"Fringe" sports that you enjoy!

[Fau Teixeira]

just to touch on something dave said

the commentary isn't very good (including joe rogan) the commentary is at it's best because of joe rogan, that guy is extremely knowledgeable and shares that knowledge incredibly well on TV. I was very surprised at how good of a color commentary guy he is with MMA .. it's crazy.

[Dave Gray]

http://www.ultimatefighter.com/

You can watch a ton of this show online for free.  On the homepage, they have a link to Griffin vs. Bonner, which is regarded as the best fight of all time.  Those two guys weren't yet polished UFC fighters, but they showed a ton of heart and put it all out there.

[Brian Fein]

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!

yes, exactly what I said.  There are entire lines of trendy clothing (and douchey t-shirts) dedicated to MMA.  People have "Tapout" stickers on their cars.  That one big show per month - people don't do anything that day, and often spend money to go somewhere to watch it.  Its not just a tv show you watch once a month.

[MaineDolFan]

I love hockey and follow it closely.  It's a fringe sport. 

Baseball, in a lot of the country, is at risk of becoming one as well.  Anyone else notice that the Pro Bowl out-rates the World Series lately?  The freaking PRO BOWL had a larger audience then the deciding game of the last two World Series.  That's something.

Attendance and ratings in MLB continue to fall.  For now it's still a "major sport."  It has been in decline, however. 

I participate in MMA, however can't get into watching it.  Maybe it's because I actually fight?  I see these guys on TV and realize how bad I am at it! 

[Dave Gray]

There are entire lines of trendy clothing (and douchey t-shirts) dedicated to MMA.  People have "Tapout" stickers on their cars. 

I think that this is just a difference in culture between MMA and other sports.  Individual figures aren't really what's touted in MMA.  You aren't going to find many people wearing a Randy Couture shirt, like you'd see someone wear Dolphin stuff.  Instead, it's about gyms and clothing lines.  So, if you're a fan of Uriah Faber, you're probably also a fan of his training team and the other guys that fight at his gym.  They'll likely have similar styles and mindset.  And they are represented by "Team Alpha Male", so you might wear their clothing line.  That's why you see Tapout.  It's representative of the sport as a whole, not just the individual.

It's just a result of not having a traditional "team" structure with logos and stuff, like you see in the NFL.

[Guru-In-Vegas]

I picked MMA and boxing.  Pretty much the only reason I'll ever venture into Other Sports Talk.