I want to put up a page of sports links that will be of interest to a
broad swath of the American market. I am looking for thoughtful
brainstorming on 1) appropriate categories 2) appropriate sports 3)
appropriate links.

For this question I am only looking to explore 1 & 2, a follow-up
question will ask about web links based on what I establish for 1&2.

1) Appropriate Categories:
I am looking for 3 categories of sports in order to capture different
interests. The first category must include sports like football,
baseball, and basketball (probably hockey, soccer, etc. as well). I'm
not sure what a good name would be (Team Sports?). Help me.

There might be a category for extreme sports. Other sports that come
to mind that you might want to suggest a category for:
skiing/snowboarding, road biking, mountain biking, swiming, running,
climbing...

If you give me multiple choices of categories and names for categories
that is even better.

2) Appropriate Sports
For each category I want a list of sports that you think should be in
the category. The more the better. Please group the sports into
A) Sports that need to be in this category / Essential
B) Sports that would be good to include if there is space
and if you want
C) Random ideas that probably don't belong

A superb answer will be able to justify the categories and sports by
quantifiable measures (revenue, # of people that follow the sport,
trends, etc.). This is not a requirement, but would be a bonus.

Hi George,

   Good day and thank you for your question. Sport is one of America's
favorite pastimes. When you mentioned American market in your
question, I'm assuming you're targeting viewers in America and not
American viewers all over the world. Even if you meant the latter, the
change would be very insignificant.

Is it absolutely essential that you have only 3 categories? In my
opinion, something to the order of 5 would be optimal.

According to the Travel USA guide @
http://www.usatourist.com/english/inside/sports.html, the following
sports are the most popular in America:
1. Football (NFL)
2. Baseball (MLB)
3. Basketball (NBA)
4. Hockey (NHL)
5. Auto Racing (NASSCAR)

Your link list will be incomplete if any of the above 5 is missing.

Other important sports include tennis, golf and cricket. Even though
Americans do not play cricket, it is widely followed in America. The
population of Indians and Pakistanis in America are bound to follow
the game, as it is the most popular game in the respective countries.
Live cricket on PPV is expensive and most of them tend to follow the
games on the Internet.


In case you want only three, I would recommend the following sets of
categories
* 1. Ball Sports  2. Extreme Sports  3. Other Sports
    These three categories will cover all sports. Ball sports include
whatever sports are played with a ball like baseball, football,
soccer, cricket etc..  Extreme Sports should include sports like
skateboarding, snowboarding and other extreme sports. The Other Sports
category could include sports like Auto Racing (NASSCAR, F1, etc..),
chess, rowing etc.. This particular set of categories would be my best
bet.

You could also think about some other category names like:

* 1. America's favorite sports  2. Other popular sports  3. Other
Sports
    The first category includes sports that are mentioned above
(America's Popular Spots). The second category could include sports
that are popular worldwide but not necessarily in America such as
soccer and volleyball. The third category could be for the
not-so-popular sports such as fencing, kabaddi and judo.
Pro :Not only can you target American visitors, but also visitors from
other parts of the world.
Con :It is a bit tricky to categorize sports as 'Popular American
Sports' and 'Other Popular Sports'. Secondly, visitors may not know
where to find the sport they want. One way is to list the sport in two
categories, but unless you have an automated system, maintenance can
become a pain once the link list grows.

Another set of categories :
* 1. Team Sports  2. Individual Sports  3. Extreme Sports
    The names speak for themselves. The only problem is the case of
sports where it is possible to have a team as well as individuals.
Take the case of tennis - singles and doubles, and also the Davis Cup.
Even Golf can be a team sport (Ryder Cup etc...)

If you are OK with 5 categories, then I would suggest the following 5
: Ball Sports, Athletics & Gymnastics, Extreme Sports, Indoor Sports,
Other Sports

According to Portrait of America (POA) telephone survey, football,
baseball and basketball are the top three sports in America.

Football rules the roost. 48% watch it, 35% attend the games and 44%
say it has been the "most popular" of the past decade. Baseball takes
second place in TV viewing and game attendance. 19% of sports fans
watch it, 28% attend games and 17% say baseball is the most popular
sport. Basketball is watched on TV by 12% of sports fans; 16% crowd
the bleachers during game time and 20% say it deserves the most
popular sport title.

Results of the survey

1. What professional sport are you most likely to watch on television?
48% Football
19% Baseball
12% Basketball
10% Golf
5% Some other sport
2% Hockey
2% Tennis
1% Soccer

2. What professional sporting event are you most likely to attend? Is
it a baseball game, basketball game, football game, golf tournament,
hockey game, soccer game, or a tennis match? *Asked only of TV sport
watchers
35% Football
28% Baseball
16% Basketball
6% Soccer
5% Tennis
4% Some other sport
1% Golf
0% Hockey

3.What sport has the best athletes? Baseball, basketball, football,
soccer, tennis, golf, hockey, or some other professional sport?
23% Football
23% Basketball
13% Baseball
10% Some other sport
8% Soccer
7% Golf
7% Not sure
5% Tennis
4% Hockey

