Hello fellow americans! We all know what the big 5 sports are here in the US, but which sports do you think take places 6-10 and beyond?

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kmoonster@reddit

Various martial arts, especially boxing and others that have leagues and/or levels of mastery. WWE type stuff can be put in here, too; they are athletic but not sure if it's a sport.

Biking, various disciplines. Skateboarding, other sports that involve a skate park or other "devices" for stunts and tricks.

Skiing and snowboarding, at least for downhill. Cross-country is a massive "common" sport but pro competitions are not typically the sort of thing you see with other sports.

Shooting sports of all disciplines.

Bowling and various billiard-type games.

Rock climbing.

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Rishik01@reddit

It’s more like

Football

Huge gap

Basketball and baseball which are very close

Small gap

Hockey

Small gap

Soccer

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JuliusTweezer@reddit

If we go by viewership WNBA has significantly more than MLS over here

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Hopeful-Cricket5933@reddit

mls =/ = Football(soccer), 2-3 million people in the US watch the Mexican league final for example, 5 million watch the uefa champions league final.

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JuliusTweezer@reddit

I believe it. I was going under the assumption we were talking about major leagues over here. I was also looking at the average number of viewers for season games, not playoffs.

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burndownthe_forest@reddit

Recent polls show the third most sport that Americans call their favorite is Soccer. More people call it their favorite sport than baseball or hockey.

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TheStrigori@reddit

TV ratings and viewership do not back that up.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

TV ratings for leagues.

Soccer is 4th/3rd most popular sport in general, based on ratings, the MLS is the 5th most popular league in the US. Most american soccer fans watch other leagues instead of the MLS.

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NoYOUGrowUp@reddit

5th? Wow, that's lower than I would have guessed. What's between them and the Premier League and Liga MX?

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Classic_Cash_2156@reddit

Also when it comes to Soccer you have to take into account the WNSL.

Depending on the data you use, the WNSL (the professional Women's Soccer League here in the US) has average viewership per game higher than that of the MLS.

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Classic_Cash_2156@reddit

Don't know how I switched those letters in my head.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

The MLS is the 5th most popular sports league in the US, behind the NHL, which is behind the MLB, NBA, and NFL.

According to this poll/calculation, the MLS is the 3rd most popular soccer league in the US, after the Premier league in 1st and LigaMX in 2nd.

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TheStrigori@reddit

That is only counting professional sports. College Football and college basketball will come in ahead of the soccer leagues in TV ratings.

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NoYOUGrowUp@reddit

Got it. I confused myself about whether you meant US league or soccer league.

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comatoseduck@reddit

They mean 5th most popular American sport league, not soccer league. NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL are ahead in some order.

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burndownthe_forest@reddit

The US is the biggest market in the world for soccer lol 60% growth in 6 years, 50,000,000 people watching now.

MLS isn't the only league people watch. Soccer is huge in the US now.

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LowCress9866@reddit

The US is the biggest foreign market for leagues in the world

Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand) has a population estimated around 700 million people. In 2021-22 there were 386,000,000 views of the EPL in SEA. That is better than 1 in 2 people watched an EPL match

50,000,000 people watching soccer today in the US.

Assuming that number is correct, there are around 330,000,000 people in the US. That comes out to about 1 in 6.5 people watched a non-MLS match

The 2024 Champions League Final had US viewership of 3.87 million. The 2024 World Series averaged 15.8 million viewers per game. NBA Finals averaged 11.3 million per game by comparison

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MetalEnthusiast83@reddit

There is simply no way that 50 million people are regularly watching soccer here. That’s 1/6 people almost. It’s not that popular.

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burndownthe_forest@reddit

Yeah, it's popular.

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MetalEnthusiast83@reddit

It’s not THAT popular.

Maybe during a social event like a word cup final but millions of people are not tuning in for Liverpool vs Man City.

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burndownthe_forest@reddit

Millions of people do tune in for big league matches..

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Gonna_do_this_again@reddit

That's really TVs fault. Look up attendance numbers for MLS games and a whole lot of them are very respectable numbers if not sold out.

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pinniped90@reddit

I kind of blame that on MLS. So much of their content is paywalled that casual fans are never going to watch it.

Our local team will maybe have 2 matches this year broadcast over the air. Fans who go to the stadium know it's a fun day out but it's hard to discover unless you have a friend who is a fan already.

Lots of is follow European leagues but the breakfast timeslot is never going to pull a huge number here. I go to a brewpub that shows Spurs matches, and nothing encourages morning drinking as effectively as this year's Spurs.

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MediumStrange@reddit

%hatvseems right but I think I'm terms of total fans of a sport soccer is going to be behind those two or close with hockey. Soccer has a very die hard fanbase that appeals to a different audience than the traditional American sports who all fight over similar people. Baseball is liked by more people total than soccer, but a lot of its fans favorite sport is actually football or basketbal.

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burndownthe_forest@reddit

I don't disagree with what you've said, but people severely underestimate how popular and valuable soccer is in the US.

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MediumStrange@reddit

I think part of that is that alot of soccer people are watching international leagues. I personally don't get watching a league that I have no stakes in or ties to. I do enjoy mls a good amount, but would never watch premier League for example because I just don't care about random ritish cities winning or losing.

