, but it certainly wasn't mainstream 15-20 years ago, and it was virtually nonexistent before that.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I referee pretty frequently with a guy from Leicester.   He talks about how he had to wait for his brother in England to mail him the sports page every week to see how Leicester city did that week.  Truly an information blackout back in the day.

Of course, the Champions League semi's are buried on Paramount plus, so still a ways to go getting top level soccer available to the masses.

[JWags85]

I referee pretty frequently with a guy from Leicester.   He talks about how he had to wait for his brother in England to mail him the sports page every week to see how Leicester city did that week.  Truly an information blackout back in the day.

Of course, the Champions League semi's are buried on Paramount plus, so still a ways to go getting top level soccer available to the masses.

The first couple years of NBC ownership of the EPL was truly salad days.  You could jump between matches freely and easily.  Once they put them behind a paywall it was the beginning of the end.

Conversely, ESPN+ has tons of La Liga and Serie A, so at least thats a step up.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

The first couple years of NBC ownership of the EPL was truly salad days.  You could jump between matches freely and easily.  Once they put them behind a paywall it was the beginning of the end.

Conversely, ESPN+ has tons of La Liga and Serie A, so at least thats a step up.

So it’s funny, I’m not sure what year you are specifically referring to but in 2015-16 I remember being able to watch every single premier league game on TV, which was actually more games than you could watch than in England itself.

Premier league rights in the UK are weird, they didn’t air the 3:00 games because they wanted to encourage people to go watch their local teams.

[JWags85]

So it’s funny, I’m not sure what year you are specifically referring to but in 2015-16 I remember being able to watch every single premier league game on TV, which was actually more games than you could watch than in England itself.

Premier league rights in the UK are weird, they didn’t air the 3:00 games because they wanted to encourage people to go watch their local teams.

Yea, that 2014-2016 range.  They had a game on NBC, NBCSN, USA, and sometimes CNBC.  But then if you had the app, you could jump between any live match, same as with the March Madness app for the tournament.  It was brilliant.

[Ardmore Mug]

Im still awaiting this summers Lake Michigan "Submarine Races" ! ! ! 

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Yea, that 2014-2016 range.  They had a game on NBC, NBCSN, USA, and sometimes CNBC.  But then if you had the app, you could jump between any live match, same as with the March Madness app for the tournament.  It was brilliant.

Was a great few years to have little kids that would wake us up.  Throw some eggos in the toaster and watch some footy.