Five fundamental differences between US and European Sports

Sports in the United States is big, brash, loud and above all extremely rich. Contrast this with sports on the European continent and you'll notice a truckload of differences, so much so that it's easy to understand why European sports will not take off in the States, while American sports will never be accepted fully here. Here are five reasons why:

1. Americans cannot handle viewing a sport, unless it's divided in byte-sized chunks. That's why NBA games are divided in quarters, Indycar races are interrupted by yellow flags, NFL moves along play by play, and baseball goes from out to out. Sports with longer, uninterrupted flows of play, like soccer and rugby don't appeal as much to the average American viewer. Likewise a European sportsfan can't stand the continuous breaks, which he would always chalk up to unnecessary commercials...
   
2. In Europe debating the referee's calls is a given, but to an American it's outrageous, and always exciting. In Europe referees control the contest in the calmest way possible; in the USA referees can get mad, make wild, excessive gestures and send the coach off the field.
3. Unless it's an international contest, very few European sports events open with the national anthems. In the States every sports event starts with the Star Spangled Banner... even your backyard touch football game.
4. A commentator in the United States is always supported by a sidekick, the color man, who keeps the viewers, listeners, fans entertained with useless facts, side stories, rumours and general mockery of the best paid player on the team. Nowadays washed-up has-been athletes provide in-game real-time analysis on the events. That's three people employed by the network. In Europe sports commentators during the game are practically always alone, and frankly - apart from Jack van Gelder - extremely bland and boring. Analysis is something you do during half-time or after the game. The network only employs one guy to do the talking, and he often doesn't even get to go to the game at all.
   
5. Aah, statistics. The American loves them, because it allows otherwise menial athletes to achieve feats of epic proportions, thanks to a mathmetical coincidence. For a country that's only been around for slightly over two centuries, it's a quick way to fill up a person's history and trivia sections in wikipedia. Stats also improve viewership when a record is broken or a milestone is reached, so statistics have commercial benefits as well.
   Fans in Europe... are less enthused about mindless numbers.