And people who are really into international leagues are generally seperate from the broader us sports watching population, so while if your a football fan you probably talk with basketball or mls fans, you might not interact with international soccer fans because they are generally insular.

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Waltz8@reddit

People watch the leagues they think are the best/ most interesting. Even in Europe, the NBA is more popular among basketball fans than their local European leagues. Watching a team you've an emotional connection to (like in your case) is also valid. There's many reasons for watching sports.

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MsterF@reddit

That means very little. Most Americans favorite sport is football but are still big baseball and basketball fans.

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comatoseduck@reddit

Yeah, there’s a difference between the sports you like playing most and the ones you follow the professional leagues for.

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burndownthe_forest@reddit

Ok? That means very little when soccer rights are more valuable than baseball rights jn the US.

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MsterF@reddit

Baseball tv rights are about 6 billion in the US. Soccer is not close to that

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Lirvan@reddit

I love going to a european sports bar and watching soccer games with the US national team during world cup, but beyond that, I don't follow like I do for college football/basketball and NFL/NBA.

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burndownthe_forest@reddit

I'd suggest watching some premier league games you can find them on the weekday mornings. MLS is included in your Apple TV+ subscription this year. If you enjoy watching the world cup, you'd enjoy watching domestic leagues too. The premier league is basically all the best players at the world cup playing against each other.

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Lirvan@reddit

Large gap

Golf
Boxing
MMA
NASCAR
Tennis?

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LowCress9866@reddit

NASCAR

MMA

Golf

Tennis

Boxing

I feel confident that if I asked 100 random people on the Vegas strip I would get more people who could tell me who won a major in golf or tennis than could name a boxer let alone belt holder. Other than whichever Paul it is

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KevrobLurker@reddit

Vegas is full of degenerate gamblers, though. Main St, USA would yield a different result.

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78723@reddit

I would think volleyball would be in top ten. But are we thinking playing or watching?

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xxrainmanx@reddit

I would even argue that Nascar and golf are over soccer. Then it's mma/soccer tennis boxing. Hell wrestling could be higher than half these sports.

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NoYOUGrowUp@reddit

NASCAR and golf top soccer if you're only looking at MLS, but if you include the Premier League, Liga MX, and the other big soccer leagues in Europe like Spain and Germany, soccer is definitely more popular.

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Bigbadbrindledog@reddit

Then we need to include Indycar, F1, Imsa etc in the racing ratings.

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NoYOUGrowUp@reddit

Yeah, if you broaden it out to "Motorsport" and also include drag racing, GT racing, Moto GP. etc., it would be much higher. I still think it's behind soccer, though.

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xxrainmanx@reddit

We're not talking about Europe we're talking about the popularity in the US.

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Waltz8@reddit

The English Premier League and the Mexican League are more popular than the MLS in the US, according to surveys. MLS overall < golf in the US but if you add all the various soccer leagues, soccer > golf.

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NoYOUGrowUp@reddit

So am I. The TV ratings for the international leagues is higher than you think.

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tbombs23@reddit

Disc Golf!!!

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redbananass@reddit

As much as I love disc golf, it’s like 20th on the list. Pickle ball is more popular.

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Rishik01@reddit

NASCAR’s so tough to place cause I feel like a huge amount of people have been exposed to it in some way (arguably more than hockey? At least in my life), but its dedicated following is definitely smaller now

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YourDrunkMom@reddit

Opposite for me, but I live in Minnesota so hockey is like 2nd or 3rd here. I've never met anyone who watches NASCAR.

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RemotePossibility399@reddit

I think MASCAR is a case study in how to ruin a growing sports empire. I used to watch it quite often. Them they introduced stages and all manner of nonsense and I just stopped. Even me dad who grew up around motorsports and was an avid fan doesn't watch anymore.

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Adamon24@reddit

Honestly, I feel like MMA is probably decently higher

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MsterF@reddit

Boxing is maybe 10th on your list.

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Waltz8@reddit

This is the best answer

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Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit

This seems right to me too. Probably Nascar, professional wrestling. boxing tennis.

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Norwester77@reddit

I wouldn’t put car racing or professional wrestling in the same list with the others.

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Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit

Agreed but the op wanted the opinion of other things.

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Toby5508@reddit

Soccer is way below hockey

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Kooky_Election3895@reddit

All the metrics show the opposite actually

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mustang6172@reddit

I don't know what metrics you're looking at, because it sure isn't ratings. Stanley Cup Finals averaged 2.5 million American viewers last year. MLS Cup drew 900,000.

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Hopeful-Cricket5933@reddit

The liga MX gets on average close to 2-3 million viewers from the US. And liga mx is not a top ten league in the world, unlike the nhl which is the best in the world.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

Oh my god everyone keeps getting caught up on this.

First, most american soccer fans watch other leagues besides MLS. MLS is the 5th most popular league, but soccer is 4th/3rd most popular sport.

Second, the 2025 MLS cup final got 4.6 million viewers.

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mustang6172@reddit

That was 4.6 million world wide; 900,000 American. Thus you're four times more likely to find an MLS fan outside The U.S.

