The Difference Between Sports in the United States and France

Recently I’ve had the immense pleasure of studying abroad in Tours, France (2 hours outside of Paris).  I have noticed many differences (bread is a staple in the diet, men are very forward), but of course being the sports fan that I am, I have mainly taken notice to the difference in sports.  And I began to wonder why exactly this is, and came up with three distinct things.

Photo credit: Opensecrets.org

In the United States it is a known fact that football (in France known as American football) is the most popular sport.  The Superbowl is one of the most watched television broadcasts in the entirety of the United States.  But in France the most popular sport is definitely soccer (known as football in France).  Why is this?  Why are certain sports more popular in certain places than others?  Well, I have narrowed it down to three things in particular: the location of the place (for example the United States and France), the history of the place and geographical zone of the place.

Depending on the location of a place, people may like a sport or not like it.  The popularity of a sport is mainly based on location.  For example, hockey is more popular in the north because it is a sport that is played on the ice, in the cold.  The north is colder than the south and the north obviously has more ice to practice on.  Therefore it is no surprise that hockey is more popular in Canada and the Northern United States than it is in France and the Southern United States.  I’m from metropolitan Detroit (the Northern United States) and my favorite sport is hockey.  Thus, this proves part of my theory correct.

In the southern United States hockey is less popular.  Sports like football, baseball and basketball are much more popular.  Because of the location, they are more popular.  These sports are essentially played outside (and not on ice) so warmer temperatures are the perfect places for these sports.  Maybe if I lived in the south, I would like a different sport than hockey!  I doubt it, but who knows!

In France (and in Europe in general) soccer has been the premier sport for a long period of time.  This is probably because of the location.  France does not have ice, and it is not cold enough for hockey.  And soccer has become somewhat of a tradition now.  Baseball and football were invented in the United States, so they are not as popular in France as they are in the U.S.

Photo credit: Super Bowl Wikipedia entry

This brings me to my next point: the history of a sport has a big influence on what country it is played in.  Football was invented in the United States, and therefore it is very popular here.  The Ohio league was the first professional football league.  It was established in 1905.  20 years later it was replaced with the National Football League (NFL) of today.  I know that a lot of my friends think football is the best sport, because it is American.  A typical scene in an American household is a family gathered around the television to watch football on a Sunday afternoon (or Monday night.)  Every Sunday my grandma and grandpa watch football; they never miss a day.  Why?  Well, because it’s American of course!  It is the same thing with baseball.  Baseball is considered the “American pastime.”  And even though the real origin of baseball in unknown, it was for certain started in the United States.  And baseball has developed into the sport it is today in America.

Just like the United States, the history of France has a huge influence on the popular sports of France.  Soccer has been around since the ancient times (388-311 BC).  It was played by the Greeks and the Romans in these ancient times, and eventually soccer moved to France.  With France’s long history with football, it is no wonder that football is the most popular sport in France.  Also, Rugby is the second most popular sport in France.  Rugby is a variation of soccer, so of course it would be the second most popular sport.

The last thing that affects what sport is played where is the geographical zone.  The United States is larger than France (in both population and size), therefore there are more people to have varying opinions on which sport is better.  This is probably the reason why the U.S. has a more diversified group of popular sports (football, baseball, basketball, hockey) versus France which has just two very popular sports (soccer and rugby.)  I think this is a very interesting discovery, and it took me a while to figure out exactly why the United States had more popular sports than France, but upon thinking about it, it now makes so much sense!

So, what exactly is the difference between sports in the United States and France?  The number one thing is the intensity for soccer.  In France everyone has been going crazy lately over the 2012 Eurocup.  France was in the quarter finals of the competition, and when France lost I sure was glad I wasn’t in any of the French bars or in a room with anyone who was French.  They take their passion a little bit too far.  Of course, I say I don’t understand why they are so obsessed over soccer, when I am the same way with my favorite sports.  For example, people probably didn’t want to be around me when the United States lost to Canada in the Olympics when they were going for the gold medal.  Let’s just say I was not too happy.  But, I think that even so, the French beat me out when it comes to intensity.

Photo credit: mynexthdwallpapers.com

All I ever hear about over here is everyone’s intensity for football, so I decided to do a little digging to see if the French like any other sports.  And what I found made me very happy.  Ice hockey is a fairly popular sport in France, especially in the Rhône-Alpes region and in the cities of Rouen, Amiens and Tours. Tours is where I’m studying abroad!  So I am making it a personal mission of mine to find people to talk to about hockey in Tours.

The sports in the United States and France are very different, and I’ve pinned down three reasons why: the location, the history and the geographical zone.  When it comes down to it, there not very complicated reasons, but they are very interesting.  While you take time to ponder this, I am off to find people who like hockey in Tours.  Au revoir!