Barna.org published a fascinating article on attitudes about sports in America titled Futbol to Football: What Americans Think of Sports. It is a good read whether you are a sports fan or not. In the article, they look at what sports we watch, have played or play, and what sports our children play.
So what sport do you think we have played or play the most in the US? Is it one of the traditional big three – football, basketball, or baseball? Or is it one of the up and coming games like soccer or lacrosse?
The answer is BASEBALL!
To be honest with you, I was a little surprised. I realize when it comes to football, this is a sport primarily for men, so this would decrease the numbers. I thought basketball would be the top sport because of what I hear of the decreasing participation in baseball. However, as participants, according to the research, here is the percent of us that have played or play the following sports:
Baseball 41%
Basketball 39%
Football 30%
Soccer 20%
As spectators, when it comes to watching sports on TV, football wins hands down, capturing 51% our attention, while baseball and basketball each have 33% of us watching. When it comes to watching our kids play,
22% of us are at the court or field to see basketball and baseball
18% of us go to the football field
16% of us to the soccer pitch to cheer for our kids
This shows us that if we want to connect with people’s playing experiences, we might want to ask them about baseball more than football or soccer. If we want to tap into their parental sports experiences, it really is a toss up on what we bring up. How about you? Does this information surprise you like it did me?