"Fringe" sports that you enjoy!

[Brian Fein]

when your playoffs are shown on the VS. network and maybe .. just maybe you'll have a single game of the stanley cup finals on NBC .. maybe

I think this TV deal with Versus has really hurt the NHL in popularity.  I miss the days when ESPN used to have NHL rights.  The coverage was a lot better, you could see more than 1 game per day.
However, because is has a major league with international teams and big time funding, I still think its a bit above the others on Maine's list.
[/hijack]

[MaineDolFan]

Professional hockey has lower ratings than re runs of "Friends." Fact. With select cities aside (Boston being one), hockey attendance is at an all time low. It is not part of "the major four" in reality, only on sports center on ESPN. Los Angeles. Columbus. Phoenix. Dallas. Tampa. Buffalo.Detroit. Atlanta. All cities with hockey teams struggling to make a profit and anemic gate takes. No major TV deal. Occasional games on Bersus or NBC. Other networks won't touch it. Let's be real about hockey, shall we?

NASCAR has been in decline for the past three years, ratings and attendance. Neither are "major" sports. They are both niche / fringe sports. MMA drawing 750,000 for PPV events doesn't make it a major sport.

Golf, tennis...people - these are niche sports. Sorry.

Let's stop the screwing around / arguing over semantics and just discuss the topic?

[Dave Gray]

I put MMA, Nascar, X-Games and both Olympics.

I'm not in love with Nascar or X-Games, but I'll watch it and I actually understand and appreciate what's going on.

I straight up ENJOY MMA, though, and watch whenever I can.  The Olympics are also cool, but not for any love of the events, but just nationalism.

[Brian Fein]

I don't care what any of you say, I love NHL hockey.  I will continue to watch it.  I gave up my Dolphins' season tickets but I will NOT give up my Panthers' tickets.

I just can't get into MMA.  What's so appealing about it?  People who like it make it a lifestyle, and can't get enough.  They wear it on their clothing and revolve their lives around it.

What am I missing?

[Sunstroke]

Sort of walking along with Brian on this one... I can't stand MMA, despite a half dozen attempts at watching it (both live and on TV), but I am absolutely loving the NHL action now that I'm finally watching hockey.

I also hate professional wrestling of all varieties except amateur "real" wrestling at the college or Olympic level.

Tennis? I'd rather watch C-Span in HD...

Golf? I'd rather watch C-Span with a coat hanger antenna

Professional soccer? World Cup only...

[Jim Gray]

I just can't get into MMA.  What's so appealing about it?  People who like it make it a lifestyle, and can't get enough.  They wear it on their clothing and revolve their lives around it.

What am I missing?

I like MMA, but my life certainly doesn't revolve around it.   I admit it took some time for MMA to grab my attention, and it helped that my son was knowledgeable about the fighters and the techniques.  What really caught my interest was the clash of styles, and how effective and dominant a grappler can be against a bigger stand up fighter.  I can appreciate a fighter with great technique, both offensively and defensively.  It's so much more involved than boxing.  

[Fau Teixeira]

no-one is encouraging brian to not like hockey or to not follow a team .. but it clearly is a fringe sport .. there's nothing wrong with following one. I love watching soccer .. it's the most popular sport worldwide by a considerable margin. It isn't even close to any other. but it's a fringe sport in the US

[SportsChick]

I chose hockey, and both the summer and winter Olympics. I love the Olympics. I will say that I've been watching a bit of the X-Games too and that has some fun stuff

[Pappy13]

I vote for putting Tennis on the list.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Professional hockey has lower ratings than re runs of "Friends." Fact. With select cities aside (Boston being one), hockey attendance is at an all time low. It is not part of "the major four" in reality, only on sports center on ESPN. Los Angeles. Columbus. Phoenix. Dallas. Tampa. Buffalo.Detroit. Atlanta. All cities with hockey teams struggling to make a profit and anemic gate takes. No major TV deal. Occasional games on Bersus or NBC. Other networks won't touch it. Let's be real about hockey, shall we?

NASCAR has been in decline for the past three years, ratings and attendance. Neither are "major" sports. They are both niche / fringe sports. MMA drawing 750,000 for PPV events doesn't make it a major sport.

Golf, tennis...people - these are niche sports. Sorry.

Let's stop the screwing around / arguing over semantics and just discuss the topic?

Well, fringe is the wrong word.  The Summer Olympics is not fringe.  It is big freaking deal, some of the events in it could be considered fringe, but the event itself is not.  The PGA is not fringe.  Disc golf, which I enjoy, is fringe. 

[Dave Gray]

I think that the PGA is fringe, for the topic of this conversation.  ...and so is MMA.

[masterfins]

I enjoy watching Women's beach volleyball, and women's figure skating.

[AZ Fins Fan 55]

I used to watch a lot of Hockey & go to games until the last strike. That killed Hockey for me and it would seems a bunch of others as well. I have been to two hockey games in the last 6 years mostly because they decided to move the Coyotes to the outskirts of town clear on the westside by the Cardinals Stadium. A vast majority of the ticket holders for both the Cardinals and the Coyotes were either in downtown or on the east side of Phoenix. Driving an hour to see the Cardinals play twice a month on a Sunday is not a big deal. Driving an hour away to see the Coyotes play 10 times a month mostly with rush hour which changes my commute to 2 hours is shit. I think the Coyotes did themselves in by building the new arena away from all of their fans. Phoenix used to draw a lot of fans to the hockey games.....not anymore.

[MikeO]

I don't care what any of you say, I love NHL hockey.  I will continue to watch it.  I gave up my Dolphins' season tickets but I will NOT give up my Panthers' tickets.

I just can't get into MMA.  What's so appealing about it?  People who like it make it a lifestyle, and can't get enough.  They wear it on their clothing and revolve their lives around it.

What am I missing?

Revolve their lives around it? For the most part  MMA that matters is one big show a month. It's only on one saturday a month and it doesn't start till 10pm eastern time. Im not sure how a fan could revolve ones life around it.

And whats appealing  you ask.....MMA is what boxing USED to be!! Big time prize fights. Take all the BS politics out of boxing and you have MMA! It's great!

[Dave Gray]

MMA is great, once you understand the differences in fighting styles, like Jim said.

In boxing, you have some different styles, I suppose, but the goal is ultimately the same...punch the other guy in the face -- all people "win" the same way.

In MMA, you have a weird paper/scissors/rock thing going on with different styles.  So watching a Muai-Thai guy vs. a wrestler is different than muai-thai vs. jui-jitsu and is different than jiu-jitsu vs. wrestling.  And all guys have different skills in each area, so there is a lot of strategy.  Some guys like to get a fighter on their back and "ground and pound".  Other fighters like to be on their back to do submissions from underneath.  When those two guys fight, it can be a wash in skills and go to their striking.

There's a lot going on that the untrained eye doesn't know.  But if you watch and listen to the commentators (who are often very good, including Joe Rogan), they do a good job of explaining what is happening and what the fighters are trying to do.

One last thing:  I like the respect in the MMA, different from boxing.  While you see the opposite sometimes, in general, the fighters are very civil and respectful to their opponents after a win or a loss.  I think that it's nice that there's an organization that promotes the sport of fighting, but is able to distance itself from the anger of fighting.