What Makes the NFL Most Popular of All Sports?
The Popularity of the National Football League Has Never Been Higher
Bar none the NFL is the most popular sport in the United States, and the competitionit isn't even close. While there are certainly avid fans of other sports such as basketball, baseball, etc. there is no debating what the majority of sports fans have put at the top of their list. NFL football tickets are extremely difficult to come by, and even some of the worst teams have very high demand for tickets. The Super Bowl is the most watched event every single year. Sports bettors flock to Las Vegas each year to bet on NFL football games far more than they do any other sport. It's as if on Sunday's and even on Monday night, the sports world pauses for a bit and everyone pays attention to the NFL and their featured games. What exactly has brought this level of popularity to the National Football League?
Hard Hitting Sells
In a sports era where the UFC and MMA fighting has become quite big, it shouldn't be a surprise that football and its hard hitting action tops the list of most popular sports. Simply put people want to see big hits early and often throughout the game. Why is it that some of the most popular plays to show on ESPN or the NFL Network after the games are the biggest hits? Definitely the demand from viewers for this kind of footage has driven the networks to give the viewers what they want.
League Parity
League parity plays a major role in the popularity of the National Football League. Look no further than the Arizona Cardinals of 2008-2009 to show the parity in the league. The Cardinals were the laughing stock of the league for quite a few years, but last year they were less than two minutes from being Super Bowl Champions. Every team in the NFL has a chance to succeed and it is probably the sport that most requires a solid General Manager and Owner. The NFL and its salary cap have done a great job keeping teams on a level playing field. Other sports such as baseball have teams with huge payrolls and some with miniscule payrolls, but the NFL has very similar payrolls which certainly lead to the parity. Parity is important because it keeps fans in every city interested in the sport.
Fantasy Leagues
There is no denying the impact of the huge success of Fantasy Football Leagues. While other sports are popular with fantasy managers, all of them pale in comparison to the popularity of fantasy football. How does this help the popularity of the sport? It brings in more viewers that don't necessarily have a strong rooting interest for any particular team, but they are competitive and want to do well in their fantasy league.
References:
Fitzpatrick, Michael "Why the NFL is the Most Popular Sport in America" Bleacher Report
NFL Football Popularity
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