Gallup Poll Claims Baseball and Basketball Virtually Tied for America's No. 2 Spectator Sport

Football is America’s most popular spectator sport, that much is clear, and has been for several years. As this Gallup poll shows, the margin is significant. The battle for second, which apparently has been going on for three decades, shows baseball and basketball.

[Aside: This seems like a good time to pose this question, again – has a pollster ever asked you about what your favorite sport is? Never happened to me. Are they calling phone land lines? Well, I know a ton of people under 40 who don’t have a land line. We all know the way they tally TV ratings is bunk; my guess is these polls have a large margin for error, too.]

If you look at the graphic below, American football is completely irrelevant in the rest of the world. Soccer dominates. My guess? Twenty-five years from now, you’ll see some soccer creeping into North America, but you won’t see American football spreading anywhere else.

Get on board the soccer train now: It’s only going to grow. Please alert Bill Belichick.

Related: MLS Just as Popular as Baseball with American Kids According to a New Poll
Related: ESPN Wonders: Is Baseball’s Popularity Waning Due to the Lack of Gambling on Baseball?
Related: How to Stay on the Soccer ‘Hype Train’ Now That the World Cup is Over

[Bottom chart via Vox]