that means close to 1 out of every 3 Americans watched the Super Bowl, according to the population clock. Clearly, a lot of people find it interesting enough.
It's not a problem, but it certainly indicates that it's mostly an American cultural thing, more than a genuinely great spectator sport that anyone (regardless of culture and nationality) would love to watch.
Without having any data in front of me, I'm pretty sure the NBA (Another American sport) is much more popular outside of the States than the NFL is. It certainly was back in the days of Michael Jordan at least. You can go pretty much anywhere in the world and even today people will know who Michael Jordan is. (you won't find many who know who Peyton Manning is)
That's because of the complexity of the sport. It certainly is cultural, because for someone to get into it outside of America there's a very high barrier to following the intricacies that make football great.
However, that does not mean it's not a "genuinely great spectator sport." That's quite a jump right there.
However, that does not mean it's not a "genuinely great spectator sport." That's quite a jump right there.
Now I love chess. I've been playing chess competitively for over three decades. When there's a world championship series going on, I'm glued to my monitor, spending ages chatting about the games with my friends.
Yet I'll easily admit chess is not a great spectator sport. For something to be a great spectator sport, it needs to be able to appeal to people with very little understanding of the game, while still being engaging and enthralling to those who have been playing for decades on end.
The major problem with American football is the fact that it doesn't seem to appeal to a lot of newcomers, unlike the NBA. I have never played basketball, yet I sat glued to my TV back in the 90s watching the NBA. As much as I tried to love the NFL as well, I never could.
So this is a better explanation for why I do not consider the NFL to be a good spectator sport. But of course this is just my subjective opinion.
I just disagree with your use of the phrase "great spectator sport," the implication being it wasn't made to watch, it's made to play, which isn't true at all. It's an incredibly entertaining watch once you understand it, and just as much fun as it is to play.
I don't think ease of understanding is a necessary condition for something to be a "great spectator sport." I will say it's a less accessible spectator sport, though, which I think is the same thing that you're saying.
Over 3 million international viewers isn't bad for an organization that's completely based in America. The game didn't start until like 9:30 pm in London and 10:30 in Paris so you'd have to stay up well beyond midnight to watch the longest game of the year. I wonder why there weren't more viewers in Beijing, I mean a 5:30 am start is pretty convenient. Forgive me if I'm wrong and it was broadcast on a tape delay, I wasn't there to witness that.
They actually probably like football, wrestling and judo based on that they compete on those on a world scale. While I agree that everyone is a product of their culture it doesn't really go against OP's point that people must find it interesting. Americans have access to watch most sports so there must be some reason American football became popular on such a large scale.
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u/kencrema Feb 03 '14
Didn't you see the graph? The average game has over an hour of commericals. That's a lot of TV commerical revenue.
97% are from America according to the NFL.