The Three Most Popular American Sports in the United Kingdom

This year seems to be the year of the British sporting invasion here in the United States. Not only is Britain’s biggest sporting export, soccer (sorry, football) being played here in the form of the Copa America but so is its second biggest sporting export – cricket.

Whilst the emergence of T20 World Cup cricket odds on sportsbook sites such as BetUS clearly shows there is an appetite for the sport in America, it surely can’t ever seriously take off here… Can it?

Anyway, debating the longevity of cricket in the United States is a topic for another day. Instead, we’re going to focus on sporting exports that go the other way by exploring which American sports are most popular on the other side of the pond.

Read on to find out what American sports are leaving Brits thirstily reaching for their bottles of wa’er and which games they are staying up late on Chewsday nights to watch live from America…

3. Football

If you were to merely Google the viewing figures of American sports in the United Kingdom, you would be left with the distinct impression that football is the Number One American export. To draw from the wise words of Mark Twain though, “there are lies, lies and damned statistics.”

To illustrate that point, in relation to football, ask yourself the following questions:

Why do I watch the Super Bowl? Why does my Mom, who couldn’t name a single quarterback in the league, watch the Super Bowl? Why do people who prefer motorsports watch the Super Bowl?

The answer to those questions is unlikely to be, ‘an undying passion for the love of all things American football’.

The Super Bowl is, and perhaps always will be, a hugely significant cultural event and as such, people from all walks of life with no skin in the game tune in to watch it. That’s true here in the United States and is true over in the UK too.

If you take Super Bowl viewing figures out of the equation, regular run of the mill NFL games are not as popular in the UK as these two other sports.

2. NHL

The reply by most Americans when the T20 World Cup cricket action has been thrust upon them is to ask why they need another bat and ball sport to watch when they’re perfectly happy with baseball.

The same thing is often said of Brits when they find football foisted upon them when they already have rugby to enjoy, or baseball when they have cricket. What appeals most to Brits about American sports is their uniqueness and exclusivity.

Ice hockey, whilst not being strictly American in origin, is one such sport from this side of the Atlantic that has huge appeal in the UK because there is no British alternative.  Viewing numbers for NHL in the UK are consistently high, as are the viewing and attendance figures for their own domestic league – The Elite Ice Hockey League.

1. Basketball

The most popular American sport in the United Kingdom is, for a number of reasons, basketball. Firstly, action from the NBA regularly draws in higher audiences of British sports fans than any other US sport, and that goes for lower reputation clashes as well as the bigger ticket events.

Secondly, basketball proves itself to be the most popular American sport in the UK through participation numbers alone. There are recognized leagues throughout the country of a much higher profile than football.

(More Britons followed the Celtics march to the NBA Championship than the Chiefs run to the Super Bowl.)

In addition to that, spend any time at all in the UK on vacation and you will notice that absolutely nobody in the country is recreationally playing football, whereas plenty of adults and children can be found playing basketball on purpose built and makeshift courts.

The sport also appeals to Britain’s large European diaspora, of which there are an estimated 5-8 million, who come from countries like Spain, Poland and Lithuania where basketball, in particular Euro League basketball, is incredibly popular.

So basketball, which is popular with young and old as well as natives and immigrants and is played by professionals and amateur enthusiasts throughout the country, is, hence, the most popular American sport in the United Kingdom.