What does the NBA have to do to surpass the NFL as the most popular American sport?

[fpliii]

First of all, let me state that the Super Bowl itself is out of reach based on the current state of things (unless we're talking about total viewers in the Finals, but that's a fairly asinine means of assesment).

I'm not suggesting this is going to happen any time soon, or even that it ever will happen, but what do you all think?

It looks like the NBA has jumped ahead of MLB (insofar as ratings are concerned) over the last few years and is a clear second to the NFL, but the next jump is substantial.

Barring the concussions thing becoming a massive issue (to the point where major rule changes are implemented that would compromise viewer interest), I don't see this happening.

Thoughts?

[1987_Lakers]

White superstars.

[RIP CITY]

Titties, bare naked, titties.

[StateOfMind12]

Nothing. NBA will and could never surpass the NFL in terms of popularity. The only reason why I say this is because watching an NFL game is more of an event than anything due to the fact that there is only one game a week and about all of them are on the same day except for Monday Night Football.

NBA has an 82 game regular season schedule plus the post-season which is another 20-30+ games.

It's hard for the average American to keep up and watch every single NBA game of their favorite team when there is a game every 2-3 days, sometimes even back to backs.

It's easy for them to keep up to watch every NFL game of their favorite team because it's just once a week and it's almost always Sunday unless it's Monday Night of course.

[Cali Syndicate]

Nothing. NBA will and could never surpass the NFL in terms of popularity. The only reason why I say this is because watching an NFL game is more of an event than anything due to the fact that there is only one game a week and about all of them are on the same day except for Monday Night Football.

NBA has an 82 game regular season schedule plus the post-season which is another 20-30+ games.

It's hard for the average American to keep up and watch every single NBA game of their favorite team when there is a game every 2-3 days, sometimes even back to backs.

It's easy for them to keep up to watch every NFL game of their favorite team because it's just once a week and it's almost always Sunday unless it's Monday Night of course.

Thursday nights too.

But yes, one game per week set schedules make it easier to follow and watch. Football has more elements in the offensive and defensive schemes which provide it to be a more strategic game and people, even regular Joes, like that aspect whereas the regular Joe think the best players in the NBA are mainly attributed from superior athleticism.

[ripthekik]

NBA does have more worldwide appeal though, there are more NBA players known globally than NFL players. I guess the U.S. just loves its football.

[OmniStrife]

A new MJ...

[BlueandGold]

A new MJ...
This and legit white superstars who can contend for championships as the #1.

So pretty much the 2nd coming of Christ, Buddha and Mohammad. (MJ, Magic, Bird).

Also bring back hand-checking and physical/violent 90s rules. It's not a coincidence that the 90s was the closest the NBA has been to american professional sport popularity domination.

[tomtucker]

how can you say the NFL is more popular then NBA....just because the rating are higher...well if the NFL only play once a week, no wonder the rating are higher........on that day
.
...and just to add: all the starts and stops in football are horrible, such a crappy sport...the same shit over and over, huge fat fukks with big guts hanging out.........NFL sucks, overrated shit........NBA is more popular, everyone know kobe, lebron, and so on......noone knows these helmet covered fukks

[ThaRegul8r]

Nothing. NBA will and could never surpass the NFL in terms of popularity.

This.

As I was originally going to say, "It can't."

[flipogb]

Doesn't need to, its global appeal will keep it going and it has been for year

[blacknapalm]

This.

As I was originally going to say, "It can't."

yep. football is just too damn popular. just go to texas or florida. they sellout HS games and i'm not talking about dominant HS programs. i'm talking about almost every county, every game...packed. hell, even look at the average HS. are most kids playing a game of football (probably flag if schools still allow it) or playing on basketball courts?

kids are even recruited at a younger age, fans follow recruits through college. go to college football games...extremely popular.

this country is rabid about football. the superbowl is practically a national holiday. there's tailgates, food deals and parties. i can't ever see the finals getting on that level. football is american culture. look at fantasy football. people love the physicality without seeing the 'bloodsport' part of it and the overall accessibility about it.

[Noof]

Allow tackling.

[RedBlackAttack]

how can you say the NFL is more popular then NBA....
Because it is... And it's not close.

Did you know that Game 3 of the NBA Finals this past season, generally considered the most important game of the year, was watched by 15.452 million people (http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-nba-finals-ratings-2003-20120619,0,1895769.story)?

That seems like a lot... And it is. For NBA standards, that is an absolutely dynamite Finals rating.

That is, until you attempt to compare it to the NFL. In 2011, the AVERAGE NFL game was watched by 17.5 million viewers (http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-nba-finals-ratings-2003-20120619,0,1895769.story).

I don't mean the average NFL playoff game. I don't mean the average primetime regular season game.

I mean, that is the average viewership if you take into account all NFL games all season long by all 32 teams.

And, it accounts for over 2 million more people than the most important NBA game of the season.

So... Yeah.



And, there is no way that the NBA catches the NFL. In fact, it should probably worry about staving off MLB, who has had higher ratings more times than not over the last 15 years.

[JustinJDW]

It can't really. Football will always be more popular, and understandably so. The nature of the sport simply appeals more to the American culture and audience. Watching one man tackle and pound another man into the ground is more fun to watch than a man throw a ball into the hoop. Football is more violent, exciting, strategic, eventful and MUCH more unpredictable, which is absolutely huge. If you would have told fans a year ago that the Giants would be the Patriots in the Superbowl for the second time this season, no one would have believed you. Lebron James winning another M.V.P and finally getting his 1st ring isn't really a shock to anyone. Right now we can basically sit here and already predict at least 12 of the 16 teams in the Playoffs next season, the M.V.P (Kevin Durant probably) and basically the entire All-Star teams. Can't do that with football. Every week is unpredictable and exciting. Any week, anybody can beat anybody, and if you make it into the Playoffs, you have as much a shot as anybody.

