Adam Silver 'jealous' of UEFA Champions League

[KobesFinger]

Full article here

His main point is that he likes the 'religious' aspect of football fandom. Football (or soccer) is the main sport in just about every country that has a CL team, whereas the NFL and arguably the MLB are more popular in the USA. He says this has lead to a division of loyalties as he's a fan of his hometown Knicks, Yankees, Giants and Rangers.

The article is very short and as such doesn't give much to go on, but I got that he wants to make the NBA more popular from it.

[swagga]

Full article here

His main point is that he likes the 'religious' aspect of football fandom. Football (or soccer) is the main sport in just about every country that has a CL team, whereas the NFL and arguably the MLB are more popular in the USA. He says this has lead to a division of loyalties as he's a fan of his hometown Knicks, Yankees, Giants and Rangers.

The article is very short and as such doesn't give much to go on, but I got that he wants to make the NBA more popular from it.

good luck with that.
there is NO way any american sport reaches football/soccer following/tradition/rivalries.

[gts]

good luck with that.
there is NO way any american sport reaches football/soccer following/tradition/rivalries.

American Football is right there as far as fandom goes...

College level support and rivalries is off the hook

[Joyner82reload]

good luck with that.
there is NO way any american sport reaches football/soccer following/tradition/rivalries.

Ya..this is false. College football is pretty damn close to european football in terms of fan craziness.

[KobesFinger]

American Football is right there as far as fandom goes...

College level support and rivalries is off the hook

My first thought was that surely American Football fandom is up there but then I started thinking about football hooliganism and the things football fans in countries like Turkey and Italy do. Fans throwing flares on he pitch, football firms and the fact that many stadiums have had to install fencing between the pitch and the stands to prevent pitch invasions.

[Joyner82reload]

My first thought was that surely American Football fandom is up there but then I started thinking about football hooliganism and the things football fans in countries like Turkey and Italy do. Fans throwing flares on he pitch, football firms and the fact that many stadiums have had to install fencing between the pitch and the stands to prevent pitch invasions.

A lot of that is due to the country itself, not the fandom. You don't see rioting in the US like you do in those countries either.

[triangleoffense]

Of course Silverjew jealous of anything that takes away from NBA revenue

[TiagoSimoes]

Ya..this is false. College football is pretty damn close to european football in terms of fan craziness.

You people know nothing. People die because of football. There is nothing close to football

[Overdrive]

A lot of that is due to the country itself, not the fandom. You don't see rioting in the US like you do in those countries either.

Wtf..Ferguson? You don't have shit on a scale like this in most european/UEFA countries. Certainly not in Italy and not really in Turkey.

[sportjames23]

Of course Silverjew jealous of anything that takes away from NBA revenue

[gts]

You people know nothing. People die because of football. There is nothing close to football

that doesn't make them bigger or better fans... just assholes

[jongib369]

that doesn't make them bigger or better fans... just assholes

Anyone who kills over a sport is a ****ing retard of unfathomable proportions. Unless you don't think Wilt is GOAT. Then you have it coming

[dirkdiggler41]

Europe got a lot more history when it comes to war between countries. The bitterness and hate sums up in soccer games. Its our alternative to get the anger out without (nearly) killing each other. The NBA is an commercial product where the meaning as a fan does no go so deep. Being a Heat or Mav does not say much about you as a person, while for soccer it can tell a lot about where you come from, what culture and class you are from. So when your team plays it represent a lot more then just another W.

[chocolatethunder]

My first thought was that surely American Football fandom is up there but then I started thinking about football hooliganism and the things football fans in countries like Turkey and Italy do. Fans throwing flares on he pitch, football firms and the fact that many stadiums have had to install fencing between the pitch and the stands to prevent pitch invasions.

You aren't from Philly where they threw ice/snowballs at the Dallas Cowboys and their coaching staff and Veterans Stadium actually had a makeshift court in it so that they could arrest fans on the spot and charge them. I have witness full on brawls in the stands at Eagles games. Yes, it's quite similar to soccer/football.

[B-hoop]

Europe got a lot more history when it comes to war between countries. The bitterness and hate sums up in soccer games. Its our alternative to get the anger out without (nearly) killing each other. The NBA is an commercial product where the meaning as a fan does no go so deep. Being a Heat or Mav does not say much about you as a person, while for soccer it can tell a lot about where you come from, what culture and class you are from. So when your team plays it represent a lot more then just another W.

Yea, the main difference is that most football clubs started as clubs and not as companies like NBA, NFL, MLB teams. Most of them are 80-100 years old and represent a social group. For example, the biggest rivals in Argentina, Boca and River, Boca started in a poor people club while River started in a rich people club, even today poor people make most of Boca's fans while the rich make most of River's.

In Brazil you have Palmeiras which was formed by italian immigrants and Vasco formed by portuguese immigrants. There are many examples of this, so the teams represent a lot more than "the city" and also that's one of the reasons why there are more then one team per city.