The other day I was thinking about sport popularity. It seems to me that a sport only becomes popular if people in the surrounding area play it. Hockey is popular in Canada because everyone plays it. Golf is popular in the western world because many people play it. Is golf really that exciting? Do any people in asian countries really find golf more exciting than ping pong or badminton? I would guess no. A sport is popularized by the majority of people within a culture playing it and the rest of the population who don't play jump on the band wagon. Take me for example. I watched hockey when I was younger, when I played it. Then basketball took over for me for most of my grade school years. Everyone in my highschool played and watched basketball. Then when the Calgary Flames (local pro hockey team) finally made the playoffs I went hockey crazy. All of Calgary did. It was the 'in' (albeit really fun thing) to do. Now in my post secondary days I hardly watch basketball at all, but still watch hockey because all my friends do. Are sports popularized by thier inplicit level of excitement or the level of hype surrounding the sport? My guess? The hype popularizes a sport. Next thing. Badminton is popular throughout the world, but is not mainstream in most cultures. I am not a cultural expert but in Canada elite badminton is generally reserved to those who are members of private clubs. However there are many, many people who play casually at public facilities. I think the way badminton should be mainstreamed into the economy is by proceeding starting at the very grass roots level. Sure its nice to see badminton on TV once or twice a year but until badminton becomes more mainstream, tahts all we are going to get. The Alberta circuit tournaments are only seen by specific few. I feel that once your casual badminton player sees the fast pace and excitement offered by badminton popularity will increase. The elite Canadian tournaments need to be held at large public facilities where the general public and casual badminton player can be exposed to elite badminton! Alberta series tournaments should no longer be played in obscure locations unseen by average casual players! They need to be thrown into the open! Or at least advertised in large public gyms! I'd love to get comments and feedback and possible improvements about this plan. IMO it really needs to get done.
badminton here is booming, but couple of years ago people didnt know badminton was a sport. badminton was usually played in private clubs, and to be able to play there you should be a member, so therefore only the elite were able to play the sport, those who really like to play, they do it in the streets or backyard. but when we had an economic slump, many warehouses closed shop and thats when some business minded individuals converted these warehouses to public badminton courts, no membership fees. thats when people started playing the sport. now you see a court everywhere you look, and many are still being built or converted. badminton magazines and television shows started to pop out, tournaments are being held every month(2-5tournaments even) everybody was on the bandwagon, celebrities, politicians, rich and poor. i guess filipinos found a sport where size doesnt matter, if youre tall or short, fat or skinny even if your young or old you could still play the game and have fun, plus its not a contact sport(unless you like to make body shots) thats probably why its THE sport here
Badminton's popularity is also increasing a lot in France (though far behind the "traditionnal sports" like football or rugby). Let's hope the rally scoring won't do too much harm!
good to hear that. In the province of Quebec, badminton is very popular when compared to other provinces (except city of vancouver )
or maybe its based on physical features of the people living in the area, i mean for example americans(caucasians, mexicans, african americans, and some asians) they are big and bulky and they usually play a sport which is physical and where their size is an advantage like basketball, football, baseball, hockey, wrestling where there are bodies bumping and crashing against each other whereas most asians, some europeans and also americans (whose size is not on the big,tall,wide body) are small to average, not that wide, slim bodies. imagine mens doubles being played by people like batista, undertaker, john sena, etc. so i guess people will play a sport wherein they will have the physical advantage. and those few who oppose the norms are the gifted ones.
Golf is a worldwide phenomenon. The sport is growing in leaps and bounds in Asia. Whenever I visit Asia, I always get in several rounds of golf and there's no shortage of place to play either. The popularity of golf has been further driven by the success of Asian golfers like Michelle Wie, a whole host of Japanese and Korean women golfers on the LPGA tour, Vijay Singh (Fijian), K.J. Choi (Korean) and of course Tiger WOODS (half Thai). Plus there is ample sponsorship in golf, unlike badminton.
Yes, badminton is popular, particularly in the Philippines. We estimate that for every serious golf player, there are probably 20 serious badminton players here.
does it really compare with more traditional asian sports like pingpong and badminton though? I'm interested to know, not trying to be confrontational or anything (i have enough of that with my parents )
In my opinion, badminton is comparable to golf. however while golf is popular to the elite, badminton is played here by all levels in society. pingpong is played only in schools as physical education classes here in the Philippines. unlike in other Asian countries where there are lots of competitive players.
I'd say most definitely, yes, especially in Japan and Korea and slowly picking up in China. In fact, due to the high cost of playing golf in their countries, bus loads of Japanese and Koreans flock to Philippine golf courses every week--so called 'golf tours'.
I was told by a friend that Korea has made badminton a national sport now, replacing TKD. Badminton is really hitting critical mass with that country. Also, thanks to the Chinese team's success oversea as well as a maturing capitalistic economy, badminton is getting very popular these days.
Golf? Popular? Worldwide? Certainly not in France!! No one really bothers about golf here, it is only seen as leisure for directors etc... I must admit I don't know any professional golfer's name except Tiger Woods.
i'm sure there are some top level french golfers - wasn't there the guy who stood in the water to try and hit a shot a few years ago? his name begain with V.... can't quite remember.. snooker and darts are the same.. the new chinese players in snooker - not darts yet - but there are more players from outside UK now than there ever was... why they are popular tho is beyond me.. perhaps like somebody said - it doesn't matter what shape or size you are for either of those sports... Coops
I don't know why these sports are so popular in England, and other english culture countries. My father is English and he finds it great watching darts or snooker on TV. I really can't see any interest at all, I must lack english blood somehow! Anyway, in France the most important sports in the medias are football and rugby, followed by tennis, cycling etc... Badminton is getting very popular (number one sport in schools) but has really very little space in the medias (if not none). I suppose the lack of a french champion is one reason. (Pi Hongyan not counting of course )
aaah - be patient my friend - if badminton is the top sport in schools now it is only a matter of time before france produces a champion. Europe has the necessary facilities and competitions to develop players.. Coops
No, schools will never produce any champion. Only clubs and federal structures can do so. In schools, teachers know nothing about badminton and they just have the children play badminton because it's simple, fun, no contacts, the best way of optimizing a gym usage... and because children like it! Our federation is growing too however (though slower), so you should watch out the young french players who will arrive on the world scene in the coming years...
Jean Van de Velde. I suppose he inadvertently brought golf to the forefront in France First the Chinese must learn to consume copious amounts of alcohol and become grossly obese at the same time. Only then could they be considered champion material
HAHAHAHAHAHA that guy looks more like the world champion of sitting on a coach and eating big macs than anything else. I wonder if hes breathing heavy after each dart throw.
It takes all sizes and shapes of players in different sports, and we should not get into a bad habit of knocking other people and sports. We get enough bad press from other sports, and we should try to avoid becoming one of those who do that. If that fellow is a world champion, great for him. Whatever his shape, whatever his training method, bottom line - his has a world title (I am trying to avoid any obvious puns and witticism), which is more than many of us.
