I was wondering since I've never heard about a firm or a hardcore fanbase for a MLB , NFL or NBA team like they have for football (soccer) teams....
Is the fanatism for an US sport team as big as football (soccer) ?
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PlasmaTwa2
The Second-Hottest Man in my Mother's Basement
Since I'm not American, I don't know about them, but in Canada the Maple Leafs and Canadiens have cult-like followings.
Doubtful... Here in the US I have personally never seen on a large scale the rioting and hooliganism that seems pretty commonplace with some soccer leagues.
There is the occasional riot when some team wins...but rarely if ever is there widespread rioting in the stands and I'm not sure a pro sporting even has ever been shut down because of rioting breaking out during the event.
There is the occasional riot when some team wins...but rarely if ever is there widespread rioting in the stands and I'm not sure a pro sporting even has ever been shut down because of rioting breaking out during the event.
I'm in Europe but I don't think "US" sport generates fanatism as "european" sport.
IMO, one of the reasons is the franchise system : In Europe, each team isd associated to a city. Even if very few (or even none) of the players was born or actually lives in the city, the guys kinda "represents" the city.
Most of the fan of one city are fans of the team associated to the city. And in the case of several team in one city, the teams are considered to be grat rivals and the fans consider the game between these two team (the "derby") as one of the most important game in the season.
Franchises are, to me, more like brands : the franchise is associated to a city or a state but they can quite easily be relocated (Charlotte Hornet have been relocated to New Orleans, Seattle Sonics relocated to Oklahoma and renamed OklahomaCity Thunders).
In Europe, this is impossible. People would never accept, for example, Real Madrid moving to Valencia, changing his name to Sporting Valencia and give up their white jerzey to a green one. Such a thing is just impossible in European sport.
IMO, one of the reasons is the franchise system : In Europe, each team isd associated to a city. Even if very few (or even none) of the players was born or actually lives in the city, the guys kinda "represents" the city.
Most of the fan of one city are fans of the team associated to the city. And in the case of several team in one city, the teams are considered to be grat rivals and the fans consider the game between these two team (the "derby") as one of the most important game in the season.
Franchises are, to me, more like brands : the franchise is associated to a city or a state but they can quite easily be relocated (Charlotte Hornet have been relocated to New Orleans, Seattle Sonics relocated to Oklahoma and renamed OklahomaCity Thunders).
In Europe, this is impossible. People would never accept, for example, Real Madrid moving to Valencia, changing his name to Sporting Valencia and give up their white jerzey to a green one. Such a thing is just impossible in European sport.
Interesting post. But I disagree with the point about US teams not being identified with the city, state, area, etc.
It is exactly that way..of course though the city, state, etc. doesn't own the teams but US fans identify with their teams strongly on that basis.
I just think something's different....there are people here just as rabid and passionate but maybe most of our events are played in front fans of predominately of one team. As if there was more of a 50/50 of drunken bastards more rioting would happen...
Mayhem
Banned
Maybe you should get out more. Not being snotty here, but we like our teams. Among the most fanatical are Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston. Yankees fans are all nutz
. Detroit stands behind their basketball with a passion. I was just at a large poker tournament in Chicago and saw how much they like their Blackhawks (or not, as they are having a bad season).Johan made a good point about teams relocating though. That's the almighty American dollar at work and it's unfortunate (although no one in Seattle was sorry to see the Sonics go. Yes, they were that pathetic.).
The thing is, you inadvertantly mentioned it yourself. Europe is a one-trick-pony with soccer (football). We play everything, so the fanatacism gets reigned in a bit as people choose their sports. And then there's college ball, which is HUGE in the states, across all the sports.
Don't worry, we like our sports. GO MARINERS!!!
Yeah so how's Wimbeldon FC or Gravesend and Northfleet doing this year?
C.D Murcia also moved to Granada in 2006
Not impossible
Thse are minor teams, playing is some lower leagues. Nobody but a few people in Murcia cares about CD Murcia. I even think the city of Murcia has more Real Madrid or FC Barcelona fans thzn CD Murcia fans.
Same here. A game between, for example, Barcelona and Madrid can be played in Barcelona in font of a crowd of 90% Barcelna fans or in Madrid in front of a crowd of 90% of Madrid fans.
The only exception to this are competitionsfinals, mostly played in a city decided before the very beginning of the competition. For example, this years, the champion's League final will be played in Madrid, even thought rReal Madrid will not be qualified. And most probably, both teams will have the same nulmbers of fans, because each team will be given the same number of seats to sell to its fans.