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Kooky_Election3895@reddit

UEFA Champions League final gets about 5 million US viewers, so about double Stanley Cup Finals

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Positive_Device7488@reddit

OP literally said that hes talking about soccer in general not the MLS (nobody cares about the MLS). The Champions League final got 3.6 in 2024

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jtoohey12@reddit

I’d be curious what the regular season averages are tho cause I don’t follow hockey at all but will tune in to the Stanley cup. Conversely I do follow the MLS and probably wouldn’t watch the MLS cup lol

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devnullopinions@reddit

Soccer != MLS

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Positive_Device7488@reddit

Laughed at “Soccer is way below hockey”

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Toby5508@reddit

It’s really not even close. Soccer is below golf/nascar as well.

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Hopeful-Cricket5933@reddit

There no way you are serious.

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Waltz8@reddit

If you're counting the MLS only, maybe. But the MLS isn't even the most popular soccer league that is watched in the US. That'd be the EPL. If you add the EPL, Mexican league, MLS, women's soccer etc, golf is way behind, by a huge margin.

They do "Premier League mornings" in places Kansas City, where thousands of fans fill up an arena to watch English soccer on big screens, on a game played in England. That doesn't happen for golf. People underestimate how much soccer has grown in the US.

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Positive_Device7488@reddit

Not close by what metric? By the little white town you live in Colorado? 2.5 million people watched 2025 Stanley cup. 2 million people watched 2025 Champions League final and 25 million people watched the 2022 World Cup final.

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JustAnotherDay1977@reddit

Really? I live in Minnesota, and even I have a hard time believing that.

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MsterF@reddit

Loons still aren’t even close to the wild.

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SeaRevolutionary1450@reddit

Soccer might be more consistent throughout the country but the places really into hockey don’t have much of a soccer equivalent

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Meilingcrusader@reddit

Boxing, Golf, Horse Racing, NASCAR (in no particular order)

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RobotShlomo@reddit

There's more hockey fans in the US than there are soccer fans.

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alittledanger@reddit

No, not anymore. Soccer has passed hockey in the last few years.

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RobotShlomo@reddit

Only because when MLS was on the brink of bankruptcy were giving away tickets.

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alittledanger@reddit

MLS isn’t even the most popular league. More people watch the Champions League, Premier League, and Liga MX.

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RobotShlomo@reddit

In the US only hipsters watch soccer and they go out of their to remind you that "you just wouldn't understand, and it's actually futbol.".

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alittledanger@reddit

I totally forgot all the Latinos I see at Earthquakes games are hipsters lol

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RobotShlomo@reddit

I've been hearing all these same arguments since I was a kid in the 70's. So far the only thing that's happened is everyone who swore that they knew the future of American soccer and reminded that I didn't know what the hell I was talking about, has gone from being twenty years older than me, to being twenty years YOUNGER than me.

But as I'm always told by the soccer cognoscenti who always look down their nose at people who aren't fans, I'm "too stupid to understand soccer". So let's just assume that I'm wrong.

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MobileOrdinary6827@reddit

I would have to add high diving, gymnastics, and racecar driving

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Trick_Photograph9758@reddit

Football (pro and college)
Basketball (pro and college)
Baseball
Hockey
Motorsports (Nascar and F1)
Soccer
Golf
Combat sports (MMA, Boxing)
Tennis

And I think that's it. After that, you're getting into super niche sports that no one cares about.

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doyathinkasaurus@reddit

Is F1 growing in popularity in the US? I know there's been a big push to grow its profile in the US (hence adding Miami and Las Vegas GPs to the calendar, in addition to the usual race at COTA) and there's been a Drive to Survive effect.

But I've always understood its US following to be coming from a very low base, and a long way off Indycar or NASCAR

So you've piqued my curiosity as to how they stack up in comparison as things stand today.

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Trick_Photograph9758@reddit

Nascar was huge 20 years ago, but has been declining a lot. Tracks used to be all 100% sold out months in advance, now some races are like 50% empty.

I think there's been a social media push toward F1, and so it's gaining in popularity a bit. IndyCar is mostly the Indianapolis 500, and no one pays attention to anything else.

Auto racing in general is still a very niche market in the US.

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doyathinkasaurus@reddit

Interesting - thank you so much. I know single seater series have never been anywhere close to NASCAR, and that motor racing has never been a major sport in the US - but I had no idea that NASCAR was losing popularity, and certainly not to that extent. Very curious what's been driving (no pun intended) such a precipitous decline?

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Trick_Photograph9758@reddit

That's a good question, and I don't think anyone really knows for sure. There are a lot of factors.

1) Feels like there aren't as many star drivers, or polarizing drivers anymore. There used to be Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon, and everyone loved or hated them. After that Dale Earnhardt Jr was super popular. But they are all gone now. There are some new drivers who are fairly popular, like Chase Elliot, but it doesn't feel like the passionate rivalries of years ago.

2) The rules change constantly and the points system changes constantly. At some point, I can't even keep track of what the rules are anymore. Nascar is trying to make it more exciting by giving more drivers a chance to win the championship, but I think fans are tiring of the nonstop confusing rule changes.

