Popularity comes and goes and there is rarely a time when a single thing is always popular. Sure, some classics like the Beatles are always on the menu, not to mention movies like The Lord of the Rings. However, things are not the same in the world of sports, unless you look at association football, which has been the most popular sport on the planet for a long time.
Sports gain and lose popularity all the time. Today, we shall take a look at sports that are declining in popularity.
Football – The NFL
In America, the NFL was among the most popular leagues and football the most popular sports for decades. While it was popular, its decline has been relatively steady. It is still the most popular sport in the United States but it is declining, in a way that is not worrying. But, that doesn’t make it anywhere close popular in other parts of the world, where association football dominates without a second thought.
Baseball
Baseball in the United States is one of the most popular sports, third on the list of most popular sports. Its viewership is declining, and at a pace that is more worrying than that of the NFL. For a sport that is considered America’s pastime, it is definitely losing grounds.
Ice Hockey
This sport has suffered the most in the US. From a solid third and fourth spot, it moved on to being the fifth most popular sport, overtaken by association football, or soccer, if you will. Ice hockey, while fun and violent at times, is not as popular as the most popular sport in the world, which is slowly creeping up and dominating the United States.
Boxing
Boxing was once a very popular sport all throughout the world. Nowadays, it is completely overshadowed by MMA and specifically, the UFC. MMA has fewer rules and accepts a variety of fighting styles which people tend to enjoy more than the noble sport which is boxing.
Horse Racing
Horse racing was immensely popular in Europe once upon a time, not to mention the United States. However, sports like association football have completely drowned them out. Horse racing is still an active sport in almost all countries of this world, but it is nowhere nearly as popular as it used to be.
Wrestling
Wrestling used to be a sport which kids would practice in elementary and high schools worldwide. Nowadays, wrestling (the greco-roman kind) is no longer that popular or even available as a sport of choice in many schools.
As companies invest into one sport and make it more popular, others decline and suffer for it. These are but some sports that have declined in viewership, some more, some less.
