Jazz
11-19-2006, 06:20 AM
First of all, I'll state I'm not much of a basketball fan, so I'm approaching this from the side if ignorance. But I am a fan of international competition, especially with hockey and hope that the game of hockey can spread in more countries.
The IIHF was formed in 1908, and FIBA in 1932. Ice Hockey currently has 44 nations on it's World Ranking listing, basketball has over 87, so obviously FIBA has done a better job in spreading it's game.
What is the relationship between the NBA and FIBA with respect to growing the game overseas? How well do they work together in the regard? (Did the antagonistic relations between the IIHF and North American hockey from the 50s to the 70s hurt hockey's worldwide growth?)
How many nationalities are represented in the NBA this year?
Hockey does have more depth at the elite level (7 nations at full strength can win). But things drop off significantly outside the top-10. While the gap is tightning in basketball, the US is still the #1 power. How close are (and how many) teams in basketball's 2nd tier?
Generally, outside of Hockey's Top-10 nations, the sport itself is not that popular in the rest of the countries. I think with Basketball, the sport is still fairly followed in more of its member nations (ie, I think a World Championship in Japan for basketball would be more closely followed in Japan than one for hockey, even though Japan would not have a chance of winning either sport)...is that true?
Finally, why do you think that basketball has been much more sucessfull in the international scene overall? Does it really come down to cost of playing, or are there other reasons. I can see cost being an issue in some third world countries (eg, African countries), but what about richer countries like France, Spain, and Australia - Tony Parker is very popular in France, but Cristobal Huet's name is a rumor in France outside it's hockey fans - why?
(I don't entirely buy the climate arguement because that does not explain how the Czech Republic and Slovakia are Elite hockey nations, and nations like Norway and Iceland don't really care for hockey. Even parts of Turkey have harsh winters)
Thanks in advance.
The IIHF was formed in 1908, and FIBA in 1932. Ice Hockey currently has 44 nations on it's World Ranking listing, basketball has over 87, so obviously FIBA has done a better job in spreading it's game.
What is the relationship between the NBA and FIBA with respect to growing the game overseas? How well do they work together in the regard? (Did the antagonistic relations between the IIHF and North American hockey from the 50s to the 70s hurt hockey's worldwide growth?)
How many nationalities are represented in the NBA this year?
Hockey does have more depth at the elite level (7 nations at full strength can win). But things drop off significantly outside the top-10. While the gap is tightning in basketball, the US is still the #1 power. How close are (and how many) teams in basketball's 2nd tier?
Generally, outside of Hockey's Top-10 nations, the sport itself is not that popular in the rest of the countries. I think with Basketball, the sport is still fairly followed in more of its member nations (ie, I think a World Championship in Japan for basketball would be more closely followed in Japan than one for hockey, even though Japan would not have a chance of winning either sport)...is that true?
Finally, why do you think that basketball has been much more sucessfull in the international scene overall? Does it really come down to cost of playing, or are there other reasons. I can see cost being an issue in some third world countries (eg, African countries), but what about richer countries like France, Spain, and Australia - Tony Parker is very popular in France, but Cristobal Huet's name is a rumor in France outside it's hockey fans - why?
(I don't entirely buy the climate arguement because that does not explain how the Czech Republic and Slovakia are Elite hockey nations, and nations like Norway and Iceland don't really care for hockey. Even parts of Turkey have harsh winters)
Thanks in advance.