3) Nascar fans can't afford to attend as much as they used to. Nascar is primarily popular in the South, and fans tend to be lower class than other sports fans. A lot of fans would typically drive their RV with friends/family to a race track, arrive on Thursday afternoon, and camp there all weekend. There would be events (qualifying, lower series racing) most of the day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So it was like a long weekend vacation/party. When the economy is worse, lower class is hurt the most financially. People can't afford to spend all that money, including gas money, etc.

4) Nascar is looked down on and the butt of jokes by the elite in the US. It's considered to be low brow with redneck fans, etc. Contrast that to F1, which is seen as a wealthy exotic European sport, so perfect for influencers and social media.

Nascar is still the most popular motorsport in the US though. I've been to 5-6 races, but none since Covid.

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doyathinkasaurus@reddit

Thank you so much for such a thoughtful and detailed answer - I really appreciate it your taking the time just to satisfy my curiosity!

I'm an F1 and I was introduced to Dale Earnhardt because Zak Brown, CEO of the McLaren team owns a historic NASCAR stock car raced by Dale Earnhardt, and he promised one of his then drivers Daniel Ricciardo - a huge Earnhardt fan - a chance to drive the car upon securing his first podium for the team.

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Trick_Photograph9758@reddit

Cool! I don't know much about F1 or IndyCar. I watch some Nascar races on TV, and I'll watch the 24 hours of Daytona.

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JonMatrix@reddit

I think there is a reasonable case to be made for horse racing to be number 10.

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Trick_Photograph9758@reddit

Yeah, that's a great point. I agree.

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shibby3388@reddit

Sixth is not just any motorsport it’s Nascar.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

I grouped motorsports as one, but yeah, the vast majority of those motorsports fans are NASCAR fans, and if the other motorsports fans didn't count, i think NASCAR alone would still secure 6th place, maybe 7th(Fighting is popular, too.)

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doyathinkasaurus@reddit

How does Indycar compare? I know NASCAR dominates but curious how Indycar sits compared to the other motorsports series

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ELMUNECODETACOMA@reddit

F1 gets a lot of views the past few years even though it has no in-person presence on US soil (yes, I know it technically does but the state of California alone has more butts in seats for baseball games the day the race in Miami is run).

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MetalEnthusiast83@reddit

No in person presence? There’s 3 F1 races hosted in the US. That is more than any other country!

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ELMUNECODETACOMA@reddit

See the parenthetical, I spoke to that directly.

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MetalEnthusiast83@reddit

Yeah. Wrongly.

400K people on average attend the Grand Prox of the Americas in Texas.

Miami averages over 250K.

So what are you talking about?

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ReadingRainbowie@reddit

No one gives a shit about soccer bro

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MetroBS@reddit

Your assessment is so wrong. Basketball and baseball are about equally as popular, and it’s a big 4. Soccer is much less popular than hockey

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CarolinaAgent@reddit

No one is putting soccer over hockey lol get outta here

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that-Sarah-girl@reddit

Really? I don't know a single person who watches hockey or has a favorite hockey team. I can name at least a dozen people who go to soccer games and/or watch the world cup.

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KevrobLurker@reddit

The Washington Capitals have a good following. Ever hear of Alex Ovechkin?

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unitconversion@reddit

It's an absolute tragedy if soccer has overtaken hockey. It's worse in every way

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Cerulean_IsFancyBlue@reddit

It’s easier to maintain the playing surface.

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Waltz8@reddit

It's not just that. There's a lot more impressive tricks and flicks you can do with a soccer ball than with a hockey puck, because a hockey puck is smaller. Hockey is intense and I have respect for it, but most Americans underrate how exciting soccer can be because US soccer (men's especially) is relatively low in quality. If you compare the NHL (the best hockey league) with the MLS (not among the best leagues), of course, soccer is going to look bad.

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KevrobLurker@reddit

The European diving is more impressive? The nil-nil draws are more exciting? 😉

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Waltz8@reddit

While some soccer players dive, it's not like it happens every single second. There's also yellow cards for simulation so you're exaggerating how often it happens.

You complaining about 0-0 shows you know little about the sport. Only about 3% of English Premier League games end scoreless.

Besides, we don't watch soccer for goals only. We watch to see the fine, accurate passes, dribbles, nutmegs, skills, tricks, flicks, diving acrobatic saves by goalkeepers and etc. Dribbling past 5 players is impressive even if your final shot is saved. Why shouldn't I appreciate dribbling skills because he didn't end up scoring?

Maintaining possession for 20 consecutive passes while being chased by 10 people is extremely impressive, because it's not easy to do and takes high level of skill.

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beenoc@reddit

It also is way cheaper and easier to maintain the facilities. Any grassy park in the country can be a soccer field all year long with the easy addition of two nets and maybe some painted lines. Hockey requires either frozen lakes (only an option in a small part of the country and even then only for a few months), or indoors ice rinks (expensive.)

Not to mention it's way cheaper to play - if you're really casual, you can play soccer in literally any outfit and with any ball, whereas hockey you need skates and a stick and pads and a helmet and stuff.

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Waltz8@reddit

While these cost related reasons are true, they're shallow. If cost was the only reason for soccer's popularity then soccer would be close to gridiron football in popularity in the US. Clearly, sports are popular for many other reasons besides cost. And while any grassy park can be a soccer field, that doesn't matter at the professional level because at that level of play they don't just use any grassy park. The best pro soccer fields/ pro stadiums probably cost the same as hockey fields, if not more.

