Why Certain Sports Struggle To Become Popular
All around the world sports have been a part of people’s lives for thousands of years, providing entertainment for people of all ages and genders. Depending on where one lives, some sports thrive compared to others. In the United States, basketball and American football are some of the most popular sports, and in places like the United Kingdom rugby and football (soccer) are their most popular sports.
Even though these sports are more popular in certain countries, there are many unique sports that will never become as popular because of underlying reasons.
The culture and common interest of people in different areas have bigger impacts. If people in the area do not have any history in playing the sport or they do not even know what it is, it will struggle to thrive in that area.
In areas like our very own Triangle, basketball is by far our most popular sport because of the local universities like the University of North Carolina and Duke and how well they perform each year.
Another factor that plays a role in a sports’ popularity is its expense. If you play a sport like football (where one will only really need to buy a mouthguard, cleats, and a girdle), it is much less expensive compared to a sport like lacrosse.
In lacrosse, one has to own their own lacrosse stick, which the price can vary depending on what position you play. Lacrosse gloves are also much more pricey than regular football gloves and body pads. These are the basic needs of the sport, and this makes the sport somewhat expensive for most people.
Same goes for a sport like hockey which is very similar to lacrosse, and the hockey sticks cost hundreds of dollars alone.
Certain sports being expensive to play will hurt their growth more. Not all families can afford to buy the equipment for their kids to play them and even some schools will struggle to afford fields and a rink for sports like these. As time goes by these sports will not be as expensive to play, and they will have their time to shine as the sport everyone wants to play.