The sport is also less reliant on superstars and big city teams, which is part of why college and HS football is also huge, and the Superbowl is watched by everyone and everything regardless of who's playing. NBA is more dependent upon building players, hype and selling you storylines and an image. All the butt buddy superstars tagging up and creating superteams is really the icing on the cake. Its kinda getting old.


how can you say the NFL is more popular then NBA....just because the rating are higher...well if the NFL only play once a week, no wonder the rating are higher........on that day
.
...and just to add: all the starts and stops in football are horrible, such a crappy sport...the same shit over and over, huge fat fukks with big guts hanging out.........NFL sucks, overrated shit........NBA is more popular, everyone know kobe, lebron, and so on......noone knows these helmet covered fukksYou sound like an idiot, oh wait, that's because you're talking like one.

Trust me, there's much more crappy things to say about the NBA as a sport and an organization than any other major sport in America, and its not even close. Our officiating alone is the joke among jokes in the world of sports. We've had more rigged games and Championships, or should I say "questionable calls" in the last fifteen years than any other sport in its entirety.

I know it sounds like I'm all anti-basketball here, but I actually love football and basketball just as much equally. Two most favorite sports, but I totally understand how others greatly choose the NFL over the NBA. I know for a fact that I'm going to be watching football to the day I die. After good old Timmy Duncan and Ginobili retire, I wouldn't be surprised to see myself take some time off from watching the sport.

[clipps]

Abolish fouls and allow players to literally fight for the ball without hitting(or with hitting). And cheerleaders are naked.

[Y2Gezee]

It probably can't. The Sport of Football is just embedded as the American past time now. I'm by far a bigger NBA fan than NFL fan, and I think the NBA playoffs are the best time of the year in sports, but I also can't deny that the NFL puts a better product on television than the NBA, and that's for a number of reasons, but here's a couple

1. There's much more parity in other sports, even Baseball than there is in the NBA. I mean you usually can tell the top 5 teams in the NBA with relative certainty before the season starts in the NBA. Usually the teams with the most game changers/ talent win the most games, and the best teams usually win in the post season barring injuries (And the best teams certainly don't always win in the other major sports postseasons). I mean more often than not, you see the same teams competing for titles for half a decade with a few changes here and there due to blockbuster moves for single stars that truly shift the entire structure of the league. Its a sport where one player can make all the difference in the world The best thing the NBA did was shorten the length of these guaranteed contracts, more 3 year to 4 year deals over the 6-7 year deals so that team's foundations can change more often, as it also makes these contracts more trade-able. However, unless the NBA can magically shorten the distance between the top 10 players in the league and the top 11-25 players or somewhere along those lines, I don't see this problem being fixed, you know unless the reduce the number of teams (and they should). But as it stands right now, the NBA's outcome seems pretty predictable, you may not be able to pinpoint 1 team that will absolutely win it ( there are times, when you can...see early millennium Lakers) but you can limit it to a 4-5 team window early on. I know there are exceptions like the Mavericks, but pretty rare, where Baseball and NFL gives you those types of surprises all the time.

2. The 16 game schedule makes games matter so much more, that it becomes a large scale event each game. NBA is extremely saturated with 82 games. The NBA should shorten its amount of games and give players more time to prepare, rest, for a better product and to give games a little more meaning. The NBA season format renders it basically meaningless, at least baseball gives you series that you can get wrapped up into. The NBA gives you random nice matchups every now and then on television, where you may get discrepancies where one team is coming off of 2 days rest or so, and another team comes in playing 4 games in 5 days.

[Zackmorris]

NBA at the very best is a comfortable #2.

No sport is passing the NFL in America.

[dude77]

play football and get really good at it

[bagelred]

This and legit white superstars who can contend for championships as the #1.



:rolleyes: Americans don't like watching white guys as stars. We like watching black people in athletics. We are in awe of them because of their physical superiority to us. If we like watching white athletes, why isn't hockey more popular? Or soccer in America? If there were only white guys in the NBA, it would be LESS popular. We love watching the black man entertain us. White guys want to be them. White girls want to sleep with them.

Nothing will replace football as popular sport. Nothing. People can't get enough of football. Jesus, the PRESEASON games in football get amazing ratings. Like people said, every football game is an event because there are so few of them.

[Jax]

Share the wealth.

[blablabla]

more fights

[pauk]

Most popular American sport? NFL? Haha.... maybe in USA.... but do you know there is a world out there? Have you ever been outside of USA? Basketball/NBA is by faaaaaaaaaaaaar the most popular "American" sport around the globe.... actually NFL is as popular as womens cricket outside USA.... same with MLB (but probably more popular than NFL)... NHL is more popular than NFL/MLB tho.... NFL American "foot"-ball is a joke outside, small majority of people who somewhat care for it would rather stick with Rugby anyways

If USA counted or was able to count those view/tv ratings outside USA (and those international leaguepass/internet view ratings) aswell you would see what i mean....

[AK47DR91]

It can't and it doesn't even have to try to surpass the NFL in the States as long as the NBA has its global influence on the rest of the world.

[Duderonomy]

One thing that can be done is showcasing the history of the game better. NFL films did a great job of this, everybody knows the NFL hof is in Canton, but your average NBA fan cant tell you where the basketball hof is at. Right now the pressing problems are uneven officiating, Huge contracts, and keeping the small markets afloat. I don't see any of that changing in the next 5 years. the league should focus on legitimizing the history of game as opposed to only focusing on the flavors of the month.

[Kingwillball]

Alot of good points as to why NFL is more popular. I will add another fantasy football has become a cultural phenominan. One third of American Males play some sort of FF during season . I look forward to doing my live drafts like a kid on Christmas morning.

