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Post by wildojinx on Sept 4, 2016 14:09:36 GMT -5
I spent a good chunk of my life in the Northeast, and while football was popular, it was hardly the biggest thing (Baseball was way bigger, especially when the Red Sox broke the curse in 04). But when i moved to the south, i was shocked to see just how big football was, both pro teams and high school/college teams. Heck, you rarely hear anyone talk about the other "big 3" sports (baseball, basketball, and hockey). Is there a reason why it seems to be dominant down here?
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StuntGranny®
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Post by StuntGranny® on Sept 4, 2016 19:08:07 GMT -5
I grew up in Alabama. There is NOTHING noteworthy about or in Alabama except football. Alabama fans honestly are psychotic in the sense that the Crimson Tide are their religion. They worship Nick Saban. But, again, there's nothing else in the state worth a shit.
There's also the whole "GOTTA BE A REAL MAN!" thing that runs rampant in the south. Football is a "manly" sport, so it's more respected than the other sports.
As far as the other three,
- Basketball is considered a "black sport". The deep south is still very, very racist. A lot of people around here won't admit it, but it's an absolute fact. - Baseball is popular in Georgia if the Braves are good. Atlanta is full of horrible sports fans, what can I say? - I've honestly never met anyone from the South who gave a f*** about hockey.
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Post by Ishmeal Loves Kaseyhausen on Sept 4, 2016 19:15:28 GMT -5
I grew up in Alabama. There is NOTHING noteworthy about or in Alabama except football. Alabama fans honestly are psychotic in the sense that the Crimson Tide are their religion. They worship Nick Saban. But, again, there's nothing else in the state worth a shit. There's also the whole "GOTTA BE A REAL MAN!" thing that runs rampant in the south. Football is a "manly" sport, so it's more respected than the other sports. As far as the other three, - Basketball is considered a "black sport". The deep south is still very, very racist. A lot of people around here won't admit it, but it's an absolute fact. - Baseball is popular in Georgia if the Braves are good. Atlanta is full of horrible sports fans, what can I say? - I've honestly never met anyone from the South who gave a f*** about hockey. From an outside perspective, I'd say a lot of it comes from the historical lack of major league professional sports in the south.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2016 19:20:35 GMT -5
I lived in Greenville, MS for 2 years. There were two sports stations on the radio: one local and one based out of Memphis.
I knew it was big, but National Signing Day is a huge frickin' deal. Makes the NFL Draft look like a pissant fantasy league. Round the clock coverage of not just where locals end up, but who and where about the nearby colleges. (Memphis, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, even some of the smaller schools like Arkansas State, Delta State, etc.)
There's only minor league sports around these parts, so college is their major league.
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unc40
Dennis Stamp
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Post by unc40 on Sept 4, 2016 20:42:07 GMT -5
I grew up in Alabama. There is NOTHING noteworthy about or in Alabama except football. Alabama fans honestly are psychotic in the sense that the Crimson Tide are their religion. They worship Nick Saban. But, again, there's nothing else in the state worth a shit.
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StuntGranny®
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by StuntGranny® on Sept 4, 2016 20:43:44 GMT -5
I grew up in Alabama. There is NOTHING noteworthy about or in Alabama except football. Alabama fans honestly are psychotic in the sense that the Crimson Tide are their religion. They worship Nick Saban. But, again, there's nothing else in the state worth a shit. That show is an abomination, but it's the perfect example of what I'm talking about. A lot of people think a lot of the callers are "fake" or just playing characters, but they're wrong. People really act like that.
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Post by tigermaskxxxvii on Sept 4, 2016 22:36:36 GMT -5
I lived in Greenville, MS for 2 years. There were two sports stations on the radio: one local and one based out of Memphis. I knew it was big, but National Signing Day is a huge frickin' deal. Makes the NFL Draft look like a pissant fantasy league. Round the clock coverage of not just where locals end up, but who and where about the nearby colleges. (Memphis, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, even some of the smaller schools like Arkansas State, Delta State, etc.) There's only minor league sports around these parts, so college is their major league. Reminds me of one of my favorite King of The Hill moments. The guys are in the alley listening to "The Sports Jock and Chad" before leaving for work (and thus are drinking coffee instead of Alamo Beer) where this exchange happens: "I tell you, that boy is quite the hoss." "Yep, and just wait until he hits middle school!"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2016 22:51:35 GMT -5
I lived in Greenville, MS for 2 years. There were two sports stations on the radio: one local and one based out of Memphis. I knew it was big, but National Signing Day is a huge frickin' deal. Makes the NFL Draft look like a pissant fantasy league. Round the clock coverage of not just where locals end up, but who and where about the nearby colleges. (Memphis, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, even some of the smaller schools like Arkansas State, Delta State, etc.) There's only minor league sports around these parts, so college is their major league. Reminds me of one of my favorite King of The Hill moments. The guys are in the alley listening to "The Sports Jock and Chad" before leaving for work (and thus are drinking coffee instead of Alamo Beer) where this exchange happens: "I tell you, that boy is quite the hoss." "Yep, and just wait until he hits middle school!" Sounds like how they talk about basketball players here in Indiana.
