Is it possible for basketball to ever overtake soccer as the most popular sport on the planet?

Question

it obviously won't happen tomorrow, but how about in the next hundred (or more) years?

in other words, it appears basketball is gaining more ground in Europe than soccer is in the U.S., right?

Answer 1

i doubt it kicking a ball is way easier than aiming a basketball plus we are born to kick

Answer 2

The answer is not in a million years, because of the inherent difference in the nature of the two sports.  Basketball requires a specific type of athleticism that certain people just don't have.  There are ethnic groups and countries on this planet where the average height of adult male is in the mid-five-foot range, and their vertical jump tops out at 20 inches max.  Those people will NEVER be as good in basketball as some of the other countries in the world no matter how hard they play basketball.  (If this isn't reality, at least it's a worldwide perception, and that's what counts when it comes to whether or not they will enjoy playing basketball as a nation.)

Soccer is a completely different story.  Although of course if you are big and strong and can jump through the roof you do have advantages in a soccer game, there are lots of ways to get around that handicap if you are smaller in statue.  For example you see time and again that the South Americans, who are noticeably smaller in statue than the Europeans, excel in worldwide soccer competitions, both on a national level and a club level.  Also there are more players on a team playing in a soccer match (10 field players plus a goalie), and that introduces a lot more variables than a 5-on-5 basketball game will ever have.  This is probably why soccer is being enjoyed worldwide much more than basketball is.

Edit: For those of you who have no idea how crazy soccer is outside of USA, check out the Youtube clip I'm attaching below.  This happened at the end of a semifinal match for the European Champions League in 2005, when Liverpool, one of the world's most historic soccer clubs, beat Chelsea to advance to the Champions League Final for the first time in 20 years.  The noise at the beginning of the clip is already as loud as any NFL playoff game we play here if not louder, but listen from about 1 minute after the clip starts.  40,000 people singing in unison like that NEVER happens in any of our sporting events in U.S. and it's a marvelous atmosphere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11MQnQ8Qj...

Answer 3

no

most played sports are

1. soccer

2. hockey

3. cricket

4. baseball

5. basketball  

Answer 4

NO! Soccer will rule forever!!

Answer 5

I doubt it. I can even see basketball declining in popularity, as a matter of fact.

Basketball is a game for giants. Most pro players over well over 6 feet. Soccer is a game that can be played by anyone of any height, like most other sports. That said, what sport can most people relate to?

Why should your skill in a sport be determined by how tall you are? Why should you hope and pray you will grow to 6 feet and over to have a chance in a sport?

Soccer will remain popular for that reason. The NBA is loved for the dunks and athleticism, but in the end, the sport is flawed.

Answer 6

no way soccer is the king of sports

Answer 7

It's possible...But very unlikely given the amount of people in the world that grow up adoring soccer compared to basketball...Basketball is growing fast but globally soccer is huge.  

Answer 8

ummm soccer in the us isnt as big as basketball but in most other countries like mexico africa etc soccer is more popular so it wont happen for a while and prob wont  

Answer 9

Your an idiot. Soccer is not an easier sport than basketball.

Anyway, no, people are way too manical about soccer in England.  Have you heard about the crazy sh*t that goes around there.  Man U fans kill Chelsea fans and vise-versa all the time.

Answer 10

basketball is already more popular than socer

Answer 11

no, basketball is not gaining more ground in europe, people in the US are just noticing its presence in europe more. soccer is in an entirely different league than basketball when it comes to the world stage. i think that soccer will become far more popular more quickly here in the US than basketball ever will elsewhere. especially since you are just comparing us-soccer and euro-basketball, well there are 2 other continents that have a much greater soccer to basketball popularity ratio and they make up more than half the world's population

Answer 12

That's going To Take A Long Time  

Answer 13

Anything is possible but realistically it's not likely to happen. I'm a basketball nut, but I just don't see how it will ever become bigger than euro soccer or car racing in America, which is even bigger than American football and baseball.  

Answer 14

Nah. Not in Europe. No way.

Answer 15

yes basketball is growing. in fact since 1992 olympics basketball has been the showcase sport and not soccer. soccer is bigger only because foreign short people never take up the sport. theyd rather stick with soccer than lose in basketball. part of this is actually true. while the rest is worth debating. its also a fact that basketball is now the most popular sport in china with 1.5billion people plus the virgin islands where tim duncan comes from.

Answer 16

Well for whatever reason people like sports that make one half of your body unable to touch the ball... But since people use their legs and chest in soccer it's obviously more popular and will be forever.

Answer 17

Yes I agree.  Basket is more amazing and quickly. It has dunks and 3 points shoots.  It has agony! It has (in the past) Michael Jordan, it has Shaq and others...

Answer 18

No way.

People is less developed countries will always follow soccer the most.  

Answer 19

In any team sport, the key is the ease for someone to meaningfully practice or play in a minimum of space, virtually on any surface and without other players. Basketball is far superior to soccer in all of these categories and will continue to be most popular.....kids only need a makeshift basket and they can work on the game on dirt, grass, asphalt. This simply lends itself to playing at a very early age and to grow up with the game.