[LikeABosh]

It won't. People love the NFL because it's on Sundays afternoons when everyone's home so they can just kick back and relax or have a BBQ with friends and watch football. NBA season is 82 games. The casual fan isn't going to care about some random tuesday game at 7 pm

[knickscity]

Most popular American sport? NFL? Haha.... maybe in USA.... but do you know there is a world out there? Have you ever been outside of USA? Basketball/NBA is by faaaaaaaaaaaaar the most popular "American" sport around the globe.... actually NFL is as popular as womens cricket outside USA.... same with MLB (but probably more popular than NFL)... NHL is more popular than NFL/MLB tho.... NFL American "foot"-ball is a joke outside, small majority of people who somewhat care for it would rather stick with Rugby anyways

If USA counted or was able to count those view/tv ratings outside USA (and those international leaguepass/internet view ratings) aswell you would see what i mean....
Did you read the thread title?

[Dictator]

Less games......

82 a season :kobe:

[LikeABosh]

Most popular American sport? NFL? Haha.... maybe in USA.... but do you know there is a world out there? Have you ever been outside of USA? Basketball/NBA is by faaaaaaaaaaaaar the most popular "American" sport around the globe.... actually NFL is as popular as womens cricket outside USA.... same with MLB (but probably more popular than NFL)... NHL is more popular than NFL/MLB tho.... NFL American "foot"-ball is a joke outside, small majority of people who somewhat care for it would rather stick with Rugby anyways

If USA counted or was able to count those view/tv ratings outside USA (and those international leaguepass/internet view ratings) aswell you would see what i mean....
"What does the NBA have to do to surpass the NFL as the most popular American sport?" Learn to comprehend a sentence

[tomtucker]

Most popular American sport? NFL? Haha.... maybe in USA.... but do you know there is a world out there? Have you ever been outside of USA? Basketball/NBA is by faaaaaaaaaaaaar the most popular "American" sport around the globe.... actually NFL is as popular as womens cricket outside USA.... same with MLB (but probably more popular than NFL)... NHL is more popular than NFL/MLB tho.... NFL American "foot"-ball is a joke outside, small majority of people who somewhat care for it would rather stick with Rugby anyways

If USA counted or was able to count those view/tv ratings outside USA (and those international leaguepass/internet view ratings) aswell you would see what i mean....

for sure......NBA and NHL are at the top worldwide.....3rd is MLB baseball......then NFL at a distant 4

[Cowboy Thunder]

Football >>>>>>>>>> nba

[BlueandGold]

:rolleyes: Americans don't like watching white guys as stars. We like watching black people in athletics. We are in awe of them because of their physical superiority to us. If we like watching white athletes, why isn't hockey more popular? Or soccer in America? If there were only white guys in the NBA, it would be LESS popular. We love watching the black man entertain us. White guys want to be them. White girls want to sleep with them.

Nothing will replace football as popular sport. Nothing. People can't get enough of football. Jesus, the PRESEASON games in football get amazing ratings. Like people said, every football game is an event because there are so few of them.
do you live in black america or white america? I live in the south (atlanta) and i can promise you even in a city with an incredibly dense black population most of the white people i know either live outside the city (metro atlanta) where are significantly less black people or live in areas like the east side or midtown/atl north which follow the same trend. This isn't some type of individualistic racist behavior these are geographic living patterns in different races.

That point aside the majority of my sports-loving/liking friends (most white, although still a diverse group) all could care less about basketball and the ones who don't care what others think of them or just don't give a fck tell me that its because they can't relate with anyone in the NBA (meaning they are not white). This is why white america has still yet to fall in love with the NBA (me being an exception) and that most of the NBA's growth can be attributed to the international community in the US or otherwise gaining interest.

BTW that bolded statement comes off a little weird/racist, are you black? I don't know a single black-white interracial couple and if you've taken a sociology class you'd understand that even in today's climate those types of couples of few and far between. The vast majority of marriages are actually not only between two people of the same race but also two people of the same socioeconomic background as well. As far as race is concerned people just relate more to people that look like them, which is why its no surprise that most black people love to watch/play basketball and dislike things like golf or baseball. This was the attitude also in the 70s where you had all of these racist type of names "n1gg3rbockers" etc and you had all of these network interviews with random white fans complaining how their league is filled with black people on crack. The NBA since then has gained massive international appeal so that's why I love the NBA today, that it can reach across cultures and skin color.

[Cowboy Thunder]

Bagel red :lol


What a dumb ass

[DStebb716]

Make the court into a 100 yard field on grass/turf. Make the ball into the shape of Hey Arnold's head, hire Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Adrian Peterson etc. etc... proceed.

[bmd]

how can you say the NFL is more popular then NBA....just because the rating are higher...well if the NFL only play once a week, no wonder the rating are higher........on that day
.
...and just to add: all the starts and stops in football are horrible, such a crappy sport...the same shit over and over, huge fat fukks with big guts hanging out.........NFL sucks, overrated shit........NBA is more popular, everyone know kobe, lebron, and so on......noone knows these helmet covered fukksI grew up playing basketball, and I've never played football. But football is fun to watch, I don't know what you are talking about.

It's a game of strategy. It's like a violent chess game.

Maybe you're just too stupid to understand what is going on?

[Dictator]

Bagel red :lol


What a dumb ass


You really think the nba would be just as popular with a majority white population? :biggums:

[bmd]

Most popular American sport? NFL? Haha.... maybe in USA.... but do you know there is a world out there? Have you ever been outside of USA? Basketball/NBA is by faaaaaaaaaaaaar the most popular "American" sport around the globe.... actually NFL is as popular as womens cricket outside USA.... same with MLB (but probably more popular than NFL)... NHL is more popular than NFL/MLB tho.... NFL American "foot"-ball is a joke outside, small majority of people who somewhat care for it would rather stick with Rugby anyways

If USA counted or was able to count those view/tv ratings outside USA (and those international leaguepass/internet view ratings) aswell you would see what i mean....Is the NHL really more popular than baseball worldwide? Baseball is big in the the United States, the Latin American countries and some Asian countries like Japan and Chinese Taipei.