4. Which sport championship event is the most exciting? Is it the
World Series, the NBA championship, the Super Bowl, U.S. Open for
Golf, the Stanley Cup, World Cup, or the U.S. Open for Tennis?
41% Super Bowl
19% World Series
15% NBA championship
6% U.S. Open for Golf
5% Some other sport
5% Not sure
4% Stanley Cup
4% U.S. Open for Tennis
3% World Cup

5. Of the following sports, which one has been the most popular over
the last 10 years? Is it baseball, basketball, football, soccer,
tennis, golf, hockey, or some other professional sport?
44% Football
20% Basketball
17% Baseball
5% Golf
5% Not sure
4% Some other sport
3% Soccer
2% Tennis
1% Hockey

6. During the regular season, how often do you watch professional
sports?
30% Rarely or never
29% More than once a week
22% Occasionally
18% Once a week
1% Not sure

7. What sport are you most likely to play in your free time? Are you
more likely to play baseball, basketball, football, soccer, tennis,
golf, hockey, or some other professional sport?
24% Some other sport
16% Basketball
15% Golf
10% Baseball
8% Tennis
5% Football
3% Soccer
2% Hockey

8. What attracts you to play the sport? Is it A) a good work out, B)
physically and mentally challenging, C) the competitiveness of the
sport, D) the fellowship of the sport, or E) is it because of its easy
access?
24% Challenge
21% Good work out
20% Fellowship
16% Not sure
12% Competition
8% Easy access

As far as sports popularity is concerned, the numbers keep changing
and no website has concrete figures. They have all given general
statements, some important ones being :
* Baseball is the most popular sport in America
* The Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event in America
* Soccer is the sport with the most growing popularity in America

One particular site mentions that one in six Americans fish, making it
he fourth most popular sport. However, professional fishing spells out
an entirely different story.

I would be more than ready to help you with you website. I would also
like to help you in building links for the same. In case you have any
clarifications, then please don't hesitate to ask, otherwise feel free
to rate this answer.

In case you want only me to answer a question, then please indicate so
in the subject line.

Thank you for your question and have a good day

Warm Regards,
Aditya.

Related URL
-----------
Sports Popularity (POA survey)
http://www.sportsfansofamerica.com/Interactive/Editorials/Fans/Popularity.htm

Search Terms
------------
Most popular sports America
Most viewed sports America
Most played sports America

---

Request for Answer Clarification by inquisitivegeorge-ga on 30 Oct 2002 13:45 PST

Aditya - Thank you for your detailed response. Could you help me flesh
out the 2nd part of my question? If you use your suggested 5
categories, could you come up w a detailed list of sports for each
category? As I had originally requested: 1)the more the better and 2)
please group the sports essential to the category seperately from
other sports that would be of secondary importance.

With that addition, I would feel that you did a superb job of
answering my question. Thanks!

---

Clarification of Answer by aditya2k-ga on 30 Oct 2002 22:14 PST

Hi George,

   Thanks for your nice words. I'm glad that you're exploring the
possibility of 5 categories. It gives more flexibility.

Contrary to my answer, I would suggest the inclusion of Snow Sports as
a category instead of Athletica & Gymnastics. Athletics and gymnastics
are two very different sports and geling them together is not a good
idea.

As far as the sports are concerned :

I. Ball Sports
--------------
Essential:
1. Football
2. Baseball
3. Basketball
4. Soccer
5. Golf
6. Ice Hockey (you could also include this in snow sports)
7. Cricket
8. Tennis
Others:
9. Volleyball
10. Field Hockey
11. Netball
12. Squash
13. Softball
14. Handball
15. Rugby

II. Snow Sports
---------------
Essential:
1. Ice hockey
2. Skating
3. Skiiing
4. Snowboarding
Others:
5. Sledding
6. Curling
7. Snowmobiles
8. Broomball
9. Snowshoeing

III. Indoor Sports
------------------
Essential:
1. Snooker & Billiards
2. Bowling
3. Table Tennis
4. Boxing
5. Wrestling
6. Gymnastics
Others:
7. Darts
8. Fencing
9. Badminton
10. Indoor Football

IV. Extreme Sports
------------------
Essential:
1. Skateboarding
2. Mountain Biking
3. Paragliding
4. Roller Skating
5. Windsurfing
6. Snowboarding
7. Skydiving
Others:
8. Adventure Racing
9. Cave Diving
10. Hang Gliding
11. Wake Boarding
12. Kitesurfing
13. Whitewater Rafting
14. Skiing

V. Other Sports
---------------
Essential:
1. Track and Field
2. Equestrian
3. Croquet
4. Horse Racing
5. Motorsports
6. Hunting
7. Shooting
8. Paintball
Others:
9. Cheerleading
10. Martial Arts
11. Fishing
12. Kabbadi
13. Ropeskipping
14. Paddleball

I'm pretty sure that I've covered all sports. I hope this completes
the answer. I can also help you get links for the various sports,
since I follow most of them.

Cheers,
Aditya

Aditya - thanks for all of your work. Exceptional job.

This is depressing to hockey.  Poll Canada and you will get very, very
different results (hockey - 95%)

Well, god bless hockey!!!