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I had a debate with a co-worker (he's a soccer apologist) and his only defence of soccer was that it was the "most popular sport in the world". I explain the obvious reason that soccer is the "most popular", like rice is the most "popular" food in the world: because its cheap and accessible to third world countries, not because people enjoy them more than a hamburger or real football. If given the choice, the rest of the world would choose a hamburger over rice and football over soccer, but unfortunately we have been the only country to be able to afford such a complex and expensive sport, with all the plastic and foam needed for pads and helmets. However with other countries seeing a rising standard of life, they will look for more exciting options than soccer, like football, baseball or basketball. Now of those options, football is by far the most exciting to watch. In fact, looking at the vast success the NFL has had with the Super Bowl globally proves that the world is hungry for football on TV. Over a billion people watch the Super Bowl, with only 109 million being American (source: CNN).
Just like our movies and TV shows have come to dominate the world, so will our football because it offers more excitement than the alternatives. Now the NFL is even talking about setting up a franchise in London, after 3 consecutive sell-outs and over 400,000 ticket requests in 90 minutes! The NFL is simply the most entertaining sport and it's failure to gain foreign fans will be shortlived once the world gets more exposure to our wonder sport. So will NFL become the most watched sport in the world and displace soccer? My answer is a resounding: YES!
Just like our movies and TV shows have come to dominate the world, so will our football because it offers more excitement than the alternatives. Now the NFL is even talking about setting up a franchise in London, after 3 consecutive sell-outs and over 400,000 ticket requests in 90 minutes! The NFL is simply the most entertaining sport and it's failure to gain foreign fans will be shortlived once the world gets more exposure to our wonder sport. So will NFL become the most watched sport in the world and displace soccer? My answer is a resounding: YES!