Don’t sweat it pal.
I’m interested in where you got your numbers from.
Americans love minority niche sports.
What about China and India, two of the other three largest countries in the world?
More people play football in China and India than play rugby worldwide.
You’re easily amused. Here’s another one that might give you a laugh.
The combined population for the top 3 ranked teams in test cricket (India, South Africa and Australia is 1.4 billion.
Cricket is a minority sport in two of those countries.
More people in China play badminton than
play football worldwide
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I was in a pub in borrisoleigh this July and no one was watching the soccer World Cup final .
The plague is still rampant in India - as are honour killings and honour rapings. You can see why games like rubby and cricket would thrive there.
And?
There are more registered rugby players in the USA than who play football in Croatia.
The relative difference in populations is enormous of course, but the US are well off winning the RWC where as Croatia got close to winning the FIFA WC.
Soccer is clearly a bigger sport, I don’t think anyone is denying that. It is just funny to see the ignorance of the world as a whole. Soccer has mainly been the reserve of South America and Europe until recently, despite having a World Cup for nearly 100 years and professionalism for longer.
In comparison, rugby is less than 25 years professional and the WC is just 30 years old. It took the FIFA WC nearly 75 years to get to Asia as hosts, rugby will get there within 32 years.
The only football conversation on here that day was something about Spurs
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Incorrect.
I didnt watch it myself — how could anyone watch it after what Limerick and Kilkenny had just served up.
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The estimated WC final viewership is about 900m, which is likely overegging the pudding at that.
No question it is multiple times of the RWC, but if Fagan cannot stick to basic facts he shouldn’t be in this discussion.
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Exactly what it says on the tin. More people play football in two shit nations than play rugby worldwide.
What?
Cricket is a minority sport in Australia and South Africa.
Soccer is now the preserve of Western Europe really. Last four World Cup’s won by four of the biggest western European countries - Germany, France, Spain and Italy. All the best African and South American talent gets spirited off to Europe in their teens now. Very little geographical diversity in a soccer World Cup. Did any teams from outside of Europe and Latin America make it to the last 16 knock out stage of the World Cup? Actually Japan did. Nobody else from Asia and no representation from North America, Africa or Oceania.
Much more of a geographical spread in a rugby and cricket World Cup, which are truly global competitions.
You mean the two most populated nations on earth. Between themselves and the USA, they have numerous sports that they excel at. You describe these as “minority” sports, but these countries make up a significant portion of the global population.
Cricket is the absolute number one in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who are three of the 10 most populated countries in the world.
Far higher relative to soccer nations in the top 10, for example.
I do not deny that soccer is the global game, but you all need to read some books on slagging relative populations, particularly when in the WC just gone a nation of 4m got to the final.