American sport. Loud, high-scoring and subtle as Wendell Sailor’s personality.
Americans enjoy home-grown sports like football that involves little kicking, a national league called the World Series and basketball, the game that lasted years before someone thought to put a hole in the basket.
Here in Australia, we do things a little differently. We prefer sports that are usually far removed from the brash nature of the US.
I’ve decided to analyse each major sport in Australia that the Yanks haven’t fully adopted. I will give each one a rating out of five hot dogs to decide how much it appeals to the American sports ideology.
Rugby league
This is a tricky one. League can either be extremely entertaining and feature huge amounts of points, but it can also deteriorate to a dire spectacle which features little tries or entertainment.
Though league is a relatively simple game, the structured play and waiting times for points do not work in its favour.
2 out of 5 Hot Dogs
Rugby union
No, no and no. The complicated nature of rugby ensures that it in no way does it appeal to the American sports blueprint. Highly technical penalties, frequent stoppages and sometimes try-less contests mean that rugby is as American as communism.
1 out of 5 Hot Dogs
Australian rules football
Aussie Rules is closer to heading in the right direction than both rugby codes. With lots of points guaranteed in each game, as well as spectacular marks and decent amounts of contact, there is potential for American likeability.
However, the ‘complicatedness’ of passing (“Why can’t you just throw it?”) and the fact that you can score behinds as well as goals makes Aussie Rules a little too complex to realistically become adopted by the Land of the Free.
3 out of 5 Hot Dogs
Cricket
In the form of four/five-day games, cricket hasn’t got a chance of being liked by Americans. No game that can take five days of continuous play without getting a result has.
A sport like cricket, which can see a contest develop and swing between two sides through several hours of carefully-played strategy, is extremely slow-going for the mindset of Americans.
One-dayers aren’t much better, but Twenty20s are a step in the right direction.
By the very way that it is designed, T20 cricket features more big hits, more action and more flames/music/awesome explosions than Tests and one-dayers.
However, all forms of cricket have the same drawback – their rules. Cricket is a complex game which makes little sense without knowing most rules.
The process of scoring requires two players to simultaneously run towards lines opposite of each other, which is far too complicated. Cricket has no hope of appealing to Americans.
Tests and One-dayers: ½ out of 5 Hot Dogs
Twenty20s: 2½ out of 5 Hot Dogs
We are very different from Americans, and there is no better way to show this than through the differences in our sports.
If there is one message you take out of this article, let it be that we are right and the Yanks are wrong.
Of course, who cares what Americans think, right?
NashRambler
Guest
I enjoyed my breakfast of Origin and oatmeal today, tomorrow at breakfast I will be watching the India vs South Africa Champions Trophy match on ESPN3.com. Hopefully the spot fixing incidents will be kept to a minimum. I can envision a new wagering option being offered for betting on the number of no-balls that are later discovered to have been fixed.
Undaground Mane
Guest
I'm a Yank here and I think rugby league would be appealing to Yanks including American football fans because the game has the six tackle rule which is pretty similar to the four downs in our football. I think we want to see tries scores comparing to seeing touchdowns score. I don't think a lot of our Yanks isn't going to like union because they don't understand it or lack of tries. They will see a lot of penalties in union. I follow both codes of rugby and league wins over union anytime. I think our fans will enjoy the physicality, skills, speed, etc of rugby league. They will be pretty shocked about the acrobatic moves that the players use to score a try in league. Good night. I will be back in the morning.
Emric
Guest
Interesting article
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Don't get why you'd think Americans don't like sports with stoppages or complicated rules. American sports fans in general know more about the rules of their favourite sport than Australians and are about to analyse the play to a far greater degree.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
5am? right time for the first litre of coke of the day, plus half a dozen donnuts innit?! ;). enjoy the game mate!
NashRambler
Guest
This "Yank" will be watching State of Origin Game 1 tomorrow morning while eating breakfast. The television broadcast will be on Fox Soccer channel. The game will also be streamed over the internet in the U.S. at http://new.livestream.com/nrl. The game will kick off where I live at 5am central time so I'll be watching with a cup of coffee in hand instead of a VB or XXXX.
Nick
Roar Guru
How can you possiby think that Americans wont like rugby because it has too many stoppages. Have you watched ANY American sport?
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Nice and fun article redbur. Always thought league has potential to grab yanks interest especially if the ref calls for time off after each tackle (so the players making the tackle can high five each other or chest bump each other when the bloke tackled stays on the ground). Dunno about AFL.
Sam
Guest
Went to the Hawks dees game with a Yank and it was his first ever Aussie sporting expirence, even though the game was dull and atmosphere wasnt great he really enjoyed it, but he told me cricket is hated in America due to the 5 days of no results :P but i love it
Luke Reds
Guest
I actually think that League could have an Yankee market. You said the reason it would struggle is because of structured play and waiting time? Watch one match of NFL. The amount of structured play is far higher then that of league, all of the plays practised right down to the milimetre, yet they sellout 70 thousand+ constantly.If anything League might not have enough structure. As for waiting time an NFL match has 60 minutes playing time yet actual matches take around 3 hours+ and NBA matches seem to have something like 20 timeouts a game. I don't think time is going to be much of an issue. Out of the four sports you suggested Union probably has the highest amount of interest in the US out of all of them and is only growing stronger by the day so I think it's doing a little better them 1/5 hotdogs. I think the 17 thousands Americans who watch USA vs Italy in Texas would agree with me as well. As for Aussie rules and Cricket I agree with you except for the fact that Aussie Rules has just about no interest outside Australia, nor does it appear like its ever going to try to. A lack of oval stadiums in the US would affect both the sports as well- I know there is one decent one in Florida somewhere but thats it.