Not really, assuming you are of a “certain age”. The Sunday NFL games were broadcast as a highlights package in the mid-Eighties when the UK only had 4 TV channels (Cable TV? What’s that?). As such, anyone who was 8-18 years old at that time will have probably chosen a team to support (before losing interest around 1988). Anyone older than 18 will probably have written it off as “rugby for girls” and bemoaned all the padding and helmets as not being a man’s sport. The NFL is shown on subscription TV now so doesn’t get the reach it used to and so it’s probably more of a novelty now than it ever was. All the UK diehard fans I know are old fucks like myself.
Time does funny things to the memory lol but I was there when Jimmy Glass scored the goal, a truly amazing moment in sport lol Plymouth Argyles player manager Steve McCall was a Carlisle boy and was controlling the game even at his advanced age, he took himself off and then we got back into the game and then the goal. I honestly think if he hadn't taken himself off we would never have got anything lol
And local parks/play grounds but have you ever seen a kid throwing a basketball at the hoop? I am assuming you meant basketball lol Something I have never seen happen in those multipurpose playgrounds. Football rules English sport and always will.
Basketball is a very minor sport in the UK, despite numerous attempts by the NBA and others to increase its popularity. My local team, the Leicester City Riders, are one of the more successful teams and even they cannot sell out their stadium, which only holds 3,000.
I think a lot of our interests well for me anyway stemmed to similar sports to the ones i follow in the UK. Plus with the NBA and MLB theres a crap ton on teams to choose from, which massively dilutes the choice. Unless you pick up a yankees hat (not saying i own one here guys). Basketball is a no show here, does better in Aus/NZ though. Sent from my SM-G610Y using Tapatalk
I have to disagree on several counts:- 1, The bulk of games are NOT on late at night. 1pm kick offs are on at 6pm and 4 pm kickoff at 9pm - certainly not late. 2. Just because a sport is not a mass participation sport does not stop it becoming very popular - 2 examples that come to mind are MMA and Formula 1 3. With regards to schools fewer and fewer schools play cricket, due to lack of pitches and Health and Safety concerns regarding being struck by a hard cricket ball and the ensuring compensation cliams. Even fewer schools have tennis courts and few play volleyball as you can only get a limited number of pupils on playing at once. A similar point could be made about basketball. Few schools have more than one court, if indeed they have any. School sport is dying a slow death, as the school ciriculum keeps on growing and few teachers want to stay behind with school teams after lessons have finished.
The Big Thurday nght game is at 1:30 in the morning here and the 4pm (US) games drag until near midnight and beyond in UK times. If you want a decent nights kip before work then all you have are the early games to watch. I've not seen much MMA on the backpages or in the sports pullouts and I'd argue that F1 is actually losing interest the past few seasons (the reasons for why can be debated elsewhere). Right now we might get a small section on the superbowl and maybe even a mention in the morning news if nowt else is happening and I can't see a local NFL franchise changing that when the International, european and Domestic Football hog most of the limelight and International Rugby and Cricket taking the rest.
The Thursday night game is just one game a week, as is the Monday night game. All the other are at watchable time if you are a fan. I watched the Bama v Georgia game (NCAA) . this week with a kick off time of 1am Sunday Morning. If you watch a sport in a foreign country time differences are just a thing that you have to expect. The three main spectator sports in the uk are :- 1. Fooitball 2. Horse Racing 3. Rugby Union Cricket is dying on its feet and is desperate for anyone to watch - youngsters these days don't want to watch a 5 day test match, hence the attempt to push limited over games all the time. The money men who have ruined Formula 1 are now trying to do the same to Rugby Union. I can't see an NFL franchise working in the UK either, because all the interested viewers are already committed to their "team" Football will remain the main sport in the UK for historical reasons and the amount of money invested in it.
Jimmy Glass on loan from Swindon Town, of course. ;-) As an example I've only been to the Arena once, and that was for the darts (love me some arrows).
