Sports: Best and Worst for TV

To many of us, sports is a religion, watching it on a daily basis and following our favorite teams passionately through the ups and downs of their seasons.  Sports provides entertainment, giving us the stress reliever we sorely need in our lives, especially when coming home from a busy day at work or taking care of the kids all day.    

Entertainment is the number one goal all sports strive for; to bring the viewer into a sense of being a part of something, making them comfortable and anxious on every play.  However, some sports are made for television, while some are not.

Here is my list for the best and worst sports made for television...(they are not in any particular order and just because they are in the worst for television category, doesn't mean I don't like the sport)


BEST (television)

Football-  Television stations pounce on the opportunity to cover football games.  Football is brilliantly made for television, containing stoppages of play that go to commercial breaks every four downs or so, helpful marks to track where the first down marker or line of scrimmage is as well as a comfortable cushion of time to roll replays.  Hard hits, breaking tackles and long passes are all factors to why football is entertaining to watch.

Basketball-  Similar to football, basketball has its advantages of timeouts that create stoppages of play for advertisements as well as replays, which also can be shown when players are at the free-throw line.  It is a fast-paced game where players fly up and down the court, attempting to make a stop or basket during the 24 seconds they have on the shot clock.  Basketball receives its entertainment from thunderous dunks, three-point shots and cross-over moves.    

Soccer-  Even though many of you will disagree, if you think about it, soccer is decent for television, especially during big tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup or Euro 2012, where everyone in the world is involved watching each match.  Although soccer is not necessarily "made" for television with its lack of commercials and advertisements and stoppages of play, the numbers don't lie, viewer wise; almost half the world, 3.2 billion people, watched the last World Cup in 2010, according to Fifa.com.  The game only stops play during halftime, guaranteed to end on time, which is very beneficial for TV stations looking to not go over the time coverage they have.  Soccer has its non-stop action, and has the one play or goal that can ultimately change a game.

Worst (television)

Baseball-  Lacking movement is not entertaining to the human eye.  The game of baseball possesses exactly that.  No disrespect to baseball or the skill to play the game, but the pace of the game is just too slow for television.  Waiting for something to happen like a hit from a batter, usually takes at least six pitches or more.  Knowing there is no time limit enables the pitcher to go through the motions, which in my opinion, the non-presence of a clock in baseball affects the game's level of entertainment.  I know many of you will say, "Well, soccer shares the same aspects of baseball, waiting for the one goal to change the game."  Well, my response to those people is that at least soccer provides movement, which will at least keep the level of entertainment higher.




Golf-  Another sport too slow for television is golf.  Golf requires a substantial amount of concentration and technique I dearly respect.  However, when it comes to television, it is not entertaining.  The most exciting moment in golf is a hole-in-one, unfortunately, happening once in a blue moon.  Again, exception to that, not much other action in golf will bring in viewers consistently.

Hockey-  Although it contains non-stop action, heavy hitting, fights, crafty moves and laser-driven shots, hockey is not made for television.  The sport is the kind of sport where it is more exciting and better to watch in person.  The main reason why it's not made for television because of the visibility of the puck.  I believe if hockey had a wider and longer area to play on, then it would be better for television, thus giving viewers an eye to the action; too much back-and-forth action can also hurt a sport.

Playing overseas

Whether it's an NBA player like Dirk Nowitzki or a soccer player like Clint Dempsey, both pursued their dreams of being in the best league for their respective sports.

Without a doubt, the best basketball league in the world is in America.  Most basketball players in the NBA derive from financially-stricken cities across the USA; they use basketball as their escape to play the game they love, stay away from the streets as well as providing economic support for their families.

Players such as Kevin Durant played from dawn to dusk, shredding the courts of Washington D.C., while other players like Mario Chalmers, an Alaskan native, played from dusk to dawn due to Alaska's twenty-four hour daylight during certain times of the year.  

However, Europeans, South Americans and Asians are diversifying the style of play in the NBA.  German-born Nowitzki is an overseas player who has significantly contributed to the NBA for the better; he has won an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks, becoming the Finals MVP in 2011.  Meanwhile, for players like Serbia's Darko Milicic, playing in the NBA has not been a smooth transition, only averaging a lowly six points per game for his career.  Being selected just after LeBron James as the number two pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Milicic has definitely not lived up to expectations.  Other notable NBA players whom have excelled are Argentina's Manu Ginobli, Spain's Jose Calderon, Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu, Serbia's Peja Stojakovic and many more.

Soccer also known as futbol is the world's most popular sport.  The game can be found being played in the slums of Rio De Janiero to the streets of Tokyo.  If born American, the typical dream for a soccer player looking to play professionally is to take their talents to soccer's heartbeat, Europe.

Similar of how European basketball players are attracted to America, American soccer players are attracted to Europe.  Europe is a soccer factory of the world's finest players.  Through academies, players are taught how to play with intelligence, skill, craft and tactics.

There are Americans, however, that have stepped foot onto European soil.  The first to do so in Italy's top soccer league, Alexi Lalas.  Lalas was the model face for American soccer players in 1994.

Clint Dempsey is a success story, growing up in a trailer park in South Texas to making it onto the USA national team as well as playing overseas for Fulham, and now being rumored to join one of the elite clubs in the Premier League, Liverpool.  Dempsey has proven to the English that Americans are no push over when it comes to soccer; his play displays fight and grit, desperately wanting to remove the label of America not being a fanatic of soccer, and hopefully, one day, becoming a soccer powerhouse.

In addition, Landon Donovan has been beneficial for American soccer, recognizably known for his last-minute goal against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup, sending the Americans to the group stages.  If you need to be reminded, here you go...

  Although, his stint in Europe did not go the way he planned, deciding to move back and play in America with the MLS.  Still, Donovan manages to give American soccer headlines, performing well in the MLS and international competitions.  Other notable players whom have gone overseas to play are Oguchi Onyewu, Giuseppe Rossi, Michael Bradley, Carlos Bocanegra, Jozy Altidore and many more.