Why cricket is not popular?

[Flem274*]

National sport of Aus? Not even close. AFL might have something to say about that.

Quick search tells me that cricket is #4 in Aus behind AFL, Rugby league and Soccer. AFL is #1 by a long way.

Does anyone care about chaosball outside Melbourne? Not really. League is focused to 2 states that lose to the club based in the city that prefers chaosball and soccer is a niche sport on both sides of the Tasman.

Cricket is pretty obviously the universal sport of Australia. You'd be the only Australian I know to say it isn't.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I just googled the exact same thing and got a completely different result

edit: Cricket might be high just on participation mostly because it's the only summer sport of the top 5.

 

[Flem274*]

I got a list of most searched and most attended.

AFL tops both lists and I'm not too surprised. Their fan engagement is excellent. They always have full stadiums if covid permits. It's ****in' great how they do it tbh. Rugby over here needs to learn from the AFL model. They get their niche (Victorian yahoos) in the stadium.

Cricket is #2 most searched and ooh hello guys by clicking on the result I can exclusively reveal the most participated sport in Australia.

Aerobics.

 

[TheJediBrah]

I got a list of most searched and most attended.

AFL tops both lists and I'm not too surprised. Their fan engagement is excellent. They always have full stadiums if covid permits. It's ****in' great how they do it tbh. Rugby over here needs to learn from the AFL model.

Cricket is #2 most searched and ooh hello guys by clicking on the result I can exclusively reveal the most participated sport in Australia.

Aerobics.

I'm guessing "aerobics" covers just about anyone who feels like going for a jog one day a month

and yeah AFL > everything by a margin. NSW and Qld might be exceptions but the fact that AFL is still as active as it is in those states despite Rugby is a testament to the greatness of the game

I'd speculate that total population participation for AFL is a bit lower because lazy fat ****s don't go and play it in the middle of a winter rainstorm whereas cricket is perfect for 40+ year old chungus who just rocks up for the beers

 

[Flem274*]

I'm guessing "aerobics" covers just about anyone who feels like going for a jog one day a month

and yeah AFL > everything by a margin. NSW and Qld might be exceptions but the fact that AFL is still as active as it is in those states despite Rugby is a testament to the greatness of the game

Hmm this is a bit regional though. The vast majority of clubs are in Victoria and Victoria have the population base to do their own thing. That doesn't make it Australia's national sport.

From the outside looking in it feels like a larger version of League or Soccer here. The Wellington Phoenix are ridiculously popular with Wellington students, and the Warriors are huge in South Auckland, but outside of those hot spots they have a dedicated minority.

NSW and Queensland are huge, you can't just skip those states and pretend to be Australia's sport. Cricket is huge across the country.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Hmm this is a bit regional though. The vast majority of clubs are in Victoria and Victoria have the population base to do their own thing. That doesn't make it Australia's national sport.

From the outside looking in it feels like a larger version of League or Soccer here. The Wellington Phoenix are ridiculously popular with Wellington students, and the Warriors are huge in South Auckland, but outside of those hot spots they have a dedicated minority.

NSW and Queensland are huge, you can't just skip those states and pretend to be Australia's sport. Cricket is huge across the country.

eh, AFL is still the most popular in attendance and viewership by a distance, even including NSW and Queensland

Rugby is barely even in the picture lol what a poverty sport

 

[Flem274*]

eh, AFL is still the most popular in attendance and viewership by a distance, even including NSW and Queensland

Rugby is barely even in the picture lol what a poverty sport

Yes but if it's mostly Victorians it's not Australia's national sport is it? It's Victoria's regional sport.

No one claimed Rugby Union is a thing in Australia either. You need to do better. Head > Wade.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Yes but if it's mostly Victorians it's not Australia's national sport is it?

Sure it is

 

[Flem274*]

Sure it is

will let you argue that one with your countrymen

 

[TheJediBrah]

will let you argue that one with your countrymen

Numbers speak for themselves

 

[Flem274*]

Numbers speak for themselves

like the 3.1 million swimmers apparently.

 

[TheJediBrah]

like the 3.1 million swimmers apparently.

Good chat, 5 o'clock now, talk tomorrow.
xoxo

 

[Adders]

How Alpha

 

[Line and Length]

Hmm this is a bit regional though. The vast majority of clubs are in Victoria and Victoria have the population base to do their own thing. That doesn't make it Australia's national sport.

The Victorian clubs often look at drafting players from SA and WA and those states, together with Tasmania, have produced some outstanding AFL players. Since the formation of the AFL (1990) 12 Premierships have been won by non-Victorian clubs ... and most of the non-Victorian clubs entered after 1990.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

It could be argued that the national sport of India is hockey. So in essence we just have to accept that cricket barely exists anywhere on the planet.

 

[Dendarii]

same sources say it's #2 in England, and #4 in South Africa. But I'm questioning that again because apparently cycling is ahead of cricket in SA. Didn't realise being a pest on the road could be a national sport.

That cycling stat is a bit surprising, but it come down to how popularity is being measured. In terms of participation, it's not completely implausible that cycling's ahead of cricket as there are a lot people who would be more casual cyclists (i.e. going out cycling at the weekend) rather than competing at any level, although I would have thought that running would rank even higher on that basis. But if you go by watching the sport (TV or live) then there's no way cycling is ahead of cricket.

 

[Aritro]

Yes but if it's mostly Victorians it's not Australia's national sport is it? It's Victoria's regional sport.

It's not mostly Victorians, it's a huge sport in every state and territory other than the ones where rugby has primacy.

I'm assuming you're basing that "mostly Victorians" assessment based on the proportion of Victorian clubs in the AFL. That's because the modern AFL was formed from the old Victorian Football League, with the addition of some newly created clubs in other states after 1987. Which is a quirk of history and circumstance.

But Aussie Rules has been played in WA, SA, Tasmania and NT in their own state leagues for well over a hundred years, and done so in front of huge crowds and with massive followings before the AFL formed. It's always been the predominant sport in WA, SA and Tasmania and a popular sport alongside rugby league in NT.

It's not Victoria's regional sport at all. Although I can see how it looks that way if you're just looking at the clubs in the AFL without knowing much about the historical context.

 

[Aritro]

From the outside looking in it feels like a larger version of League or Soccer here. The Wellington Phoenix are ridiculously popular with Wellington students, and the Warriors are huge in South Auckland, but outside of those hot spots they have a dedicated minority.

Haha, yeah it's nothing like that at all.

It's always been the biggest sport in most of the country, except for the well populated but otherwise lamentable corner of it where rugby is played.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Yes but if it's mostly Victorians it's not Australia's national sport is it? It's Victoria's regional sport.

No one claimed Rugby Union is a thing in Australia either. You need to do better.

Nah this guy^ has done ok

 

[Aritro]

Nah this guy^ has done ok

Genuinely impressed at how little effort you went to to explain any of this to him. It was like you went, "Well the thing is... ahh never mind, I can't be ****ed."