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Cerulean_IsFancyBlue@reddit

Thank you. My sentences were very terse and possibly cryptic, and you made a nice paragraph out of each of them.

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Waltz8@reddit

Imo, you can manipulate a soccer ball in a lot more impressive ways than you can a hockey puck. Players like Ronaldinho and Neymar were literal wizards with what they could do with the soccer ball. Look up their highlights.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

Soccer is the 4th/3rd most popular sport, but the MLS is the 5th most popular league. That's why it seems like hockey is more popular, because all hockey fans talk about NHL, while soccer fans don't know if the other fans they're talking about follow Laliga, or the Champions league, or the MLS, or LigaMX.

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MsterF@reddit

In what world is soccer the third most popular sport in the us? lol. It’s not bigger than basketball.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

https://www.foxsports.com/articles/soccer/soccer-reportedly-overtakes-baseball-in-the-u-s-as-americas-third-favorite-sport

Also, soccer is not bigger than basketball. Basketball is 2nd place by a lot.

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MsterF@reddit

This means nothing. A poll asking who your favorite team is means nothing for how popular a sport is. Revenue is probably best way to determine popularity. Where do people actually spend their money.

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Waltz8@reddit

Revenue isn't the best way to determine popularity. An MLS ticket and a subscription to watch the English Premier League will both cost less than an NHL/ NBA ticket. 3 soccer fans could collectively pay less than one NBA fan. So your point is weak.

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MsterF@reddit

They’re cheaper because they’re less popular.

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Waltz8@reddit

That's true, but it doesn't say anything about the magnitude of the difference in popularity. If an NBA ticket costs $100 and an MLS ticket costs $50, that doesn't necessarily mean the NBA attendance is higher by a factor of 2.

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MsterF@reddit

If nba makes more selling 100 dollar tickets than mls does selling 50. Then nba is more popular.

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Waltz8@reddit

I don't disagree. You're right. Ticket sales tell us which league is more popular. But they can't tell us the exact numbers of the people watching those leagues. The popularity difference could be by a factor of 2, 3, 4, or 5. We know it's more popular but don't know by what degree.

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KevrobLurker@reddit

An index of full-price ticket equivalents & TV/radio ratings would give us the best rankings. NFL and College football have a lot fewer games per season than MLB, NHL or NBA/NCAA basketball. You'd have to adjust for those factors.

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Bigbadbrindledog@reddit

That's a horrible metric. More people have soccer as their top sport vs Baseball or hockey. However just about everybody who has Football, baseball, basketball or hockey as their top, will like some combination of those others as their 2-4.

Soccer is still way way behind baseball and basketball. I would expect hockey to still be well ahead of them as well but I live in a hockey market so it may not hold true elsewhere.

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MediumStrange@reddit

I think the bigger thing is the geographic density of hockey. In the areas hockey is popular it's competing with basketball and Is miles ahead of soccer, but hockey fandom mostly ends at the ohio river. South of that people don't care about hockey and soccer is more popular.

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CarolinaAgent@reddit

Those are all foreign leagues besides MLS

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

https://www.foxsports.com/articles/soccer/soccer-reportedly-overtakes-baseball-in-the-u-s-as-americas-third-favorite-sport

Also, foreign leagues count to the popularity of the sport. Just because people are watching the sport being played in other countries doesn't mean their views don't count.

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Bigbadbrindledog@reddit

I just looked up the soccer tv ratings and they were even worse than I imagined. Neither the Premier League or Liga championship got over 2 million viewers, the highest rated soccer broadcast in 2025 was the MLS championship, which has 4.6 million views but that includes international audiences and streaming, under 1 million watched it on us TV.

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pinniped90@reddit

No one, except for all of the large US cities where soccer is vastly more popular than hockey.

Basically everywhere outside the old school NHL footprint and I think even in some of those, soccer is more popular.

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CarolinaAgent@reddit

Sure

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Waltz8@reddit

Soccer is definitely loved more than hockey in Miami and other places. I prefer it to hockey myself (I'm not Latino). But if you're talking about which one is more popular nationally, hockey probably still leads though the gap is narrowing

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Responsible_Side8131@reddit

NASCAR RACING

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GreenBeanTM@reddit

I feel like wrestling is probably close to number 6. I’ve seen Christmas wrapping paper with wrestlers on it in stores but I can’t say that for literally any other sport.

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sneeds_feednseed@reddit

I think more Americans have played soccer than hockey, but more Americans have a favorite NHL team than a favorite MLS team

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Reduak@reddit

Soccer isn't in the top 5 except in a few niche immigrant communities. I'd say FB, Basketball & Baseball are the big 3. Nascar is 4th, Hockey & Golf are 5th and 6th. Nothing after that.

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Waltz8@reddit

Soccer has been growing even in non immigrant communities. If you ask anyone from Kansas City and Portland, their local soccer teams are mainstream there, almost as popular as their baseball teams. The MLS overall gets solid attendance. Some matches have had 75,000 fans in recent times. It's less culturally relevant than hockey but it has grown more than those who don't watch it estimate.

