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What is the interest for new sports?


PowderedWater

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1 hour ago, Kaz said:

Tennis has Serena (and maybe King before her?  I'm no tennis historian)

 

You skipped right over Steffi Graf!

 

Also a recent feather in the cap of the WTA: besides the Williamses in the 2000s, you also had a lot of intriguing talent in Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, a resurgent Jennifer Capriati, and Martina Hingis (my favorite) still hanging in there. At the same time, the men's tour was very uncompelling. Andy Roddick thwacking aces and winners from the baseline with a fancy composite racquet, where's the beauty in that?

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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Well, Andy Roddick sucks, so there's that. Federer is actually undergoing a bit of a resurgence. For a couple of years there, he looked to be hopelessly passed over by Nadal, Djokovic and Murray (well, maybe the first two). Now it's Nadal who looks kind of washed, while Djokovic probably owns the next five years. And that's to say nothing of Del Potro, the super-exciting Gael Monfils and a bunch of other guys in the current ATP rankings I have no clue about.

 

Here are some Gael Monfils highlights:

 

1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said:

and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags

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3 hours ago, 4_tattoos said:

Women's tennis is a big deal. What has tennis done right with it's women's division that other sports have failed at doing? Women's tennis has marketable stars, draws TV viewers & puts butts in seats of the events. Other sports (with an exception to UFC's women's division) not so much. What's the deal?

 

For the record, I'd personally love for women's volleyball to become a bigger deal.

For the USA, women's tennis draws for just six tournaments or 12 weeks a year: the Grand Slams, Indian Wells and Miami. And those are the tournaments which can be seen on terrestrial TV, ESPN and Tennis Channel.

Starting last year, outside of those six and other North American tournaments, the WTA is only available on beIN Sport or their own subscription service.

 

We'll find out how wise that moves was for the WTA.

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56 minutes ago, the admiral said:

 

You skipped right over Steffi Graf!

 

Also a recent feather in the cap of the WTA: besides the Williamses in the 2000s, you also had a lot of intriguing talent in Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, a resurgent Jennifer Capriati, and Martina Hingis (my favorite) still hanging in there. At the same time, the men's tour was very uncompelling. Andy Roddick thwacking aces and winners from the baseline with a fancy composite racquet, where's the beauty in that?

Yeah, she probably fits the bill too.

 

I did watch much more women's tennis in the 2000s than the men's for pretty much the same reason you mentioned; until Nadal started to become a threat to Federer on surfaces that weren't clay, there wasn't much reason to watch because his only rival (if you could even call him that) was really difficult to cheer for. 

 

Henin seemed to be one of the few that could match up well against Serena, though early on Sharipova wasn't totally helpless against her either.  Mauresmo and Davenport were pretty legit too.  Ana Ivanovic was good for a hot minute.

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On 6/7/2018 at 7:56 PM, 4_tattoos said:

I honestly thought volleyball was a sport exclusive to women/girls until the 2000 Olympics. That was the first time I'd ever seen dudes playing outside of casually at the beach. I was 14 years old at the time of the 2000 Olympics and somehow managed not to see any photos/video footage of men's volleyball until that point. Weird right?

Huh...I spent an indeterminable amount of Tuesdays and Thursdays watching my high school's volleyball teams while unwinding from football practice.  Our boys team is a state regular, our girls, not so much.

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A strong mind gets high off success, a weak mind gets high off bull🤬

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On 5/31/2018 at 11:54 AM, PowderedWater said:

Everybody has made brilliant points. A new sport probably could flop if not immediately successful, but there are people out there who are tired of the same 4 major sports. That’s why Arena Football still exists; it has a predominantly millennial and younger fan base.

Sports that are too complicated, like Kronum, have a much harder time getting off the ground. I myself made this thread because I’ve been toying with a concept for a sport inspired by Kronum. I call it turfball (if anyone has a better name idea I’m open). It’s based off basketball and water polo, but it feels like football. It started with one rule: dribble the ball every two steps, and the pieces began to fall into place from there. No overly violent plays, or you’ll get a foul. Okay, but what defines this foul? A penalty shot or two minutes in the sun bin. So you can foul infinitely or manipulate the system to get extra penalties? That’s a new problem. Let’s say five fouls equals ejection. It goes on from there. Maybe instead I could use the yellow and red card system.

Ahhhhhh, the sun bin sounds relaxing!!!!!! Grab a margarita, maybe some shrimp cocktail, brilliant!!! And who, BTW, is tired of The Big Four? They are absolutely perfect!!! Good luck!!!!

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On 6/10/2018 at 6:05 PM, verno said:

Ahhhhhh, the sun bin sounds relaxing!!!!!! Grab a margarita, maybe some shrimp cocktail, brilliant!!! And who, BTW, is tired of The Big Four? They are absolutely perfect!!! Good luck!!!!

