A Look at Sports Globalization

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” — George Bernard Shawa

God bless America. Everything about this country is great and it should truly be appreciated by all those who have the privilege and opportunity to experience such a place. America is unique in so many ways: from the freedom of speech that allows me to write every word in this article (whether you like it or not — hah!), the attitude that hard work can make any dream come true, and the fact that this opportunity is open to all (at least theoretically).

The United States of America is truly the only melting pot in the world. It is the only country the blends so many different ethnic and culturally diverse individuals from all parts of the world, from all walks of life. One of the things I cherish most about sports is that no matter who you are, what you look like, what you believe in, all of that is put to the side if we are cheering for the same team. Look at a tailgate scene — the only colors that matter are the home team. You will see the rich next to the poor, black, white, and Asians all cheering together. This is what makes sports truly remarkable.

As the world shrinks due to technological advances and globalization becomes a shocking reality, we must adapt. Our American companies are doing it, our sports teams are doing it, too. You may have already noticed it, maybe you haven't.

In the upcoming months, this column will discuss sports you may have never heard of, from countries you may need a map to locate. Although many of the greatest athletes play in the U.S., many do not. Where are these other guys? What skills do they have? Are their fans as passionate about sports as Americans?

Let’s face it, most of us (whether directly or indirectly) are not from America. We came from these "other" countries or one of your great grandparents originally did. So sit back and enjoy something a little different from the norm. This is an opportunity to learn about a different sport, to appreciate a different game. Possibly one that your great grandfather played.

Additionally, let's talk a little bit about our own sports. Which American sport is attempting to go global? The better question is which one isn't? You may be surprised by the answer.

Also, the majority of American sports used to be filled with Americans, but the makeup of our sports has changed. With competition to find the "greatest athletes on earth" increasing, team scouts are now forced to look to other countries to find talent.

Just ask Yao Ming, Hideki Matsui, and Gary Anderson.

That being said, let's first take a look at our own American sports that will be discussed in future articles.

Tier I

Baseball — At one time, was the most popular sport in America, and often is called "America's pastime." Today, Major League baseball features plenty of foreign players. Countries such as the Dominican Republic, Japan, and Venezuela are combed by baseball scouts as thoroughly as anywhere within the U.S. Now that the Expos have left Montreal for Washington, DC, the league has one lone Canadian team in the Toronto Blue Jays. The championship is a best-of-seven series called the World Series.

Basketball — Nowadays the National Basketball Association features many foreign players. You can expect to see at least one European on just about every team. The league features one Canadian team, the Toronto Raptors.

Football — American-style, in which very little foot-to-ball contact is ever made. The professional league is called the National Football League, and made up almost entirely of Americans, with the exception of Samoans and some foreign kickers. The championship game is the Super Bowl and has turned into a huge spectacle which people often throw parties to celebrate. This sport continues to grow in popularity in America, but has struggled to gain much attention outside the states.

Tier II

Ice Hockey — While popular in the U.S., hockey has nowhere the popularity here that it does in its home of Canada. Governed professionally by the National Hockey League, the league is dominated by Canadian players, but also features many from Russia and Scandinavian countries. The championship series is named after its trophy, the Stanley Cup. That's if the league has another season, as it lost the 2005 season to a strike.

Golf — While most Americans love football, basketball, and baseball, they don't usually play these sports past their youth. Golf's popularity on the other hand, rests almost entirely on the shoulders of middle-aged men who use the game as a means of socializing, as well as conducting friendly business.

Tennis — Similarly to golf, tennis is just as popular to play as to watch. In America, the sport's popularity tends to wax and wane with the rise and fall of successful American tennis stars. In other words, if there are no big American stars in the game on the international level, then the country tends to temporarily lose interest.

Tier III

* Soccer
* Volleyball
* Track & Field
* Cross-Country
* Swimming
* Skiing (snow and water)
* Bowling

Young Americans also enjoy what are usually called the "extreme sports" such as surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, dirt biking, etc., which are judged by tricks and stunts. I will try to discover other "extreme sports" from around the globe.

One of my other goals in the upcoming months is to illustrate how two of America's biggest professional leagues, the NBA and Major League Baseball, have experienced a relatively recent influx of foreign players. This would suggest that these sports have an expanding international audience.

Ever since Yao Ming came to play basketball from China, there have been reports about his immense popularity in China and the exposure that the NBA is receiving there. But is that really where it started for China? Similarly, when Hideo Nomo came to play baseball from Japan, I saw a news story on "Hideo-vision," a large outdoor television in downtown Tokyo that played his games nonstop.

Baseball is traditionally called the "national pastime" in America, but today it has ceded popularity to football. Until probably the late-'80s , baseball was without question the most popular sport in the U.S., but the slow pace of the game as well as a labor disputes in the mid-'90s have hindered the sport's popularity.

What about the American football? What are they doing internationally? We know of the Canadian Football League and NFL Europe, how are these programs doing? Are they gaining popularity?

Lastly, I am going to dive into sports I know little about. I want to learn what other countries consider "their" sports. Here is a list of future sports and the respective countries in which they are most popular:

* Great Britain: Soccer, Rugby, Cricket, and Golf
* Australia: Swimming, Surfing, Sailing, and Rugby
* Japan: Sumo Wrestling, Judo, and Baseball
* Cuba: Baseball
* New Zealand: Sailing and Rugby
* Canada: Ice Hockey and Curling
* The Netherlands: Speed Skating
* Austria: Skiing
* Norway: Cross-Country Skiing and Biathlon
* China: Table Tennis (ping-pong)
* And almost all of Latin America: Soccer

If you have any sport that you want to know more about, or are familiar with a popular sport from a country outside of the U.S., please e-mail me directly. Looking forward to hearing from you!