Nobody cares about the sport. Few care about running as a spectator sport. This website proves that.
Nobody cares about the sport. Few care about running as a spectator sport. This website proves that.
I have watched many a bike race...
What's your point, moron? The TdF is the world's most watched annual sports event.
Moby wrote:
What's your point, moron? The TdF is the world's most watched annual sports event.
The most watched sporting event? Hah, that's cute. Umm ever heard of the World Cup, the Olympics, the Super Bowl?
Moby DlCK
Urkel wrote:
Moby wrote:What's your point, moron? The TdF is the world's most watched annual sports event.
The most watched sporting event? Hah, that's cute. Umm ever heard of the World Cup, the Olympics, the Super Bowl?
Moby DlCK
Ummm...ever heard of the meaning of the word "annual"?
Yes he's an idiot, but the Super Bowl still wins.
Hats too bee axed wrote:
Urkel wrote:The most watched sporting event? Hah, that's cute. Umm ever heard of the World Cup, the Olympics, the Super Bowl?
Moby DlCK
Ummm...ever heard of the meaning of the word "annual"?
Oh wow, Moby Dick, what a creative insult. How old are you? Apparently not old enough to know that the World Cup and Olympics are not annual events and that the Super Bowl is a single-day event that draws a tiny audience outside the US.
Actually, not only does the Super Bowl win, if you added up each day of the Tour (counting the same 4 million people 21 times), the Super Bowl would still win.
Moby wrote:
Oh wow, Moby Dick, what a creative insult. How old are you? Apparently not old enough to know that the World Cup and Olympics are not annual events and that the Super Bowl is a single-day event that draws a tiny audience outside the US.
Eh... I was on your side but you just lost me...
4 million is the US audience. This may be news to you but people in other countries have TVs too.
Do people actually still believe that the Super Bowl is the most watched event? Forget the TdF, the UEFA Champions League final has surpassed the Super Bowl is the most watched annual *single day* event.
Moby wrote:
4 million is the US audience. This may be news to you but people in other countries have TVs too.
Exactly...
The Super Bowl is ONLY watched in the US. The TDF is watched by the US, Canada, Europe, Austrailia, NZ, South Africa, etc...
This is more than 3 times the audience, and there are 21 stages. And there are certainly more total in-person spectators than any other event, other than maybe the NYC marathon (2.x million?). If anything annual were have more TV viewers I would maybe guess a Champions league or Premier league championship, not a sport only limited to one country.
Here in Colorado, they have the "Colorado Pro Challenge" or some such. It's a poor boy's Tour De France. It's passed by me twice. A hundred bicyclists zooming by at 25 mph, followed by a hundred vans with spare tires, etc. Not much to see. They say it brings hundreds of millions to Colorado. I sure don't get it. My prediction-bankruptcy and scandal within 5 years.
We used to race bicycles when we were kids. Since there wasn't millions of dollars involved, none of us took performance enhancing drugs.
jonesy johnson wrote:
Nobody cares about the sport. Few care about running as a spectator sport. This website proves that.
Millions of people line the road of the TdF every day of the race. Many millions more watch it on TV.
Hundreds of thousands of people line the roads of other major road races around the world with millions watching on TV.
No one may care about running, but cycling has quite the fan base.
I will never watch another Tour de France in the future...or before.
crazy raisin wrote:
Moby wrote:4 million is the US audience. This may be news to you but people in other countries have TVs too.
Exactly...
The Super Bowl is ONLY watched in the US. The TDF is watched by the US, Canada, Europe, Austrailia, NZ, South Africa, etc...
This is more than 3 times the audience, and there are 21 stages. And there are certainly more total in-person spectators than any other event, other than maybe the NYC marathon (2.x million?). If anything annual were have more TV viewers I would maybe guess a Champions league or Premier league championship, not a sport only limited to one country.
The Super Bowl gets anywhere around 108 - 112 million viewers. That is a lot. Remember, the US has a big population. I have no idea what the other leagues you mention get.
Someone find the numbers and this silly debate can be put to rest.
i personaly have watched 237 bicycle races
The TdF is the most watched sport in person.. The most people go and actually watch the event rather than sit at home and watch it. and yes I realize that there is no stadium and no limit on how many people go blah blah blah but still it is number one.
joho wrote:
Someone find the numbers and this silly debate can be put to rest.
This took all of 5 seconds to find.
http://www.initiative.com/sites/default/files/ViewerTrack_2010.pdfIt is from 2009 but I doubt any of the numbers have changed too dramatically since then.
Remember the above link is for single day event. If we were to include all of the Tour Stages and count a person each time they watched I bet the Tour would win... Counting all the matches of the world cup, or the entire playoffs of American football isn't quite the same as the Tour is an ongoing event (yes there are stage winners but if you fall back a day you can still win the event, if you lose a playoff game you can't win the Super Bowl). Given that, I would give the Tour the slight edge in popularity and loyalty of it's fan base, much like football it creates a way of life and culture for some countries, not just one country. I think the popularity of a sport internationally is of higher value than just one country worshiping it (America and football). If the Super Bowl lasted 4 or 5 hours each day for 3 weeks you think Americans would be as interested?