Is the NHL back to being one of the "4 Major Sports" in the US

[TrollololBoyle]

We can split hairs here, but I think when people talk about professional sports the only people who include NASCAR are NASCAR fans. I guess it is a sport, but certainly not in the traditional sense.

The reason they are all thin is because the drive a moving sauna in a snowsuit, not because they are doing something overly athletic. I would agree that what they do is strenous and difficult, but I still dont call it a sport. Plus it is boring as **** to watch.

All in all, they are all just a bunch of kid's games that they get paid to do...

 

[mja]

Because your fat ass doesn't do it at 200 MPH for 3 hours wearing a flame suit without A/C at multiple Gs.

Ever seen a fat NASCAR driver? That's why.

I've never seen a fat aerobics instructor, either, but I'm not going to start calling Jazzercise a sport.

And I'll have you know that I always wear a flame suit while driving and I rarely drive the speed limit. My ass isn't fat, either. It's practically flat.

 

[End of Line]

When it comes to racing being a "sport", F1 drivers are a hell of a lot better than NASCAR drivers.

 

[foppagirl21]

Yes, I'd think that hockey is back in the '4 major sports' category again. I know the lockout ruined this, but I know personally that people who stopped watching the NHL after the lockout are resuming again. Good sign in my book.

Oh, and I was able to get some of my friends this past season from Florida to start watching hockey. Actually, one of them really wanted to start watching it, so interest around the sport is definitely picking up.

...now if the NHL had only signed on with ESPN... don't get me wrong, there are definitely flaws with NHL and ESPN together, but it really does expose the US market to hockey.

 

[End of Line]

What people failed to understand was that NASCAR wasn't just a "regional sport", it was very much a "cultural sport". Until very recently nobody ever attempted to expand it out of its very narrow demographic niche. 30% of the South is African-American -- do you ever see black NASCAR fans? Likewise, auto racing is very much a blue collar sport, yet it was being sold to a middle/upper class audience who saw it as a trendy companion to their Hummer and their John Deere riding lawnmower. It's not a surprise at all that as soon as the ticket prices went up and the drivers started seeming a little "Hollywood", the whole operation took a giant nosedive. It was a crazy idea to take it mainstream, like trying to make yachting the next big thing on Sportscenter.

I know a lot of fans of NASCAR were not very happy when the sponsorships changed from Winston/Busch to Sprint/Nationwide.

 

[Darth Bangkok]

Because your fat ass doesn't do it at 200 MPH for 3 hours wearing a flame suit without A/C at multiple Gs.

Ever seen a fat NASCAR driver? That's why.[/QUOTE]

No, its because fat drivers use gas faster.

Ever seen a fat jockey?

 

[clownshoes]

Nascar isn't a sport, darts isnt a sport, poker isn't a sport, Golf and Bowling as sports is stretching it imo. tHE ONLY PART OF gOLF that qualifies as athletic is the drive, the rest is just walking and chips, putts and a slightly efforted iron shot.

In the US;

MLB
NBA
NFL
NHL


InCanada;

NHL
NHL
NHL
MLB

 

[Jahodac]

It's a shame NASCAR is more popular than Formula One or real racing on the Nurburgring.

Peugeot 908 HDi > a Chevy Impala stock car

Hockey is definitely climbing up in popular sports but is still around #5 or #6 and that is if you don't count college sports.

Professional sports:
#1 MLB
#2 NFL
#3 NBA
#4 NASCAR
#5 NHL

Also driving is a sport, therefor NASCAR is sport as much as I hate to say it.

 

[End of Line]

It's a shame NASCAR is more popular than Formula One or real racing on the Nurburgring.

Well in the case of F1, it's never talked about and when it's shown it's usually very early in the morning on Speed. It doesn't help ever since the debacle at Indy over tires when half the field decided not race, plus they haven't raced in the States since 2007. In 2012 though, F1 is returning to the States.