I guess Russia helps the NHL's popularity because it's so big? And the Nordic countries?

[I Love the Game]

I think the NBA becoming more popular will be less about what the NBA does and more about what decisions the NFL makes in the future. I can see some crazy politicians and hippies getting a weird law passed in 10 or so years after Chad Ochocinco and Brett Favre get diagnosed with brain tumors for taking too many hits or something. Football is as American as it gets, but so is putting big laws on everything in sight. Taking out the violence and big hits OR failing to do so and having a big tragedy could both lead to an exodus of viewers.

All hypothetical, but I'm sure the Brits never thought we'd win America and we figured out a way to manage.

[General]

No way it will ever be more popular than the NFL. The NFC Championship game between the 49ers and Giants had over 50 million viewers:eek: They need to worry about dethroning MLB as the second most popular.

[RaininTwos]

No way it will ever be more popular than the NFL. The NFC Championship game between the 49ers and Giants had over 50 million viewers:eek: They need to worry about dethroning MLB as the second most popular.
NBA is more popular than the MLB already. Baseball is dying.

[tomtucker]

I grew up playing basketball, and I've never played football. But football is fun to watch, I don't know what you are talking about.

It's a game of strategy. It's like a violent chess game.

Maybe you're just too stupid to understand what is going on?

yeah, too stupid to see the fun in gameplay that takes 10 sec.....followed by getting up from the ground and standing around for a minute or so.......then repeat.......

[kentatm]

the only way the NBA ever passes the NFL is if the NFL does something to destroy itself.

There is nothing the NBA can do on its own to pass the NFL.

[Heavincent]

Never gonna happen. The NFL completely destroys the NBA in terms of ratings and popularity. Like it's not even remotely close.

[konex]

White superstars.

This :roll:

[Meticode]

Personally I feel there's nothing that they can realistically do unless they reduce the number of games played greatly, which doesn't make any sense. Here are a couple reasons the NFL is more popular...

Fantasy Football

It's way more convenient to play fantasy Football. You can set your roster once per week for 16 weeks and you're good. A lot easier than a 82 NBA game schedule or a 162 MLB game schedule.

Game Significance

People lose interest over long seasons and a lot of games. In the NFL if you start out bad like 0-4 or 0-5 it's almost certain you will not make the playoffs unless you make a good 12 game run. Each game is way more important in the NFL compared to the MLB or NBA.

One Game a Week

Enough said, you can get a party together for a certain game and make it entertaining because the game is on. A ton of games are broadcasted at the same time or around the same time for a day-long party between NBC, ESPN and FOX. You can't do that with the NBA or MLB consistently.

[gengiskhan]

Rejuvinate Michael Jordan.

Rejuvinate Magic Johnson.

Rejuvinate Larry Bird.

than get rid of wannabe fakebe kobe, dwight, wade.

[jl1718]

When parents won't let their kids play football because fear of head injuries. A NFL bust is coming. Nobody wants their kid to grow up brain damaged.

[DaSeba5]

Nothing. It can never reach the NFL's level of popularity. Football is just too popular here.

[Bandito]

Nobody aside from the US follows American football, and that's not me being stupid is the truth. So around the world basketball Is more famous than basketball.

[Dictator]

Nobody aside from the US follows American football, and that's not me being stupid is the truth. So around the world basketball Is more famous than basketball.
:biggums:

[Smoke117]

There is absolutely nothing the NBA can do to surpass the NFL as far as popularity. THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

[IGotACoolStory]

Make the NBA season shorter

A new superstar that grabs the world's attention like MJ

More league wide parity (can be achieved by less NBA teams instead of more talent in the league)


Those 3 are key, imo. Even then it will still firmly be in second.

[DaSeba5]

Nobody aside from the US follows American football, and that's not me being stupid is the truth. So around the world basketball Is more famous than basketball.

It's big in Canada and people in England somewhat like it.

[DFish]

Nobody aside from the US follows American football, and that's not me being stupid is the truth. So around the world basketball Is more famous than basketball.

That's one of the things I enjoy about the NFL and college football. They don't have nearly as many bandwagoning foreigners as the NBA does. Random Filipinos, Australians, Europeans pretending to be Laker/Heat/Thunder fans? You don't see much of that in football. If you see someone rocking a Jets/Cowboys/Raiders/Auburn/Alabama/LSU/Mizzou/USC jersey, chances are they're (A) American and (B) actual fans of that team with an actual personal connection to it.

[DaSeba5]

That's one of the things I enjoy about the NFL and college football. They don't have nearly as many bandwagoning foreigners as the NBA does. Random Filipinos, Australians, Europeans pretending to be Laker/Heat/Thunder fans? You don't see much of that in football. If you see someone rocking a Jets/Cowboys/Raiders/Auburn/Alabama/LSU/Mizzou/USC jersey, chances are they're (A) American and (B) actual fans of that team with an actual personal connection to it.

That is actually a good point.

[nycelt84]

Hope that football gets banned.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

NBA basically needs their own version of the Avengers lol.

I'd start by reincarnating a prime Michael Jordan, Bird and Magic.

[west_tip]

Nobody aside from the US follows American football, and that's not me being stupid is the truth.

Honestly, I think thats quite an inaccurate statement. The NFL does have an international following. I post infrequently on a Rugby message board (similar to insidehoops) and there are a lot of people from a variety of different countries who follow the league and post in NFL related threads.

I think the demise of NFL Europe and the fact there are very few non American players in the NFL (compared with the number of foreign players in the NBA/MLB/NHL) gives people the impression that the NFL has no overseas fanbase. It does.

[Thethirdguy]

Attack ads against the nfl..... it works for politicians right?

[Baby Arm Johnso]

First of all, let me state that the Super Bowl itself is out of reach based on the current state of things (unless we're talking about total viewers in the Finals, but that's a fairly asinine means of assesment).

