When it comes to sports news, you tend to hear about some sports more than others. This isn’t because there isn’t breaking news throughout the sports landscape, but some sports are simply more popular than others.
Putting together a list of the five most popular sports in 2022 is never easy because there is simply so much to consider. This could take into account sports that people love to play, but you also have to think about the sports that people love to watch and follow.
The top two spots on this list simply can’t be debated, but there are others that could change depending on who you are talking to. This list might change in 2023 as well, but here are the five most popular sports in 2022.
5. Golf
The sport of golf is centuries old, and it has been played by both professionals and amateurs for hundreds of years. Golf might not be the most exciting sport in the world to watch, but it’s one that doesn’t take any special athletic ability to be able to play.
The fact that it requires very little athletic ability doesn’t mean that it’s an easy sport to play, but it provides so many hours of great entertainment. Golf seems to be climbing up the ladder when putting together the most popular sports, and that is only going to continue in the future.
4. Baseball
Beyond soccer, baseball is perhaps the next biggest sport that is played in the United States and in other parts of the world. In fact, you are going to find a long list of countries represented in Major League Baseball, especially from some of the Caribbean countries.
One issue with baseball is that it has exactly become less popular in the United States over the past decade, and Major League Baseball is responsible for that. MLB continues to change the rules in an attempt to make this sport more enjoyable, but it always seems to have the opposite effect.
This sport is still considered America’s pastime though, and you see the future generation of stars every year during the Little League World Series.
3. Basketball
You can thank Michael Jordan and the 1992 Dream Team for turning basketball into a sport that is enjoyed by millions throughout the world. This was traditionally an American-dominated sport throughout history, but things have started to change over the past few decades.
Basketball is now one of the biggest sports as the Summer Olympics every four years, and other countries are starting to catch up to the United States. This is also a sport that has some terrific professional leagues in countries all over the world, especially in Europe.
2. Soccer
This is where things really get interesting when putting together this list because soccer could really be in this spot or one spot higher. Soccer is the biggest and most popular sport worldwide, but it isn’t popular in the United States.
Soccer in the United States has actually become more popular over the past few years, but it is still well behind some of the other sports on this list. It’s just hard to find young kids playing soccer at a high level like you would with some of the other most popular sports.
1. Football
You could clearly make a case that soccer is more popular than American football, but the NFL and college football are simply so dominant in the United States. Football dominates the action all Fall and the entire weekend is dedicated to this sport.
One thing that has helped football become more popular throughout the world is the fact that the NFL is now playing games in London. This gives football fans in London a chance to watch some NFL games live, and they have started to follow along with this league.
Betting on football is also extremely popular and sportsbooks throughout the world see a huge jump in action during the football season. Soccer is close, but it’s simply too hard to argue against American football as being the most popular.