 

[Claimed Off Waivers]

Nascar isn't a sport, darts isnt a sport, poker isn't a sport, Golf and Bowling as sports is stretching it imo. tHE ONLY PART OF gOLF that qualifies as athletic is the drive, the rest is just walking and chips, putts and a slightly efforted iron shot.

In the US;

MLB
NBA
NFL
NHL


InCanada;

NHL
NHL
NHL
MLB

MLB has lost quite a bit of popularity in Canada
I'd say it goes

1)NHL AINEC




2)CFL
3)NFL
4)MLS
5)MLB
6)CHL
7)NBA

 

[Reality Check]

No.

In no order: NBA, NFL and MLB

Mix bag of NHL, Nascar, Golf, Poker, UFC, Boxing etc...competes for a distant #4

However, if we include college sports, then College would be among the top 4

 

[TCNorthstars]

We can split hairs here, but I think when people talk about professional sports the only people who include NASCAR are NASCAR fans. I guess it is a sport, but certainly not in the traditional sense.

What do you mean not in a traditional sense? I hope you don't mean to include hockey in the traditional sense. Racing on wheels is came along centuries before hockey.

 

[JerseyGuy276]

Nascar isn't a sport, darts isnt a sport, poker isn't a sport, Golf and Bowling as sports is stretching it imo. tHE ONLY PART OF gOLF that qualifies as athletic is the drive, the rest is just walking and chips, putts and a slightly efforted iron shot.

In the US;

MLB
NBA
NFL
NHL


InCanada;

NHL
NHL
NHL
MLB

Seriously? You need skill to play golf otherwise people who shot in the 60s and 50s on tv wouldn't be paid millions of dollars for it.

 

[Espher]

If we're including NASCAR as a support, I'm including first-person shooters and MMORPGs.

I mean, high-level fps matches and MMO engagements I've been in have certainly been more physically and mentally demanding and draining than several other sports I've played (bowling, curling, golf).

 

[Reality Check]

Also driving is a sport, therefor NASCAR is sport as much as I hate to say it.

The problem with some people is if you're not beating the hell out of someone, it's not a sport.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

NASCAR still exists?


It is a sport. I'll be damned if I ever understand the appeal of it, but it is a sport. It's extremely regional, though. It has absolutely zero presence whatsoever in the northwest. Growing up in Pittsburgh it would struggle to rank in the top 6 or 7 there.

 

[tarheelhockey]

It's a shame NASCAR is more popular than Formula One or real racing on the Nurburgring.

Peugeot 908 HDi > a Chevy Impala stock car

Again though, that misses the point of NASCAR.

 

[CanadianHockey]

On topic - I don't think that the NHL left the big-4 in the US.

 

[TCNorthstars]

On topic - I don't think that the NHL left the big-4 in the US.

Does it even matter? 4th place doesn't get you on the podium.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Does it even matter? 4th place doesn't get you on the podium.

Are they handing out a prize for 1st place now?

 

[Jerzey Devil]

College football and basketball are both still more popular than the NHL. It goes:

NFL
MLB
NBA
College Football
College Basketball
NHL

 

[Epsilon]

College football and basketball are both still more popular than the NHL. It goes:

NFL
MLB
NBA
College Football
College Basketball
NHL

There is no way college football is below the NBA at this point. And I'd be surprised if it's below MLB. Maybe in terms of revenue, but almost certainly not in terms of fan interest.

 

[gifted88]

Are they handing out a prize for 1st place now?

Revenue is a good prize $$$$

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Yeah, in terms of fan interest, it's:

NFL
College football
MLB
College basketball
NBA
NHL

 

[Jerzey Devil]

There is no way college football is below the NBA at this point. And I'd be surprised if it's below MLB. Maybe in terms of revenue, but almost certainly not in terms of fan interest.

Yeah you're probably right. I guess it should be:

NFL
College Football
MLB
NBA
College Basketball
NHL

PGA
NASCAR
UFC (MMA)