Good "New" professional sports

[G✇JI☈A]

Thing about pro sports that they get their way thanks to tradition. Tradition also means that have been around a while. Decades , centuries, heck some have have been around for over a millennia (ok maybe not in a professional sense;) )

But what recent sports that are played on a professional level are good and likely to stick around to great their own grand traditions.

Let's have a let's set a 30 year cut off. And it can be a variant of an existing sport as long as it is played at a pro level (meaning players get paid, have tv deals, get large attendances and stuff)

OK the obvious one is MMA of course. I think UFC started in the 90s but did not really start gain a big following until about 10 or so years ago.

Another one is 20/20 Cricket. It started early last decade with the Indian Premier League. But Australia formed their own league a few years ago called the Big Bash League. It's played over a couple of monthes in the Summer and it's amazing how it's taken off. I went to a match a year ago that nearly sold out the 100,000 seat MCG in Melbourne. It's left the ICC's One Day International series in the dust. 20/20 cricket is basically a shorter version of regular cricket. Matches last as long as say a football match, and the rules are treaked to encourage big hits and faster wickets.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

Definitely 20/20 cricket. That shit's gonna get cricket into the Olympics one day, once they figure out how to split the West Indies into their different national teams.

[Nickybojelais]

Definitely T20 cricket. I actually think within the next ten-fifteen years it will become the only official form of Cricket. ODIs will be phased out and Test matches will be played (primarily by England) as exhibitions.

I'm a member at Yorkshire CCC and I go to the games in the County Championship and there are barely 1000 people in attendance, but for the T20s the ground is almost full to capacity. It's definitely going to be the future of Cricket. I don't think any recent new sport has had the same impact as T20 cricket.

[Hit Girl]

Yep, 20/20 is awesome. I watch the IPL religiously. All other forms of cricket are boring to me.

[Fundertaker]

What about rugby (union at least, since we don't get anything about league in good ol'Portugal)? Pro since 1995 although it has been playe for a century before that. Does it count?

Although the true answer is Roller/Quad Hockey, which went pro in mid-90's in Southern Europe (none of that Inline Hockey non-sense though. That's just less fun ice hockey. Quad is for real!) and is one of the few sports my country is actually good at

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

I don't think anything is the US has happened in the last 30 years outside of MMA being a major sport. I know other sports from other countries are gaining more exposure and fan bases in the US. For example soccer or European Football while been around in the US for a long time, it grown a great deal lately. Having the MLS really started that as being the legit pro level in the US, that isn't just world cup tournaments, but having this pro leagued Season put that sport to a whole knew level. The league is self is young and growing by adding teams by 2020 which currently my city is looking hard at gaining one of the new teams, currently looking how to build the stadium which where close on getting the city part on the next ballet as we speak.

[sfvega]

ELeague is new. Oh wait, you said "good" and "sport". Carry on.

[Deleted]

Guess you can say soccer in the US. It's grabbed a footing (pardon the pun) where it's no longer just a bunch of scores buried between the horse racing results and fishing conditions.
Getting their own stadiums makes it "for real". No longer just sharing football or baseball stadiums. Their own place to play makes it legit.

[Lupin the Third]

I've always thought Indoor/Arena Football was a good alternative to the outdoor variety. Especially Indoor Football, which is only about 20 years old.

Although with Indoor Football, you have to be careful, because there's a ton of leagues that try to make themselves look "Professional," when they're really not. The only 3 I would say are pro are the Indoor Football League, Champions Indoor Football, and the National Arena League (not to be confused with the Arena Football League).

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

Feb 1, 2017 9:05:15 GMT -5 @sandman said:

Guess you can say soccer in the US. It's grabbed a footing (pardon the pun) where it's no longer just a bunch of scores buried between the horse racing results and fishing conditions.
Getting their own stadiums makes it "for real". No longer just sharing football or baseball stadiums. Their own place to play makes it legit.

MLS is playing a big role in that and how that league is ran. The over all sport has taken off in the US and I know where I live has a big soccer following here and MLS looked here once before to put a team here and looking at us again. The only thing in the way now is votes from the tax payers in April to pass the bill to fund the last 60 million that will be paid back in 8 1/2 years at the latest, with everything beyond that be profit to the city under the agreement and the owners promised 30 years under that, so about 20+ years millions bring brought into the city is nice.

Arena football is a hard one, it seems to be hit or mess. I know in the St.Louis area we had a team but worst timing for it. Starting a team at the same time the NFL Rams where coming to St. Louis is a bad idea. We had another one last year but things got all messed up with that management side of things. Something about not paying fees and whoever ran the team blamed the Chicago team for leaving the league messed up the schedule. Yeah makes no sense.