I'm not suggesting this is going to happen any time soon, or even that it ever will happen, but what do you all think?

It looks like the NBA has jumped ahead of MLB (insofar as ratings are concerned) over the last few years and is a clear second to the NFL, but the next jump is substantial.

Barring the concussions thing becoming a massive issue (to the point where major rule changes are implemented that would compromise viewer interest), I don't see this happening.

Thoughts?
More white players and a bunch of years

[Nash]

Stop calling it football. That name has already been taken.

Second, who cares about NFL besides the Americans? NBA has something called international appeal that the NFL can only dream about.

[kennethgriffin]

A) develope some american white superstars

B) play once a week on sunday 25-30 games a year ( 5-6 months )

C) change from ABC to NBC

D) single game playoff elimination

E) change the CBA to a hard cap, make sure its impossible to stack superstars

[xfactor99]

The problem of concussions and head injuries in the NFL have been getting a LOT of traction in recent years. Nowadays you have NFL players themselves like Bart Scott saying they wouldn't want their kids playing football. You guys want a scenario where the NFL declines in popularity, that's how it happens. Maybe not this year, or 5 years from now. But in 25+ years?:
This slow death march could easily take 10 to 15 years. Imagine the timeline.

[QUOTE]A couple more college players

[DaSeba5]

Stop calling it football. That name has already been taken.

Second, who cares about NFL besides the Americans? NBA has something called international appeal that the NFL can only dream about.

Ummm... then what do we call it?

Like I said before, it's big in Canada and somewhat in other countries in the world. It's ignorant to say nobody but Americans like it. There's a reason why they a have a game in London every year. I know plenty of fans from other countries.

It's not international like basketball, but it's not an American only sport.

[boozehound]

Nothing. NBA will and could never surpass the NFL in terms of popularity. The only reason why I say this is because watching an NFL game is more of an event than anything due to the fact that there is only one game a week and about all of them are on the same day except for Monday Night Football.

NBA has an 82 game regular season schedule plus the post-season which is another 20-30+ games.

It's hard for the average American to keep up and watch every single NBA game of their favorite team when there is a game every 2-3 days, sometimes even back to backs.

It's easy for them to keep up to watch every NFL game of their favorite team because it's just once a week and it's almost always Sunday unless it's Monday Night of course.
this is basically the reason. anticipation. one day a week that is also a day off work for most people. it allows it to be a centerpiece and focus of fall sundays. I would say that the nba needs to do a better job of developing its sunday presence, even when the nfl is on. If ABC had two top tier games every sunday of the season during the day and tnt (or whoever) had an evening game, I think it would help, even with the direct competition.

[boozehound]

Stop calling it football. That name has already been taken.

Second, who cares about NFL besides the Americans? NBA has something called international appeal that the NFL can only dream about.
go look at $.

[EnoughSaid]

Become more competitive. Every year in the NBA there are only a few teams that can actually win the title. In the NFL however, it's practically wide open for anyone.

[RedBlackAttack]

The problem of concussions and head injuries in the NFL have been getting a LOT of traction in recent years. Nowadays you have NFL players themselves like Bart Scott saying they wouldn't want their kids playing football. You guys want a scenario where the NFL declines in popularity, that's how it happens. Maybe not this year, or 5 years from now. But in 25+ years?:
This slow death march could easily take 10 to 15 years. Imagine the timeline.


http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7559458/cte-concussion-crisis-economic-look-end-football

Those of you saying the NFL can never be replaced as America's most popular sport...in the first half of the 20th century, the 3 most popular sports in America were baseball, boxing and horse racing. Times change guys, and because of the health issue alone the NFL is pretty vulnerable :confusedshrug:
The NFL has taken major steps in the last few years to address these issues and viewership has only gone up. You cannot hit in the same manner that you could even 3-4 years ago in the NFL, let alone 20-25 years ago when it was basically a free-for-all.

The public has shown that it doesn't mind giving up some of the violence to ensure a safer game, so I will assume that steps will continue to be taken to make it as safe as possible.

Obviously, in a collision sport (football goes beyond the "contact" tag), there is always going to be some danger involved, but Americans love it first and foremost for the game itself and the strategy involved, not the danger.

The game will remain the most popular sport in America for the foreseeable future and it will continue to evolve to ensure a safer playing field. We can't see 50-100 years into the future, so it is sort of pointless to speculate, but there are no signs that things are trending toward less popularity for the NFL... Quite the opposite, in fact.


this is basically the reason. anticipation. one day a week that is also a day off work for most people. it allows it to be a centerpiece and focus of fall sundays. I would say that the nba needs to do a better job of developing its sunday presence, even when the nfl is on. If ABC had two top tier games every sunday of the season during the day and tnt (or whoever) had an evening game, I think it would help, even with the direct competition.

Going head-to-head with the NFL is a no-go... For any sport. They all avoid it wherever possible and for good reason. There is no competition and attempting to build some kind of Sunday Showcase for the NBA during football season would be a horrible mistake. As much as I love the NBA, I wouldn't be watching the NBA on a football Sunday.

The NBA won't be approaching the NFL in terms of popularity, first and foremost, because Americans just don't love basketball as much as they love football. If you strip everything else down... From the number of games to when the games are played and whatever else... Americans just love football.

Look at my initial post in this thread. If you average out every NFL game for all 32 teams in every week of the 2011 season, that average easily out-drew the most important NBA game all last season... Game 3 of the 2012 Finals.

That is astonishing.

[Heavincent]

Stop calling it football. That name has already been taken.

Second, who cares about NFL besides the Americans? NBA has something called international appeal that the NFL can only dream about.

International appeal or not, the NFL is still much more successful than the NBA.

[boozehound]

The NFL has taken major steps in the last few years to address these issues and viewership has only gone up. You cannot hit in the same manner that you could even 3-4 years ago in the NFL, let alone 20-25 years ago when it was basically a free-for-all.