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unc40
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Post by unc40 on Sept 5, 2016 1:08:42 GMT -5
I will always remember Indiana going into meltdown when the Pacers drafted Reggie Miller instead of Steve Alford.
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Post by Limity (BLM) on Sept 5, 2016 9:16:36 GMT -5
I've always been fascinated with how certain regions will get attached to certain sports. Like amateur wrestling is huge in Minnesota and Iowa, while Nebraska is all about college football.
And you even have regions that are divided into love of college versus professional level. Like Oklahoma; you'd think a professional football team would thrive there, but nope, its all about college level. Now of course there are exceptions, such as Texas and arguably Florida, which loves and worships football on every level.
The book Friday Night Lights did an excellent job of describing a town like Odessa, where after the oil bust they had NOTHING. Nothing whatsoever except high school football.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2016 10:05:14 GMT -5
I will always remember Indiana going into meltdown when the Pacers drafted Reggie Miller instead of Steve Alford. IU has the occasional NBA-ready high-quality player, but let's be honest. A lot of them can get by as just a college player and make a decent living as such. Alford is lucky he was able to coach, which adds to it.
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pegasuswarrior
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Post by pegasuswarrior on Sept 5, 2016 10:48:33 GMT -5
Combination of cultural mores and educational correlations is your general answer. For a more detailed answer, unfortunately you won't find that here due to board restrictions and the need for a wall of text.
One easy way to sum it up is that, in many ways, Al Bundy is not just a character on a TV show.
This doesn't mean that you won't ever find an normal, life-balanced individual playing football at a high level and with a serious urge to do so. But I'm talking averages here, and a general answer to the thread question.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2016 20:28:31 GMT -5
I think it has to do with the fact that, for the longest time, it was the only major sport they had. - I've honestly never met anyone from the South who gave a f*** about hockey. Most people I know in the South that care about Hockey are the ones who moved there from Canada, since it's cheaper to watch a game there than up in Montreal or Toronto. Probably why the NHL made it so the Canadian teams and the Southern teams are in the same division.
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Sept 6, 2016 2:39:09 GMT -5
A lot of this is accurate about Texas, though I recall, when I lived in Dallas, that the Stars were popular, so at least some people gave a f*** about hockey. I think it helped that, at the time, they were doing well when the Cowboys were continuing to be the Cowboys.
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Post by devondragon on Sept 6, 2016 17:48:24 GMT -5
I know plenty of southerners who like hockey. I also know plenty of southerners who don't like football. This thread is using a broad brush to paint the south and it isn't at all flattering.
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Post by Hurbster on Sept 18, 2016 14:20:23 GMT -5
We have always had good football support in the South. Clubs ranging from Plymouth, Bournemouth, Southampton and Brighton. Include Reading if you want to go a bit Northern as well.
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Sept 18, 2016 15:27:39 GMT -5
I've always been fascinated with how certain regions will get attached to certain sports. Like amateur wrestling is huge in Minnesota and Iowa, while Nebraska is all about college football. And you even have regions that are divided into love of college versus professional level. Like Oklahoma; you'd think a professional football team would thrive there, but nope, its all about college level. Now of course there are exceptions, such as Texas and arguably Florida, which loves and worships football on every level. The book Friday Night Lights did an excellent job of describing a town like Odessa, where after the oil bust they had NOTHING. Nothing whatsoever except high school football. Actually a lot of Oklahomans(myself included) want professional teams, especially an NFL team, but we realize that the combination of our small population(only 3 million in the entire state) and the fact that we are the middle section of a Venn Diagram of the media and fanbase markets of the Denver Broncos to the northwest, the Kansas City Chiefs to the northeast, and the Dallas Cowboys to the south, that we just aren't going to get one. Remember, in addition to football and wrestling, Oklahomans love them some college basketball, and yet we've moved over to the Thunder quite easily, to the point where attendance to Oklahoma State and OU basketball games have dramatically fallen, even after the teams recovered from their brief spells of sucking and put on some good teams.
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unc40
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Post by unc40 on Sept 18, 2016 20:54:26 GMT -5
In Colorado the Broncos are the team and John Elway is the most popular sports figure by far. Baseball and basketball take a back seat to football and other than when the Rockies made the World Series neither sport gets the attention it does in other parts of the country.
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Post by fuzzywarble, squat cobbler on Sept 19, 2016 17:28:04 GMT -5
I live in San Antonio. A few people like football here but it's a Spurs-crazy city.
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Post by Mayonnaise on Sept 19, 2016 18:18:37 GMT -5
I think a big part of it is there was a lot of land so just about every town could have a field, which allowed the rivalries to build and every game to become a major happening. It wouldn't be outrageous for a town of 800 to most of the town at a major rival game or homecoming. But it also allowed kids a way out of the small towns, the farms and all that. Being able to handle the weather, lift and move heavy shit and take orders are things that were engrained in you early on and in high school that'd get you on the field then possibly to college where you'd get an education and move away from the hard life you had. For a lot of the small towns, that escape (Fridays or permanently) is still a very real thing and for those that did escape it is still loved and seen as something that will teach the work ethic needed to make something of yourself.
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