Left: Cam Newton - quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League and right: Lebron James - referred to many as one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball. It's a topic that continues to be the circle of debate, which sports league is more popular the NFL or NBA? Now being a kiwi, I've noticed that here in New Zealand basketball is more popular, but obviously it could be different in the country that football and basketball is predominantly played in and the country who produces the best players in each sport. That is of course the United States of America. A lot of things needs to be taken into consideration when thinking about this question. So we're going to take a look at some of those things and hopefully by the end we can come to a conclusion about which sport is really the most popular. For each topic I'll rate it out of 10 and the league with the most points will be the winner. I have also incorporated my opinion in some of these points so you may disagree about which sport you think is more popular, but be sure to comment what you think. I'd love to know. The Greatest players of all time from the NFL and NBA. 1. THE PLAYERS In any sport, there's always going to be those special players who will forever be regarded as the best. If we think about the best players who have come out of both of these codes, there are some who didn't only make and impact on the field or court but continued to make an impact in people's lives when they retired. When you think of basketball the first thing that comes to mind is Michael Jordan. He transcended the game and even well after his retirement in 2003, he is still the most talked about player there is. When you're having a conversation about basketball there's always a point where in the spur of the moment MJ comes up. Just talk to any basketball fan and they'll tell you that Jordan was their favourtie player. Even though many kids today wouldn't of had the chance to witness him play, they are still inspired and have that connection through wearing his apparel and shoe brand and you can even be him on video games like NBA 2K 17. If you're thinking of other superstar players from the NBA, - You have the likes of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O'Neil, Kobe, Lebron and the list just goes on and on. So now, let's talk about the players from the NFL. In Football it's a bit different because usually people ask who is the best quarterback, or who's the best tight end. So it's normally based on each position. But most recently, people have been pondering over if Tom Brady is the G.O.A.T. In February he won his 5th Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons winning 34-28 and for many that was the moment that sealed the deal. There are players before him though, who have taken the game by storm, like Jim Brown who was a supreme player in his era, Jerry Rice who put up numbers that may never be broken, Joe Montana who never lost a super bowl and other players who have displayed more memorable moments than him. So I think that overall both leagues have had exceptional players and still to this day they have players being idolised by kids and being great models, showing them the way. It's very tough to choose which league has the best players because they are different games, but I'm going to give this one to the NBA because of a guy like Michael Jordan who is known all around the globe and did things in sport that may never be seen again. NFL rating: 9 NBA rating :10 Fans from all around the world get to enjoy sport at its finest. 2. HOW MANY COUNTRIES WATCH AND PLAY The NFL is gaining new fans each year not only in America but outside of America too. According to a study 2 years ago, there were millions of people abroad who said they were fans of the NFL and watched it. Countries who showed the most interest are stated below. But Basketball is still a more global sport as it is played in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and although both sports do have world championships, the FIBA World Cup has 32 countries who compete compared to 7 who compete in the IFAF World Championship of American Football. The NBA is also televised to more than 200 countries and territories around the world and have plenty of t.v deals that allow fans to get closer to the game. In 2016, the NBA draft saw 15 players in the first round of 30 picks come from foreign countries and it set the record for the most international players selected in the first round. So I think that just by looking at how many countries get to watch NBA games on television and the amount of foregin players who are in the NBA, this one has to go to Basketball. NFL: 5 NBA: 10 These two leagues hold their places as few of the most favourite sports competitions in America. 3. GAMES PLAYED IN A SEASON The NFL is of course a very physical game where athletes are most likely to get injured and gain concussions that could leave them out of the game for a long period of time. Whereas in basketball, there is contact but there are no tackling or clashing of heads. This has an impact on the amount of games in each season. In the NBA there are 30 teams and each team plays a whopping 82 games, playing about 3 each week. Just like rugby, the footballers need to recover and so they only play 1 game each week and overall play 16 games in a season. The upcoming season of the NFL will commence on September 8th and will finish on December 31st. Then there is the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl at the beginning of 2018, so the NFL season is basically 3-4 months long. The NBA begins late October and for those teams who don't make the playoffs, their season ends in April, for those who do make the playoffs, they finish up in June. So basically 8 months of NBA. Because of how short the NFL season is, fans may shift to the NBA and enjoy it more. But I'm going to give both leagues a 10 just because in order to keep the players healthy, the NFL has to limit their games. NFL: 10 NBA: 10 The NBA'S campaign - 'THIS IS WHY WE PLAY' has been very successful over the past few years. 4. PROMOTION The NBA is heavily promoted around the world. There are even celebrities who visit the shows and many celebrities who attend the games which promotes the game even more. NBA players earn a lot more money from playing the game and then added on to that, many endorsements. I think that if you're a kid in New Zealand you're going to recognize an NBA player rather than an NFL player and that also has to do with the television time it gets here. It's also much easier to go into Rebel Sport or Stirling Sports, or a shop like that and find a whole lot of NBA singlets and merchandise whereas it's very hard to find football gear. NFL: 7 NBA: 10 Beyonce performing at Super Bowl 50 - 2016 5. ENTERTAINMENT Depending on what type of game you like to watch, the NFL and NBA can be very entertaining. A game like football where there are a lot of stops and the game is longer, can sometimes be a bit boring for some. A game like basketball which flows and is less than an hour long can entertain the audience more. I think that the tricks, dunks, three pointers and those clutch moments in basketball is what makes the sport so much fun to watch. NFL: 7 NBA: 10 Right: Chris Matthews of the Baltimore Ravens looking for a catch. 6. FESTIVITIES DURING THE SEASON The NFL is well-known for it's amazing spectacle - The Super Bowl. It's definitely an exciting time as the two best teams of the season battle it out to win the golden prize. The entertainment is something that many enjoy and is also one of the highlights of the occasion. There are performances at the half-time show by world renowned artists such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Coldplay and every thing about the Super Bowl including the action on the field is just on another level. There is also the Pro Bowl which is the All-Star Game and is another great event on the NFL calendar. In the NBA they have their big All-Star Weekend at the beginning of the year and they not only have the All-Star game itself, they even have a dunk contest, 3 point shootout, and the Celebrity match which always provides banter. While the Finals is the most intense and thrilling time of the season and is what everyone is waiting for, it is very hard to compare the NBA Finals to the Super Bowl, but I'm just going to have to pick the Super Bowl by only 1 point. NFL: 10 NBA: 9 Left: Steph Curry and right: Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors celebrate after winning the NBA Championship 2015. Basketball and Football are both great sports, but in this test the NBA wins.
NFL: 48/60 NBA: 59/60
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