The public has shown that it doesn't mind giving up some of the violence to ensure a safer game, so I will assume that steps will continue to be taken to make it as safe as possible.

Obviously, in a collision sport (football goes beyond the "contact" tag), there is always going to be some danger involved, but Americans love it first and foremost for the game itself and the strategy involved, not the danger.

The game will remain the most popular sport in America for the foreseeable future and it will continue to evolve to ensure a safer playing field. We can't see 50-100 years into the future, so it is sort of pointless to speculate, but there are no signs that things are trending toward less popularity for the NFL... Quite the opposite, in fact.



Going head-to-head with the NFL is a no-go... For any sport. They all avoid it wherever possible and for good reason. There is no competition and attempting to build some kind of Sunday Showcase for the NBA during football season would be a horrible mistake. As much as I love the NBA, I wouldn't be watching the NBA on a football Sunday.

The NBA won't be approaching the NFL in terms of popularity, first and foremost, because Americans just don't love basketball as much as they love football. If you strip everything else down... From the number of games to when the games are played and whatever else... Americans just love football.

Look at my initial post in this thread. If you average out every NFL game for all 32 teams in every week of the 2011 season, that average easily out-drew the most important NBA game all last season... Game 3 of the 2012 Finals.

That is astonishing.
well, first off, you act like the love of football is some innate trait since time immemorial. its a construct. most nfl sunday fans are ****ing fakers anyways. they do it because they are supposed to as an american male. but that, again, is a construct which could be deconstructed.

Im not saying that could directly compete, but they would draw fans like me and, if they timed it right (say during the gap after the 2nd game and the evening game) they could draw in those casual fans. really, it would be to prep fans to get ready to spend their sundays after the nfl season watching the nba. if it could ride the coattails of the biggest sports fan tv viewership, I think it might have a positive impact.

and no, the nba will never reach the pinnacle of nfl popularity, but it could stand to improve it.

[FireDavidKahn]

First of all, let me state that the Super Bowl itself is out of reach based on the current state of things (unless we're talking about total viewers in the Finals, but that's a fairly asinine means of assesment).

I'm not suggesting this is going to happen any time soon, or even that it ever will happen, but what do you all think?

It looks like the NBA has jumped ahead of MLB (insofar as ratings are concerned) over the last few years and is a clear second to the NFL, but the next jump is substantial.

Barring the concussions thing becoming a massive issue (to the point where major rule changes are implemented that would compromise viewer interest), I don't see this happening.

Thoughts?
It never will.

[PejaNowitzki]

how can you say the NFL is more popular then NBA....just because the rating are higher...well if the NFL only play once a week, no wonder the rating are higher........on that day
.
...and just to add: all the starts and stops in football are horrible, such a crappy sport...the same shit over and over, huge fat fukks with big guts hanging out.........NFL sucks, overrated shit........NBA is more popular, everyone know kobe, lebron, and so on......noone knows these helmet covered fukks


Dude, don't be stupid. The NFL Draft pretty much gets better ratings than any NBA game, hell even preseason games and training camp on the NFL Network draws a ton of attention. There's far more people who give a shit about football than basketball. And no I don't ever see the NBA surpassing the NFL unless it gets extremely watered down due to concussions...etc.


Football is the modern day gladiator sport with tremendous drawing power, the NBA will never be able to touch that. In addition, beyond the hardcore football fans who simply love the game, you've got a legion of Fantasy Football nuts, some who are hardcore fans, some are more fans of the fantasy football aspect.

[west_tip]

Ummm... then what do we call it?

Like I said before, it's big in Canada and somewhat in other countries in the world. It's ignorant to say nobody but Americans like it. There's a reason why they a have a game in London every year. I know plenty of fans from other countries.

It's not international like basketball, but it's not an American only sport.

Agreed.

I remember a few years back in the mid 00s the Arizona Cardinals played the 49ers in Mexico City, the game was a sellout at Azteca stadium which I believe has a capacity of over 100,000. In northern Mexico I understand that High School Football is quite popular.

I believe Germany is another country where the NFL has a sizeable following and given that it is the most populous and richest nation in Europe that is not to be sniffed at.

[Euroleague]

Stop being racist against anyone that isn't black.

[Derka]

Death matches? Nude dancers during timeouts?

Seriously, it would take something exceedingly extreme to pull that off.

[Darius]

By them shutting down football due to head injuries.

Otherwise, there is no way.

NBA has potential to surpass worldwide ratings of NFL though and be the 2nd most popular sport (after the other, real, football lol).

[bmd]

yeah, too stupid to see the fun in gameplay that takes 10 sec.....followed by getting up from the ground and standing around for a minute or so.......then repeat.......You are exaggerating. It takes about 20 seconds between plays. And in that time there is still things going on...

but seeing as you don't understand the game, you wouldn't realize that things are going on before the ball is snapped.

[RedBlackAttack]

well, first off, you act like the love of football is some innate trait since time immemorial.
Not since time immemorial, but certainly during the last 25 years or so. America's love of football isn't just about the NFL, btw. Hell, my hometown of around 17,000 people has a 10,000 seat high school football stadium... Which fills for every game.

My alma-mater and a rival played a game last year in front of 25,000 people (Steubenville-Massillon). A couple of hours away, Ohio State gets a crowd of 110,000+ every time they step on the field.

In football loving America, Fridays are for high school, Saturdays are for college and Sundays are for the NFL. It has almost become a part of the culture, at least in Ohio (and I know there are a lot of other states like us).

Basketball just doesn't compare.

I agree with you that the NBA could improve things by making schedule/rules adjustments, but as you said... It isn't catching the NFL.

[PejaNowitzki]

Not since time immemorial, but certainly during the last 25 years or so. America's love of football isn't just about the NFL, btw. Hell, my hometown of around 17,000 people has a 10,000 seat high school football stadium... Which fills for every game.