It's the same way in the US for sport like football. The Super Bowl venue city is decided well in advance and in most cases a venue that is neither teams home field.
Generally I would say for a Super Bowl for example, the cost of the entire experience possibly weeds out the hooliganism in the event and tickets are just first come first serve...so there are many people there just because of the event and while they may be rooting for one side or the other...they're not exactly hard core fans.
But it's not just Europe with respect to the soccer example. The fanaticism of soccer fans is generally more ramped up than any in the US. I believe it was suggested earlier because in most other places in the world the one-trick pony is soccer.:dunno:
Ace Bandage
The one and only.
You're kidding, right? The Blackhawks are in second in the Western Conference and have already clinched a playoff spot (2nd year in a row). They've been playing extremely well the last few weeks and have a legitimate spot at making the Stanley Cup Finals this year. Hockey is still very much a niche sport here in the States though. Most people do not follow it regularly. That could explain the lack of fan support. In a city dominated by the Cubs, White Sox, and Bulls, one professional team has to take a backseat. Unfortunately, that's usually the Hawks.
If you replaced the word Murcia with Seattle Sonics, and Real Madrid with Los Angeles Lakers and FC Barcelona with Cleveland Cavaliers the statement would be the same...
And there goes your argument about the team representing the city and fans associating with the team.
You said any team in Europe....You said it was impossible for it to happen in Europe, not once, not twice but three times....Last I checked Wimbeldon(Which won a major trophy as recently as the late 80s) was a part of Europe.
In the U.S.,the most fanatical fans are the ones in Chicago, NY, and Philly. In terms of soccer, there aren't any firms like there are in Europe but many MLS teams have supporter groups like Chicago's Section 8 or Philly's Sons of Ben that provide vocal and visual support for their team.
I live in Chicago and I dont think that the Hawks are taking a backseat to our other pro teams. I've never been a hockey guy but now with the Hawks being so good I have been watching alot of their games and we've now seen a revival of Hockey in Chicago thanks to the Hawks. Turn on the TV or listen to the radio and you'll find the Hawks at times being the lead story.
I live in Chicago and I dont think that the Hawks are taking a backseat to our other pro teams. I've never been a hockey guy but now with the Hawks being so good I have been watching alot of their games and we've now seen a revival of Hockey in Chicago thanks to the Hawks. Turn on the TV or listen to the radio and you'll find the Hawks at times being the lead story.
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PlasmaTwa2
The Second-Hottest Man in my Mother's Basement
You have a point, and I'd like to point out that what you said does not qualify for sports teams in Canada. All NHL teams in Canada have an extensive, loyal following. Take the Leafs, for example; their fans sell out the Air Canada Centre every game, despite the fact that their team is second-last in the NHL this season. And in Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa, the team following is marked by a sense of urgency, sort of; by North American means, these cities are way too small to have NHL teams. The fans know that, if they don't support them, their teams could very well move to the States. Even the Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques have huge fan followings, even though those teams haven't existed for over a decade!
On a smaller scale, here in Saskatchewan, it is utter blasphemy to not be a fan of our CFL team, the Roughriders. Every few cars you see will have a Rider decal or a flag, and in a province of one million people, there are actually talks of building a $1.2 billion dollar stadium that seats 60,000 people for them (Course, I hope they aren't going to). Whenever the Riders play a road game, a huge part of the crowd is decked out in green and white; at games in Calgary and Winnipeg, it is not odd to see more Rider fans then it is to see home fans. I know people who make a five hour trip down to Regina to see a Rider game. Its insane. It's the closest I know personally to a European like following for a team, though I don't know of any European who will sit in freezing November weather wearing a watermelon hat.
Mayhem
Banned
My apologies, I posted without checking the facts. They apparently had a bad week while I was there and the fans weren't too happy about it. That's all the info I was going on. I do know that 50+ tables of poker players were avidly watching the games that were shown.
The only violence that occurs in sports in America is after a team creates a major upset, or wins a championship. Those usually result in city wide riots for a night. Nothing too serious though.
NFL football comes close, but in short, no.
It depends, I know that when Ohio St. University won their last National Championship, they had a riot. A similar occurrence happened when the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years back in 2004. The main x factors for these events involves the length of time since a championship and the level of dedication that fans have towards their team. A notable exception is when the New Orleans Saints won this year's Superbowl. Of course often these things are rare here in the States.
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