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14Calypso@reddit

I'm biased because Minnesota, but I heavily doubt that soccer is above hockey in the US. Soccer is a pretty niche sport outside of the world cup.

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Waltz8@reddit

MLS stadium attendance has been solid in recent years. It's now in the top 8 most attended soccer leagues in the world. And the MLS is not even the most popular soccer league in the US (that's the English Premier League and Mexican league).

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hollowbolding@reddit

not to be an east coaster but putting ice hockey above lacrosse is wild

rugby and cricket before softball and volleyball also a choice. but maybe coastal differences again

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ucjj2011@reddit

Lacrosse, Rugby and Cricket have virtually 0 presence outside the east coast.

Look at Sportscenter. They will do hockey highlights every night during hockey season. I don't know that I've ever seen La Crosse highlights when it's not the NCAA Championship, and I don't think I've ever seen American rugby or American Cricket highlights.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

Cricket is very popular in many communities in Dallas and Houston. Rugby is popular in the northeast, but also colleges all over the country. Lacrosse is also generally popular around colleges and high schools around the country.

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ucjj2011@reddit

Jai Alai is incredibly popular in southern Florida. None of these sports is more popular than hockey.

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MetalEnthusiast83@reddit

Uh is there even a professional lacrosse league? I’m an avid sports fan and legitimately do not know.

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Deep_Contribution552@reddit

I think that’s a pretty Maryland (or maybe broadly mid-Atlantic)-based view. Anecdotally, Notre Dame students seemed to be more stoked for Frozen Four appearances than their lacrosse championships… and of course Premier Lacrosse League revenue is measured in tens of millions while NHL revenue is measured in billions.

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hollowbolding@reddit

fascinating. i've met like one hockey player in my life and there's been a significant lacrosse presence in every school i attended from maryland to long island

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No_Patience_6801@reddit

I grew up in Maryland. My brother played professional lacrosse. My son played in San Diego - where there were middle school, high school, travel teams, college teams, you name it. So I hear you. Others seem to disagree. I think if you’re not a mid-Atlantic to Northeastern (or Southern Californian) maybe the others don’t get it?

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

Yeah i forgot softball and volleyball.

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BradyMcBallsweat@reddit

Hilarious

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TheRealDudeMitch@reddit

Hockey is obviously more popular than lacrosse and saying otherwise is absurd. I’ll entertain the hockey vs soccer argument but lacrosse?! Get real

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Positive-Avocado-881@reddit

I’m sorry but lacrosse is not nearly as popular as hockey and you know that 😂

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Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit

What exactly is Lacrosse?

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JustAnotherDay1977@reddit

It’s hockey with the good sense to stay off the ice.

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HippityHopMath@reddit

If I’m being honest, I think esports deserves at spot at the table.

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Psynautical@reddit

? You want to watch other people play video games?

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Aidanator800@reddit

You want to watch other people play a children's game? Because that's essentially what sports are

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MattFlynnIsGOAT@reddit

None of the major sports were invented for children to play.

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Aidanator800@reddit

Either way, it's just as silly and meaningless in principle to watch grown men play with balls as it is to watch people play video games. It's all about the meaning you attach to it.

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Psynautical@reddit

It's just not interesting - watching people watch tv.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

Baseball was a children's game in England.

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HippityHopMath@reddit

It’s not my thing but there are tournaments sponsored by ESPN and it has gotten Olympic support. It’s clearly on the rise.

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Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit

What is that?

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HippityHopMath@reddit

Video game competitions. League of Legends tournaments, Smash Brothers, Call of Duty, etc are insanely popular nowadays. They even get coverage on ESPN’s website.

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datsyukianleeks@reddit

On the East Coast lacrosse definitely slots in there. Tennis definitely slots in too. Swimming is big too. Gymnastics as well. And probably golf, if you call that a sport.

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SuperBeavers1@reddit

I can't name a single person I know who would put basketball at 2, I cannot trust you as a source!

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Eggsbennybb@reddit

You live in Indiana and you don’t know anyone that would put basketball two?

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EpicBlinkstrike187@reddit

I for one live in Indy and would put basketball as my number 1.

But yea that dude said he lives NW Indiana, it’s practically part of Chicago, the Bears might even move there.

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Deep_Contribution552@reddit

If they’ve lived in New York and Indiana and nowhere else they might plausibly think that everyone sees basketball as #1 and football as #2…

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SuperBeavers1@reddit

I live in Northwest Indiana, they piggyback off of Chicago for sports

What I've learned so far is the Bears and Cubs are popular and nobody cares about the rest of the options

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BluegrassRailfan1987@reddit

Football is above anything else obviously. I'd put baseball above basketball, and hockey would still be fourth. Twenty years ago motorsports would've been further up the ladder but NASCAR has been in decline since 2008 or so, and Indycar never really recovered from the split. Formula 1 has helped bump numbers up but if Drive to Survive goes away how many of those fans keep watching?

Most people I know have no idea what MotoGP, World of Outlaws, USAC, NHRA or IMSA even is. They probably think the Indy 500 is a NASCAR race. (It's not, though NASCAR sanctioning it at one time was a possibility)

Soccer I would agree is growing but I don't think it's quite there yet. I couldn't name a single team in the MLS, and I can do that with the big four sports (though I did follow hockey closely for awhile).