My alma-mater and a rival played a game last year in front of 25,000 people (Steubenville-Massillon). A couple of hours away, Ohio State gets a crowd of 110,000+ every time they step on the field.

In football loving America, Fridays are for high school, Saturdays are for college and Sundays are for the NFL. It has almost become a part of the culture, at least in Ohio (and I know there are a lot of other states like us).

Basketball just doesn't compare.

I agree with you that the NBA could improve things by making schedule/rules adjustments, but as you said... It isn't catching the NFL.




This. Just go out on an average Friday night and see how many people show up for a high-school football game compared to a basketball game, even excluding the parents since obviously there's more players on a football team than a basketball team. At my high-school, football was an event, the whole school would be out there watching, as for the average basketball game? Not so much. Football is a major social event, its a tradition, you can't just change that all of a sudden without good reason.

[DaSeba5]

A lot of you bash football, but yet you hardly know the game when you criticize it.

[blacknapalm]

This. Just go out on an average Friday night and see how many people show up for a high-school football game compared to a basketball game, even excluding the parents since obviously there's more players on a football team than a basketball team. At my high-school, football was an event, the whole school would be out there watching, as for the average basketball game? Not so much. Football is a major social event, its a tradition, you can't just change that all of a sudden without good reason.

word. i touched on this on page 1. at my HS, the boy's b-ball team made it to the CIF finals and yet the arena still wasn't full. the football team was below average....stands were packed regardless. i mean, if a divisional champion basketball team doesn't have a full draw, what can? it shows the pull of football...i think even if the game is bad, it's also just more of a social event :oldlol:

[FKAri]

A lot of you bash football, but yet you hardly know the game when you criticize it.

I understand football very well and follow it but I wouldnt consider myself a huge fan. Where I live the NFL isnt THAT big. basketball is bigger here. So I believe what you and those around you grow up watching shapes how you view the sport.

[DetroitPiston]

I'm not a fan of these threads, but I'm stuck in an airport so I'll give it a go.

There's a lot of factors here, but a lot of them are either subjective or based on your own observations.

Growing up with a sport is one thing. My family are huge NBA fans, basketball was always on in our house. Football, on the other hand, wasn't. We'd easily watch an NBA game over an NFL game.

Also, basketball has the unfortunate reputation of being seen as a "ghetto" sport by some, either. It also doesn't help that most of the positions require you to be extremely tall. (Even 6'2 is considered tall by American standards)

For those saying that the NFL will always be America's number one sport, things change. They always do. The fact that news stories about head injuries being a big thing might be one of the biggest factors for it. Parents, especially protective ones might me having a say about it.

[KingBeasley08]

never will.

[BlueandGold]

The NFL has taken major steps in the last few years to address these issues and viewership has only gone up. You cannot hit in the same manner that you could even 3-4 years ago in the NFL, let alone 20-25 years ago when it was basically a free-for-all.

The public has shown that it doesn't mind giving up some of the violence to ensure a safer game, so I will assume that steps will continue to be taken to make it as safe as possible.

Obviously, in a collision sport (football goes beyond the "contact" tag), there is always going to be some danger involved, but Americans love it first and foremost for the game itself and the strategy involved, not the danger.

The game will remain the most popular sport in America for the foreseeable future and it will continue to evolve to ensure a safer playing field. We can't see 50-100 years into the future, so it is sort of pointless to speculate, but there are no signs that things are trending toward less popularity for the NFL... Quite the opposite, in fact.



Going head-to-head with the NFL is a no-go... For any sport. They all avoid it wherever possible and for good reason. There is no competition and attempting to build some kind of Sunday Showcase for the NBA during football season would be a horrible mistake. As much as I love the NBA, I wouldn't be watching the NBA on a football Sunday.

The NBA won't be approaching the NFL in terms of popularity, first and foremost, because Americans just don't love basketball as much as they love football. If you strip everything else down... From the number of games to when the games are played and whatever else... Americans just love football.

Look at my initial post in this thread. If you average out every NFL game for all 32 teams in every week of the 2011 season, that average easily out-drew the most important NBA game all last season... Game 3 of the 2012 Finals.

That is astonishing.
Yep that last argument is a good point. It's not "just about the anticipation". As many posters have pointed out there are obviously a multitude of factors that attribute football's (not just the NFL) dominance over any other in american sports. The NFL in just a few short decades have surpassed and doubled the viewership of American staples such as Baseball or Golf.

The NFL will always have a huge advantage over basketball in the US because of the white superstar QB's that are the face of the sport, the gamesmanship and strategy that is involved like RBA has stated and also because of the violent and "gladiatorial" nature of the game, in that it has given meaning to the term "collision sport", in that it has gone beyond the title of "contact".

One poster has even pointed out the social implications that football has in American society that basketball will just never have.

Also, one last point I saw some poster point out is the diversity of the game of football, not just racially but also from a physiological standpoint as well. Basketball is essentially a game of height, even a prototypical PG is at least 6'2. In football you have players of all shapes and sizes as the tasks that are done on the football field are much more diverse. You have players who strictly throw (QBs), who strictly pitch (centers), who strictly catch (receivers), who strictly block (guards), etc.

And while basketball may be the center of the sports discussion as far as black america is concerned the entire nation as a whole plans and schedules around football. Look at which sport has the primetime spots as far as the network packages are concerned. Every other program in existence plans their scheduling around the NFL season, not the NBA, and all of this is coming from someone who loves basketball way more than football, i can just be real and unbias with my observations of particular sporting social trends.

[kaiteng]

Never. USA have too many xenophobes.

[DFish]

Never. USA have too many xenophobes.

Xenophobes? The NBA is an American league, dipshit. Basketball is an American sport. This thread isn't asking about the EPL or Euroleague surpassing the NFL. It's asking about the NBA, an American league. Xenophobia has absolutely ****ing nothing to do with the NBA not being more popular than the NFL. Zip.

