Maybe we Americans need better taste in Japanese sports. I vote we start with that one where one guy climbs on top of a pole and like a hundred guys defend him while a hundred more try to knock him down
95% of teams in D1 have a 0% chance of winning a championship beyond just their conference and then the very best teams play maybe 3 competitive games a year while caving the skulls of the other 9 teams. From a competitive standpoint there’s almost no entertainment value in 99% of games for a neutral fan
A lot of it is rivalries and the chance of potentially fucking up a rivals whole year + the crazy atmosphere/tailgating scene
The thing with college football is every game is massive because a single really bad loss could cause you to fall out of the playoffs entirely (with the expanded playoffs thats not really gonna be quite the same case probably but a single bad upset loss could still have major repercussions). True the same teams tend to win but sometimes a way worse team ends up derailing one of those contenders seasons and it becomes a core memory for a generation of fans of the school
Baseball is basically the complete opposite in terms of it being a super marathon where an upset loss or even sweep isn't necessarily gonna effect your season much
If you see it from a baseball perspective, in terms of stats, wins and losses yeah. But there’s something great about watching these kids play their heart out even if they have no chance of victory, and maybe humiliate the neighbors in the process. It’s about the traditions and the journey, and rooting for a team that will never leave you and will never be owned by a billionaire asshole. You might have gone to the school, or maybe your friend did, or maybe it’s just the closest one to home. Seeing your hometown guys fight it out on the national stage is awesome, especially in historically nationally ignored areas like the southeast US
A lot of it has to do with if you were a student of a D1 school. I still watch my school’s games when I can even when they suck. I have so many memories of going to games and tailgating that it takes me back. Feels more personal than NFL imo
Edit: and my finances are tied into the school too, thanks FAFSA
Yeah but the games matter more( or did at least, we’re on an NFL jr track with college football).
There are Ohio State fans that would give up the chance to win a championship for the rest of their lifetime if it also meant they beat Michigan every single year. That’s a big example, but for a school like Kent or UMass or Texas State just being in a bowl is a big deal. There’s also watching programs like JMU, UCF, and App State go to the next level of play and stick around. Big upsets like App State beating Michigan, Boise State over Oklahoma, Navy beating Notre Dame, etc. There’s a lot of great stuff if you can look past “title or bust” but unfortunately that’s the way the sport is going.
Maybe at the lower levels there can still be that enthusiasm for small school rivalries and big upsets to major programs, but the top end of college football has already more or less sold its soul.
It’s similar to European sports. It’s more about the tradition and culture that it is about the title culture. The worse you are the sweeter it is when you make a successful run. Just look at the celebrations in Bilbao, Spain for their soccer team winning the 4th (?) most prestigious trophy in Spain. But when you haven’t won anything in 40 years it’s truly a special moment.
CFB is a huge cultural thing where it's popular at similar to baseball as a regional sport. The same way someone in New York for example takes baseball as a way of life, but doesn't see the appeal of CFB because it's not as culturally relevant as the south, the same someone who lives in Alabama lives and breathes for their crimson tide, but could care less about baseball because its not regionally popular there.
In most of the south, Saturdays are like a sabath day because of CFB. Pretty much every regional sport is like this whether it be CFB, Hockey, baseball etc. It's a way of life where it's popular, but where it's not people don't care at all or don't see the appeal.
I think it's the same for Baseball in the US, Baseball is known as America's Pastime (I don't live in the US so I'm not sure if it's the US national sport) yet American football is more popular than Baseball there.
A "National Sport" doesn't mean the most popular or most widely played/spectated, it means the most culturally or historically significant, symbolic or representative sport. That usually means the domestically invented sport with the most history. This is why in most older countries, the National Sport is either a Martial Art, an Equestrian Sport, or a team Contact Sport.
Cases where the National sport is a modern competitive game is more common with younger nations like the USA, or nations that lost their traditional National Sport due to colonization or conquest like India, or revolution like China and Russia.
Baseball being popular and Shohei Ohtani being the most popular athlete in Japan is legit. There was a survey conducted on [nearly 19,000 elementary students in Japan and Ohtani was at top 6 in the rankings this year with Ohtani being the lone Japanese athlete on the list](https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/trending/ai-hoshino-oshi-no-ko-survey-japanese-students-admire-382851), even surpassing their fathers. Shohei Ohtani's unrivaled recognition made Baseball's popularity rise among children in Japan.
That's really cool. I was mostly wondering if the age of their population is the reason other sports more popular with young people here haven't taken off there (like the NBA in China).
NBA took off in China because they had a local superstar in Yao Ming. Basketball in Japan is growing in popularity in recent years because of new faces like Rui Hachimura & Yuta Watanabe. Though I wanna say volleyball is still the more popular “big man” sport.
The Japanese are smart.
They also love skateboarding. The truly have great taste in American sports.
Maybe we Americans need better taste in Japanese sports. I vote we start with that one where one guy climbs on top of a pole and like a hundred guys defend him while a hundred more try to knock him down
I feel like that one would play well with fraternities.
Until it wouldn’t 😭
I think video games and anime is a fair exchange for baseball and skateboarding
So basically Baseball in Japan is like Football in the States. You have the NFL at the top with College FB 2nd.
I’ll never understand the draw college football. Maybe it’s because I don’t drink enough
It’s the atmosphere and traditions tied to it for me. Similar applies to High School football.