Anything below those is probably considered niche as far as viewership goes. Golf...tennis. I wouldn't know how to pick a 6-10. Would have to look at the sports in the Olympics and maybe get a few ideas.

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cherry_monkey@reddit

Chicago is a great city because we have a team for just about everything. NFL, MLB (x2), NBA, NHL, WNBA, MLS, AUSL (women's softball, I had to look that league up), NWSL (women's soccer, the first team I didn't know we had, but just assumed), and I guess we recently got a professional rugby team.

To your point, I can only name 2 MLS teams (one of them being local) and I don't care about leagues in other countries.

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Worriedrph@reddit

This isn’t really an opinion question. There are polls on this. When asking Americans what their favorite sport to watch was a poll found:

1 Football 2 baseball 3 basketball 4 soccer 5 hockey 6 auto rating 7 ice/figure skating 8 tennis 9 golf 10 mma

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MsterF@reddit

This is obviously not close to correct. So your polls must not actually be telling us much. Figure skating 7? lol

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Worriedrph@reddit

Gallop polls. One thing to keep in mind is if you look at viewership you will get a different picture. A very large percentage of people who watch other sports will list football as their favorite. So once you are past the big 5 you are looking at people who don’t like football, baseball, basketball, soccer, or hockey. Basically, not sports fans.

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rdubmu@reddit

Sorry, baseball and basketball are dead even, baseball might pull ahead this year

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pmorter3@reddit

I think basketball and baseball are like 2A and 2B, like basketball is bigger on social media, but baseball feels more of a part of american culture. Like you're way more likely to see people wearing MLB gear than NBA gear.

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cherry_monkey@reddit

Obligatory fuck Jerry, but I have a White Sox jersey that's red and has the championships around the collar

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rdubmu@reddit

Football

Gap

Baseball and Basketball are dead even, baseball is growing though

Big gap

Soccer

Hockey

Gap

NASCAR

Golf

UFC

Boxing

Horse racing

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NoYOUGrowUp@reddit

I think motorsport is probably close to golf if you group all of them together. NASCAR (declining popularity), F1 (growing popularity), and Indycar would top the list, with small but dedicated fan bases for endurance racing, drag racing, GT racing, Moto GP and so on.

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DontReportMe7565@reddit

If MLS is the 5th league, then soccer is the 5th sport. Sorry.

Could not care a bit about 6-10. Probably wouldn't even acknowledge them as sports.

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alittledanger@reddit

Soccer is a different animal because of how many people watch Liga MX, the EPL, Champions League, international competitions, the NWSL, and MLS. It’s much more diversified than North American sports.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

If MLS is the 5th league, then soccer is the 5th sport. Sorry.

What? That's just not how it works. Most American soccer fans watch foreign leagues. Soccer still counts as 4th place as a sport.

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karmapuhlease@reddit

Hockey is much more popular and consequential than soccer.

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HotSteak@reddit

I feel like golf beats both soccer and hockey (and that hockey beat soccer)

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MattFlynnIsGOAT@reddit

As someone who doesn't really like any of those three, people are going to flame you for this but I completely agree.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

Uhhh no

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CockroachVarious2761@reddit

I'm not arguing with you if you've done the research - just surpised soccer would be ahead of hockey. I wonder if its regional because I know a lot of hockey people, but not one person I know follows soccer beyond their kids youth team.

If you're talking about viewership/money - I'd guess #6 would be NASCAR or PGA/LPGA

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Effective_Move_693@reddit

Football

Large gap

Basketball
Baseball

Normal gap

Combat sports (boxing, wrestling, MMA)
Hockey
Soccer
Golf

Small gap

Tennis
Motorsports (NASCAR, IndyCar, F1)
Olympic sports for lack of a definitive 10th place

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Decent-Bear334@reddit

Football

Baseball

Soccer Basketball

Hockey

Golf

Nascar

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Excellent-Pitch-7579@reddit

There’s not 5 big sports in the US, there’s only 4

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ChanFry@reddit

Popular to watch, or popular to participate in? I think you might get vastly different results, depending on which question it is.

But yeah, I think it drops off pretty sharply after football and basketball if we're talking about watching on TV. At least among people I know.

Personally, I'd love to watch cycling, but it's so rarely broadcast in the U.S. (I end up watching on YouTube, long after the races are over.)

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

Rare cycling W

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zacandahalf@reddit

I think your list is pretty great, my only change is that I’d put NASCAR before lacrosse and put skateboarding before rugby. Volleyball a little high, like higher than cricket. Put running and swimming somewhere. I feel like we’re missing some Olympic staples too.

Maybe throw in rowing, BMX, disc golf, ultimate, archery, bowling, ping pong, snowboarding, water polo, and parkour somewhere low. Maybe even dodgeball in a cultural sense. I’m probably missing a few more.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

I counted all motorsports as one in 6th place, but at least 70% of those motorsports fans are NASCAR fans, and the remaining 30% is probably Indycar, F1, and MotoGP.

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MrTeeWrecks@reddit

Seems like you’re specifically talking about team sports?