It's true that we don't like most foreign fans though. I guess you'll have to just stick to your soccer/rugby/cricket bandwagons.

[sodap]

The only sport that can possibly overcome american football, is football (soccer) itself if and when a big american soccer superstar appears, I mean a guy who wins ballon d'or or something like that. Those sports are tied to our very nature for some reason, they have many things in common, Rugby too.

They are superior games to basketball, really. Basketball is funny too, but fotball is chess where bastkeball is monopoly. It's fun but it's a lesser game, let's be real.

[DaSeba5]

I understand football very well and follow it but I wouldnt consider myself a huge fan. Where I live the NFL isnt THAT big. basketball is bigger here. So I believe what you and those around you grow up watching shapes how you view the sport.

I wasn't referring to you personally. I just see people always bashing American football without knowing the rules.

You're right about the location. Football is EXTREMELY popular in the south and in the west. I'm from South Florida, which has arguably the best talent in the country. Miami is a huge football town.

[boozehound]

go look at $.

Some positive rep is a small price to tell you what a c*nt face you are.

Or, you could just call me a **** face behind your already anonymous username? How ****ing pathetic. thanks for the rep! Zen, here I come!

[boozehound]

A lot of you bash football, but yet you hardly know the game when you criticize it.
I like and watch football. And, frankly, I find myself to be better informed on the game than most of the "rah rah" meatheads who act like they are playing on the team. I just prefer the sport of gods, basketball.


And yes, football is huge in america. Its an ingrained institution in little towns from texas to Minnesota, florida to washington. Grown ass men spend their entire weekends ruining their relationships so they can have something passionate in their lives, even if it is so far removed from them there is no real tangible connection. I find it a little disturbing that men I know are more passionate and engaged with a team on their television than anything they actually have in their own life. the nba cannot compete.

[DaSeba5]

I like and watch football. And, frankly, I find myself to be better informed on the game than most of the "rah rah" meatheads who act like they are playing on the team. I just prefer the sport of gods, basketball.


And yes, football is huge in america. Its an ingrained institution in little towns from texas to Minnesota, florida to washington. Grown ass men spend their entire weekends ruining their relationships so they can have something passionate in their lives, even if it is so far removed from them there is no real tangible connection. I find it a little disturbing that men I know are more passionate and engaged with a team on their television than anything they actually have in their own life. the nba cannot compete.

I'm referring more to these European guys who talk about the "real" football and then have no clue what they are talking about when they talk about American football.

[Lakers Legend#32]

The Red States hate the NBA. They see it as too urban, black, and thuggish. F#ck the Red States.

[boozehound]

I'm referring more to these European guys who talk about the "real" football and then have no clue what they are talking about when they talk about American football.
ah, gotcha. yeah, thats dumb.

[FKAri]

The only sport that can possibly overcome american football, is football (soccer) itself
lol


if and when a big american soccer superstar appears, I mean a guy who wins ballon d'or or something like that.
I cant imagine an American ever winning the Ballon d'or.


Those sports are tied to our very nature for some reason, they have many things in common, Rugby too.

soccer tied into American nature? wtf?


They are superior games to basketball, really. Basketball is funny too, but fotball is chess where bastkeball is monopoly. It's fun but it's a lesser game, let's be real.

There is some truth to this.

[Figlo]

Ramond Rondo
Yao Ming
Larry Bird
MJ

[miles berg]

They are already ahead of MLB.

But they won't ever catch the NFL.

[Euroleague]

The Red States hate the NBA. They see it as too urban, black, and thuggish. F#ck the Red States.

Anyone on the planet that is not racist against white people sees it that way.

[Go Getter]

White superstars.
Just maybe.

[Euroleague]

They are already ahead of MLB.

But they won't ever catch the NFL.

MLB is light years more popular than the NBA.

[Go Getter]

Anyone on the planet that is not racist against white people sees it that way.


Why would black people think the NBA is too black:oldlol:


Boy you are a cold piece of work.



Funny, the same people that think the NBA is too thuggish go to hockey games to watch snaggle-toothed hicks hit each other with sticks and brawl and call it a sport.

[Go Getter]

MLB is light years more popular than the NBA.
:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

You sir are retarded.

[KingBeasley08]

Anyone on the planet that is not racist against white people sees it that way.
Black people >>>> white people in basketball

case in point, Nigeria. u mad son :lol

[sodap]

soccer tied into American nature? wtf?

FYI I'm spanish, and I was talking about human beings, not americans, which are the same species as people from other countries. When I wrote "our nature" I was talking about human beings as an animal. Football and rugby derivatives like australian football, gaelic football, american football, have something special that puts them in a different tier.

Indoor sports cant compete at all. And I enjoy basketball a lot, but I can see why those kind of sports awake bigger passions.

[9512]

Xenophobes? The NBA is an American league, dipshit. Basketball is an American sport. This thread isn't asking about the EPL or Euroleague surpassing the NFL. It's asking about the NBA, an American league. Xenophobia has absolutely ****ing nothing to do with the NBA not being more popular than the NFL. Zip.

It's true that we don't like most foreign fans though. I guess you'll have to just stick to your soccer/rugby/cricket bandwagons.

Basketball is pretty diverse in nationalities.

The NBA have or have had players from the US, France, Germany, Spain, Slovenia, Italy, Brazil, Argentine, Eastern Euro countries like Lithuania, Croatia, and even friggin China.

My old roommate from college who loved NFL football was distraught and angry that the NBA had too many French in it (when I was referring to Boris Diaw and Tony Parker in a particular game). His body language, tone of voice, and hostility to Tony and Boris told me the whole story. He disapproved of foreigners being a league (NBA) as a league that allowed anyone not White Americans.

So he switched to watch a football game (his favorite team is the Colts) where he was comfortable.

That's my experience but I am sure it's not unique to my old roommate.