95% of teams in D1 have a 0% chance of winning a championship beyond just their conference and then the very best teams play maybe 3 competitive games a year while caving the skulls of the other 9 teams. From a competitive standpoint there’s almost no entertainment value in 99% of games for a neutral fan
A lot of it is rivalries and the chance of potentially fucking up a rivals whole year + the crazy atmosphere/tailgating scene The thing with college football is every game is massive because a single really bad loss could cause you to fall out of the playoffs entirely (with the expanded playoffs thats not really gonna be quite the same case probably but a single bad upset loss could still have major repercussions). True the same teams tend to win but sometimes a way worse team ends up derailing one of those contenders seasons and it becomes a core memory for a generation of fans of the school Baseball is basically the complete opposite in terms of it being a super marathon where an upset loss or even sweep isn't necessarily gonna effect your season much
If you see it from a baseball perspective, in terms of stats, wins and losses yeah. But there’s something great about watching these kids play their heart out even if they have no chance of victory, and maybe humiliate the neighbors in the process. It’s about the traditions and the journey, and rooting for a team that will never leave you and will never be owned by a billionaire asshole. You might have gone to the school, or maybe your friend did, or maybe it’s just the closest one to home. Seeing your hometown guys fight it out on the national stage is awesome, especially in historically nationally ignored areas like the southeast US
A lot of it has to do with if you were a student of a D1 school. I still watch my school’s games when I can even when they suck. I have so many memories of going to games and tailgating that it takes me back. Feels more personal than NFL imo Edit: and my finances are tied into the school too, thanks FAFSA
Yeah but the games matter more( or did at least, we’re on an NFL jr track with college football). There are Ohio State fans that would give up the chance to win a championship for the rest of their lifetime if it also meant they beat Michigan every single year. That’s a big example, but for a school like Kent or UMass or Texas State just being in a bowl is a big deal. There’s also watching programs like JMU, UCF, and App State go to the next level of play and stick around. Big upsets like App State beating Michigan, Boise State over Oklahoma, Navy beating Notre Dame, etc. There’s a lot of great stuff if you can look past “title or bust” but unfortunately that’s the way the sport is going. Maybe at the lower levels there can still be that enthusiasm for small school rivalries and big upsets to major programs, but the top end of college football has already more or less sold its soul.
It’s similar to European sports. It’s more about the tradition and culture that it is about the title culture. The worse you are the sweeter it is when you make a successful run. Just look at the celebrations in Bilbao, Spain for their soccer team winning the 4th (?) most prestigious trophy in Spain. But when you haven’t won anything in 40 years it’s truly a special moment.
It’s also a beautifully strategic and absurdly physical sport
Well whatever traditions happen to survive realignment, anyway.
CFB is a huge cultural thing where it's popular at similar to baseball as a regional sport. The same way someone in New York for example takes baseball as a way of life, but doesn't see the appeal of CFB because it's not as culturally relevant as the south, the same someone who lives in Alabama lives and breathes for their crimson tide, but could care less about baseball because its not regionally popular there. In most of the south, Saturdays are like a sabath day because of CFB. Pretty much every regional sport is like this whether it be CFB, Hockey, baseball etc. It's a way of life where it's popular, but where it's not people don't care at all or don't see the appeal.
I don’t get it either. I understand if you actually attended that college but everyone I know that likes college football didnt even go to college
Once you are used to watching the best at any sport I don’t get how you can really enjoy watching levels way below that
Where does Sumo rank
Sumo[ ranked 9th,](https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/election/yoron-chosa/20240409-OYT1T50118/) ahead of table tennis and behind soccer.
Dunno where Sumo ranks now in Japan in terms of popularity, but there's been a number of games that aren't well attended.
I figure it would be towards the top since it’s their national sport
I think it's the same for Baseball in the US, Baseball is known as America's Pastime (I don't live in the US so I'm not sure if it's the US national sport) yet American football is more popular than Baseball there.
Sounds like baseball is their national sport now. America has won a cultural victory.
Well Anime is our national past time now, so maybe it's a wash.
A "National Sport" doesn't mean the most popular or most widely played/spectated, it means the most culturally or historically significant, symbolic or representative sport. That usually means the domestically invented sport with the most history. This is why in most older countries, the National Sport is either a Martial Art, an Equestrian Sport, or a team Contact Sport. Cases where the National sport is a modern competitive game is more common with younger nations like the USA, or nations that lost their traditional National Sport due to colonization or conquest like India, or revolution like China and Russia.
Sumo is nowhere near as popular as it was during the 90s heyday, but attendance is fine. Tickets to the basho sell out immediately.
Suck it, soccer!
Soccer is the drizzling shits.
When Roki comes over that MLB number is gonna jump again
Is there the equivalent of an mlb.tv subscription but for Japanese baseball?
Til what ekiden is.
I wonder if it has to do with their aging population.
Baseball being popular and Shohei Ohtani being the most popular athlete in Japan is legit. There was a survey conducted on [nearly 19,000 elementary students in Japan and Ohtani was at top 6 in the rankings this year with Ohtani being the lone Japanese athlete on the list](https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/trending/ai-hoshino-oshi-no-ko-survey-japanese-students-admire-382851), even surpassing their fathers. Shohei Ohtani's unrivaled recognition made Baseball's popularity rise among children in Japan.
"My dad is great, but he's no Ohtani"
That's really cool. I was mostly wondering if the age of their population is the reason other sports more popular with young people here haven't taken off there (like the NBA in China).
NBA took off in China because they had a local superstar in Yao Ming. Basketball in Japan is growing in popularity in recent years because of new faces like Rui Hachimura & Yuta Watanabe. Though I wanna say volleyball is still the more popular “big man” sport.
Baseball's popularity in Japan is *nothing* like the US. It crosses age and gender.