Alright lad calm yourself I don’t want to have to put you in the sun bin

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I've been getting into/discovering "minor sports" in recent years.

 

KRONUM!!! Oh man I loved that league!  The rules didn't bother me, I loved how dynamic and freeform it was.  It lasted four years, I really had faith in its future.

 

I'm a big fan of team handball, I watch the Euro tournaments both men and women.  I like the Slovenia team.   I wish there was a US team handball league.  There's not too few or too many goals for me, it is what it is.

 

Also a big fan of UDC: Ultimate Dodgeball Championship aka dodgeball on trampolines.  Regular dodgeball doesn't compare to this!  I wish there was a full league for that instead of one tournament a year.

 

There's a subreddit for alternative sports called The Ocho.  https://www..reddit.com/r/theocho

 

I had an idea for a one-on-one handball sport.  Instead of one large goal, each opponent would have a choice of three small "goals" (squares, circles, rings or something) to throw at.  The defensive player would need to defend all three goals.  The court would be 30-40 feet long and 10-12 feet wide, separated into halves by a center line.  Players would not required to bounce the ball prior to shooting, just pick a target, run up and throw.  The ball would be the size of a softball and a glove would be used for catching.  

 

I also thought of competitive trashcan basketball.  Two on two in a small room, two trash cans in each corner.  Players do not need to dribble, but they can bounce the ball off the walls or ceiling to get around defenders, passing and shooting.

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  • 1 year later...

Sorry to bump this back from hell... but it looks like the US could get a professional team handball league by 2023. I know plenty of obstacles are in its way; but as a huge handball fan this is great news for me especially because a major company like Verizon seems to be backing it. I can see a pro handball league succeeding in the USA.  

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8 hours ago, the admiral said:

With what money? We'll be lucky to have old sports.

Apparently they're trying to get NBA and NHL owners involved, with naming conventions similar to europe. Philadelphia Flyers Handball Club would be next level. Yes it doesnt seem at all likley seeing the obscurity of the sport in the US, but at least there is some corporate interest. If only startup leagues weren't so damn expensive.

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7 hours ago, LA_Angels said:

Apparently they're trying to get NBA and NHL owners involved, with naming conventions similar to europe. Philadelphia Flyers Handball Club would be next level. Yes it doesnt seem at all likley seeing the obscurity of the sport in the US, but at least there is some corporate interest. If only startup leagues weren't so damn expensive.

I'd love to see a handball league here in the US!

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5 minutes ago, dont care said:

People would watch handball?

 

People are watching marbles roll down a hill. If they do it right, handball could take off. I mean for crying out loud ESPN shows Cornhole Championships and that requires significantly less athleticism. The only time I've ever seen handball was when I traveled through Europe. The most important thing about introducing new leagues is making sure your announcers can explain the action in a way that makes sense. 

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2 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

People are watching marbles roll down a hill. If they do it right, handball could take off. I mean for crying out loud ESPN shows Cornhole Championships and that requires significantly less athleticism. The only time I've ever seen handball was when I traveled through Europe. The most important thing about introducing new leagues is making sure your announcers can explain the action in a way that makes sense. 

 

You left out a key point here - people are watching marbles roll down a hill because there is literally nothing else in terms of live sports right now. I've watched the marble runs and I think they're great... but let's not pretend this many people would be watching them if the NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, and various soccer leagues were still operating.

 

If team handball (or insert sport here) were somehow operating right now with the other bigger sports leagues down - then sure, it might gain a following that could continue once the other leagues start back up. Otherwise? Not happening.

 

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2 minutes ago, sc49erfan15 said:

 

You left out a key point here - people are watching marbles roll down a hill because there is literally nothing else in terms of live sports right now. I've watched the marble runs and I think they're great... but let's not pretend this many people would be watching them if the NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, and various soccer leagues were still operating.

 

If team handball (or insert sport here) were somehow operating right now with the other bigger sports leagues down - then sure, it might gain a following that could continue once the other leagues start back up. Otherwise? Not happening.

 

It should still get more eyes than cornhole championships which have been running since football season. 

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27 minutes ago, sc49erfan15 said:

 

You left out a key point here - people are watching marbles roll down a hill because there is literally nothing else in terms of live sports right now. I've watched the marble runs and I think they're great... but let's not pretend this many people would be watching them if the NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, and various soccer leagues were still operating.

 

If team handball (or insert sport here) were somehow operating right now with the other bigger sports leagues down - then sure, it might gain a following that could continue once the other leagues start back up. Otherwise? Not happening.

 

 

Now I want an ESPN: The Ocho App more than ever. 

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