Volleyball is pretty popular.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

Combat sports don't really count as team sports, and motorsports barely count as team sports. I forgot volleyball

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Deep_Contribution552@reddit

I think that if “Motorsport” and “Combat sport/martial arts” are taken in their entirety then they would rival hockey and soccer if not the big 3. Golf and tennis are interesting because their attendance+viewership for collegiate and professional events wouldn’t match the big five I guess, but the number of adults who play them on a frequent basis is huge.

IMO, it makes a big difference whether you treat NASCAR, IndyCar, and F1 as all different leagues in the same sport or as separate sports. Probably the same is true for MMA vs boxing vs other similar competitions, I don’t follow those closely though.

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kshucker@reddit

There are metrics online that you can this info.

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_Molj@reddit

I’m cry laughing with the gap jokes, thanks guys.

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RHS1959@reddit

Are we counting motor sports? NASCAR is right up there.

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ChameleonCoder117@reddit (OP)

Yeah, but i counted all motorsports and combat sports as 1 category.

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JediKnightaa@reddit

Honestly should be top 10. They get about 2 Million viewers per race sometimes more

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ELMUNECODETACOMA@reddit

It's tough. NASCAR used to be #3, but it's taken a lot of punches the past two decades and doesn't really have the cachet it did when Tom Cruise was making movies about it.

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sfdsquid@reddit

Where's cornhole?

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No_Patience_6801@reddit

Lacrosse is almost bigger than football in many Mid Atlantic and Northeast states.

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Positive-Avocado-881@reddit

No it’s not. It’s popular, but more popular than the NFL? 😂

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No_Patience_6801@reddit

No. I meant it should be in the top 10 though. But definitely not more than football. The question was what should be numbers 6-10.

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Positive-Avocado-881@reddit

It’s not in the top 10 because no one really watches it. Tennis, golf, motor sports, etc have huge events where people watch annually even if they don’t watch year round. Can’t say the same for lacrosse

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No_Patience_6801@reddit

Yeah. You’re probably right. It’s still weird for me to compare something like lacrosse to watching golf or auto racing. You’re not watching the athlete in the first case and you’re slogging through hours of slow twitch boredom for the latter. It’s a personal thing I guess. I don’t understand how it’s more fun to watch something like that compared to the fastest game on two feet.

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pinniped90@reddit

Golf

Motorsports (NASCAR plus F1 mainly...plus whatever is left of Indycar)

Running (5k through Marathon)

Pickleball (come at me bro)

MMA

The ones that have fallen in the past 30-40 years are tennis, boxing, and horse racing. Those used to have dedicated writers from major newspapers and now they exist in pretty niche circles or as big annual events like the Kentucky Derby or US Tennis Open.

Our local horse track closed, our boxing scene is dead, and probably 75% of our public tennis courts have been converted to pickleball.

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sfdsquid@reddit

I don't think NASCAR is a sport in the same way that the other sports people are mentioning are.

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Realk314@reddit

American football is 1, i don't think basketball can touch baseball for rank 2 though. basketball 3 golf is probably at 4 , Hockey 5 ,then motorsports including nascar. Tennis settling in at 6, drinking beer and sitting on the couch posting on reddit is a solid 7.

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jacksonbeya@reddit

I would say NASCAR for sure is top 8, I think it’s depends on if we are talking just NASCAR (7th), overall motor sports (6th). It probably gets bumped down if Pro Wrestling is considered a sport.

Golf, Tennis, MMA, general extreme sports, and the Olympics (cheating kinda, but if not general Olympics then specifically Track and Field) probably are the rest of the top ten/eleven but it’s hard because they are all either highly regional (including specifically NASCAR), or generally separated by age (golf more for older folks and extreme sports/MMA skew younger for example).

So the answer you get are gonna be highly dependent on the age and location of the person your asking.

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Prize_Ambassador_356@reddit

Football
Baseball/Basketball
Hockey
Everything else

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gonzagylot00@reddit

Number 10: Bowling

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Eagle_Fang135@reddit

Boxing/MMA/Wrestling NASCAR Golf Tennis Bowling

all are broadcast on tv

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MsterF@reddit

There is not a large gap at all between baseball and basketball. Baseball is higher by most metrics.

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Far-Increase8154@reddit

I feel like nascar has a better draw than the ufc

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SeaRevolutionary1450@reddit

So much of that was affordability. I think it’ll flip with the new paramount deal.

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MsterF@reddit

It may. NASCAR used to be so big but it’s dipped so much

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Far-Increase8154@reddit

With the new paramount plus deal and PPVs going away for the ufc and Netflix getting into MMA hopefully the sport gets more popular

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vashtachordata@reddit

In my city (Houston) baseball is almost as big as football.

I think here football, baseball and basketball used be to tied. Maybe basketball is a bit behind now, but college basketball has become huge here, at least amongst the people I’m around.

Then soccer.

5th I’d say is motorsports

Rugby and cricket are more popular here than you’d think depending on demographics.

We don’t have much as far as hockey goes. Back in the 90’s there was a minor league team and I remember the games being pretty fun.

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Kooky_Election3895@reddit

Volleyball, Swimming, Track and Gymnastics are all above Cricket. I don’t know if Cricket makes the top 20 and the only people who watch it are immigrants from South Asia.