[Deleted]

Feb 6, 2017 21:00:58 GMT -5 Can you afford to pay me, Gah said:

Feb 1, 2017 9:05:15 GMT -5 @sandman said:

Guess you can say soccer in the US. It's grabbed a footing (pardon the pun) where it's no longer just a bunch of scores buried between the horse racing results and fishing conditions.
Getting their own stadiums makes it "for real". No longer just sharing football or baseball stadiums. Their own place to play makes it legit.

MLS is playing a big role in that and how that league is ran. The over all sport has taken off in the US and I know where I live has a big soccer following here and MLS looked here once before to put a team here and looking at us again. The only thing in the way now is votes from the tax payers in April to pass the bill to fund the last 60 million that will be paid back in 8 1/2 years at the latest, with everything beyond that be profit to the city under the agreement and the owners promised 30 years under that, so about 20+ years millions bring brought into the city is nice.

Arena football is a hard one, it seems to be hit or mess. I know in the St.Louis area we had a team but worst timing for it. Starting a team at the same time the NFL Rams where coming to St. Louis is a bad idea. We had another one last year but things got all messed up with that management side of things. Something about not paying fees and whoever ran the team blamed the Chicago team for leaving the league messed up the schedule. Yeah makes no sense.

I know Lupin the Third would know more, but the Rush was a mess at the end. Once the league wanted their franchise fee, you got 7 people pointing in different directions about who has the money.

Shame too. They were good and the city started taking to them.

[Reflecto]

Feb 6, 2017 21:00:58 GMT -5 Can you afford to pay me, Gah said:

Feb 1, 2017 9:05:15 GMT -5 @sandman said:

Guess you can say soccer in the US. It's grabbed a footing (pardon the pun) where it's no longer just a bunch of scores buried between the horse racing results and fishing conditions.
Getting their own stadiums makes it "for real". No longer just sharing football or baseball stadiums. Their own place to play makes it legit.

MLS is playing a big role in that and how that league is ran. The over all sport has taken off in the US and I know where I live has a big soccer following here and MLS looked here once before to put a team here and looking at us again. The only thing in the way now is votes from the tax payers in April to pass the bill to fund the last 60 million that will be paid back in 8 1/2 years at the latest, with everything beyond that be profit to the city under the agreement and the owners promised 30 years under that, so about 20+ years millions bring brought into the city is nice.

Even before MLS, it is likely the real thing that's helped soccer take off in the US is likely even less "MLS's success" and more "The Premier League and Champions' League was picked up by American networks". Even if MLS was doing well, and more kids played soccer in the '90s to become soccer fans now, the fact MLS will never be on the same level as European leagues hurt it succeeding- and only US viewers getting the top-caliber leagues could fix that.

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

Feb 9, 2017 21:25:30 GMT -5 Reflecto said:

Feb 6, 2017 21:00:58 GMT -5 Can you afford to pay me, Gah said:

MLS is playing a big role in that and how that league is ran. The over all sport has taken off in the US and I know where I live has a big soccer following here and MLS looked here once before to put a team here and looking at us again. The only thing in the way now is votes from the tax payers in April to pass the bill to fund the last 60 million that will be paid back in 8 1/2 years at the latest, with everything beyond that be profit to the city under the agreement and the owners promised 30 years under that, so about 20+ years millions bring brought into the city is nice.

Even before MLS, it is likely the real thing that's helped soccer take off in the US is likely even less "MLS's success" and more "The Premier League and Champions' League was picked up by American networks". Even if MLS was doing well, and more kids played soccer in the '90s to become soccer fans now, the fact MLS will never be on the same level as European leagues hurt it succeeding- and only US viewers getting the top-caliber leagues could fix that.

Speaking for St. Louis, we have had some European league Expedition games and they draw big crowds which is why I think draw MLS interest in wanting to put a team here. I look at MLS as the main North America Soccer league, and saw it is looking at Canada. It's a young league that is growing which in the North America side haven't had a normal season of the sport. Just World cup teams.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

In terms of motorsport, there's Formula E for electric cars which is getting a bit of buzz.

[Push R Truth]

Whomever perfects the first real life Mario Kart league is going to make a shit ton of money

[pegasuswarrior]

I could watch that Velodrome stuff all day. Anything where a wipeout takes you clear off the grid and out of the stadium pretty much is a 10 out of 10 to me. Roller Derby has/had that same appeal.

Feb 10, 2017 20:21:29 GMT -5 Push R Truth said:

Whomever perfects the first real life Mario Kart league is going to make a shit ton of money

Like, this even goes back to the RC ProAm days. I have no idea why no one has become a billionaire with this idea yet. You're absolutely right, even though you're making a joke.

[Deleted]

I wish Slamball became big. I'm not sure if it counts but I love obstacle course games like MXC, Wipeout, American Ninja Warrior, etc.