America’s 10 most popular sports
The National Hockey League (NHL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) are regarded as two of the most illustrious teams in their respective sports. Thus, its sports sector is not far behind.
An extensive rundown of the most popular American sports and up-to-date, reliable information are provided below to back up our rankings.
1. American Football
This is American football, the “beautiful game,” a historic sport whose main event, the Super Bowl, is regarded as a national cause for sporting revelry. Even while more than 139.1 million Americans, or almost 70% of the nation’s sports fans, identify with the sport, an astounding 37% mention attending football games as their favourite past time.
An average of 17.1 million people watched the NFL regular season in 2021. It is less popular than Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, when over 114.4 million viewers watched, setting a record for the most viewed television program in American history. Like basketball, football is a popular sport in many American high schools and universities, with 5.23 million players over six participating in the beautiful game.
2. Basketball
Not surprising at all Basketball is a popular sport for 61% of American sports fans, or about 121 million of the estimated two billion enthusiasts worldwide. Basketball is the preferred sport of roughly eleven per cent of Americans (37 million), or about 31 million people watched Game Seven of the 2016 NBA Finals.
Through twelve games in 2021, ESPN averaged 1.44 million viewers; in 2022, the NBA Finals drew an average of 12.4 million people in the US. Basketball is a popular sport in America, with players ranging from high school to college and professional. As a result, in 2020 and 2021, approximately 27 million individuals who were six years of age or older played basketball.
3. Baseball
About 57% of American sports fans consider themselves fanatics, a testament to the sport’s ferocious passion despite baseball’s physical intensity. According to American independent journalist and editor Jim Norman, roughly 9% (30.3 million) of Americans say baseball is their favourite sport, even though over 19 million Americans play the game.
In the 2019 MLB regular season, 68.5 million fans watched MLB games, compared to an astounding .75 million viewers for the 2021 World Series. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw far higher viewership than the present decade. Baseball is still one of the most popular sports in America, so the notion that it is fading is only partially accurate.
4. Soccer
The most popular sport in the world may not be an American classic despite its increasing appeal. But soccer has slipped up to become one of the main four sports in the US, surpassing ice hockey.
The FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil in 2014, attracted nearly 27 million spectators who watched the US compete in the biggest competition in the sport. 10 But 1.14 million Americans watched the 2021 MLS Cup final on ABC on average.
5. Ice Hockey
With American football, baseball, basketball, and soccer as its rivals, ice hockey is firmly positioned among the top five sports in the US. Even though soccer’s rising fan base has contributed to its loss in popularity, the sport will still draw over 37% of American sports enthusiasts in 2021.
The level of ice hockey participation in the US is also very noteworthy. Over two million people played ice hockey recreationally at least once in the United States in 2020–21, according to the International Ice Hockey Federation, which lists 453,826 registered players
With 24 U.S.-based teams—seventeen more than Canada, the league’s second-most populated nation based on home-based teams—the NHL is both the most well-known and one of the most competitive leagues in the world.
6. Golf
Although golf did not gain popularity as a spectator sport in the United States until the 1920s, millions of Americans have been inspired to love the game by American golfers such as Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and many others.
Approximately 7–10 million Americans have a strong passion for golf, yet there are 25 million recreational and casual golfers in the nation. Statistics on viewership and audience also reach seven figures: in 2021, over five million people watched the U.S. Open final round on television, while over nine million people watched the Masters final round.
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7. Tennis
More than just a recreational activity, smashing the ball against the racket is a thriving industry that draws over 20 million fans who use the courts to stay in shape and enjoy the sport’s events. Tennis may be an ageing sport, but the younger generation still seems to enjoy it, as evidenced by the rise in participation from 17.7 million in the 2010s to 21.64 million in 2020.
Even if these tennis participation statistics are astounding, Americans would still feel comfortable lounging on their couches to watch a match. It is understandable why 1.28 million viewers, on average, watched the whole U.S. Open on ESPN and ESPN2.
8. Motorsports
Don’t be shocked; individuals drive not just for practical reasons but also to flaunt their driving prowess and see others doing the same.
Following that line of reasoning, motorsports are among the spectator sports in the US that are expanding the fastest.
An average of 1.3 million people have watched the international motorsport series this season, while over 15 million people visit all U.S. motorsports events each year.24 25 The Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix was American television’s biggest live F1 event, with 2.6 million viewers on ESPN Press Room, which aired on ABC.
The sport’s audience statistics suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic, but evidence shows that the numbers are starting to rise again. One example of this is the NASCAR Cup Series, which saw a 6% rise in viewership from 3.48 million to 3.7 million on average between 2021 and 2022.
9. Wrestling
About 11 million people watch professional wrestling matches in the US because of the intense upsets, gory feuds, exhilarating rounds of slams, finishes, and fascinating submissions that take place there. The figure increases several times worldwide, to approximately 180 countries and a billion households. The massive American fan base accounts for millions of spectators in different shows.
In two years, the industry could not register more than two million viewers; nevertheless, Monday Night Raw set a two-year viewing record on August 1, 2022, with an audience of 2.3 million. Remarkably, wrestling made this list despite its decreased popularity due to other sports’ dominance and the repetition of WWE material.
10. Boxing
Fifty million Americans were expected to watch the Mayweather-McGregor bout in 2017. Two enraged guys trading blows in the street would make people run for cover rather than applaud. However, the fan base was considerably wider in 2017; 28% of American sports fans identified as professional boxers.
Statista and Forbes say that 37% and 33% of their respondents claimed to be boxing enthusiasts in 2021, respectively, suggesting that the numbers have not decreased. In 2019, these boxing enthusiasts watched over 2.1 billion minutes of PBC Fight Night on FOX as a pastime.
