Offside Sound Off: What’s Your Second Favourite Sport?

By: Daryl | January 2nd, 2009

Clearly, the beautiful game is number one. If you read this blog, then you already know the reasons why. And the best thing about football is that it never stops. There’s always a game happening somewhere.

But what if there wasn’t? If soccer suddenly stopped, then what would you watch for your sports fix? What’s your number two?

And why?

I’ll get us started: My second favourite is cricket. Mostly because it’s the exact opposite of football. It takes a whole day (or five) to play and you can do other things while watching/listening. It’s a slow burner that you can check in on every few minutes.

And the excitement builds slowly. When a test match reaches a tense climax after four or five days, the tension is incredible because you’ve waited so long to get there. Basically, cricket is tantric sport.

But it’s not as good as football.

How about you? What’s your number two? Or is football your number two and something else number one? Let us know…

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Category: World Football

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kirby

RUGBY!!!!!!!
Marshall

also, just gotta say, this is hard to defend in a footy forum but, to all those bashing american/canadian football, this sport might seem complicated if you dont know it, but watch 10 minutes of it and you have to appreciate the pure athletic ability of the players that's unmatched in any other sport. if you know the sport better, you know that the tactics/strategy that goes into this sport is also unmatched in any other sport. i appreciate pretty much all the sports played around the world, and you should keep an open mind to all of them
Marshall

my #2 and #3 are baseball and basketball. when i think about team sports on a global world-wide basis, i think basketball will be nearly as widespread as footy in 25 years.
basketball definitely got the potential, and its already probably #2 in team sports in terms of countries with national teams or something... more than baseball, rugby, hockey, cricket, volleyball... and tennis and golf doesnt count as a team sport
Matt

football is number 1! For me too play and watch Tennis,Basketball. But i Have gotta giva a mention to Rugby!! So Rugby is my number 2!! F1s great aswell
Tushar

yeah, cricket.
andrea

Tennis. I love it to death...both to play and watch.
Scott

Hockey. I grew up playing it and watching it. Devils are a great club.
Laurie

I can watch any sport live, but I was trying to think of any other sport I can watch on TV besides football/soccer and came up empty -- until I thought of winter Olympics.

I can watch any winter sport on TV -- alpine skiiing, X-Country skiing, speed skating, figure skating, luge, bobsledding, and yes, even that stupid biathlon thing. I love it all, and I completely lose a couple weeks every fourth winter.
shehan

GIVE ME FOOTBALL OR GIVE ME DEATH.
Roberto

tennis!
Javier

Baseball for me. Born and will die a Chicago White Sox fan :D.
Hockey is pretty sweet as well.
Kelly

American Football is my second favorite, also like basketball and auto racing.
SDRD

kick the can, for sure.
Matt

Lacrosse
Sean

Umm...does indoor soccer count as a separate sport?

Two years ago, I would have said watching college football (American rules) was my favorite second sport, but I've found that it's getting harder and harder to watch with all of the breaks and stoppages. My alma mater apparently played in a really exciting, high scoring Holiday Bowl and won, but I missed it because I was watching a rerun of a Premiership match that I already knew was going to be a draw. Bad Duck, Sean, bad duck...
dp

Baseball...it's a total departure from footy, but from a tactical perspective it's as challenging a game to plot out and execute as there is, no matter how skilled you are--'hit round ball with round bat away from people, and hope'
moka

TENNIS to play. To watch, I think tennis and basketball are tied at 2nd place.
wob

Speed-skating has much Dutch successes. Cycling is a dramatic sport and it has very beautiful landscapes.
wob

Speed-skating (winter) and cycling (only Tour de France) .
Marco P.

Basketball. For its spectacularity.
diana

It is a tie for the second spot for me. Watching tennis, F1, golf.

It is usually the tennis grand slams that got me excited. F1, actually I am from the era when watching Michael Schumacher dominating the sport. At least thank goodness F1 is still as exciting after he retired. Golf...that is if I can sit through for more than 15 minutes! :) But it is just different from football being so fast-paced.

And actually it has been ages since I last played badminton. :P
jots

deffinately ice hockey. quality game
jjf3

Baseball was/is the game I have loved since playing it as a child. But over the last few years I believe football has superceded it as number 1. I love the shared emphasis on traditions, the lack of need for "scores" to keep the game exciting, and the sense that the "game" is bigger than any given moment or event. And while I enjoy both sports on TV, I find that both are better in person. Whereas American football is much better on TV than it ever is in person - jeez, the game stops constantly solely for TV commercials. Basketball has created the same problem. HD might make hockey a more attractive sport, but I'll have to see on that count.
Bra

Baseball! Mostly for the same reasons as you list for cricket. Football you sit down and you'll (mostly) know it'll be over in a bit over 105 minutes. Baseball you can sit down and digest it for hours, with the tension increasing and snapping as the game goes on.
Ak

Politics?! That's only just less pointless than trying to teach the intricacies of quantum mechanics to mental patients.

Anyway, Snooker and then F1, personally. John Virgo for life.
Al

Basketball. Very intense and very fun. However, my favorite sport to actually play is tennis.
Gianfranco

personally if I am not playing/watching footy, I prefer the beer olympics type of events such as beer pong, flipcup, case races, and keg runs.
Alan

Politics.
Weston (@wpazzurri)

i dunno, russian roulette, gladiator fights...
BFFredo

American football then basketball. Think of am footie as chess played live with both players making moves at the same time.
Mike

It's hockey for me. I live and go to college in Sabres country so they are hard to get away from, but not that I would want to do such a thing.
eric

hockey! if you saw the recent canada-usa game from the world juniors, you'd know why. the speed, skill, passion, rivalries(kind of sounds like football, doesn't it?) but the HITS! it's actually a tie between hockey and football, because both sports can be unbelievably exciting or totally boring, depending on the game.
Tom

Ice hockey (on par with football for me). I'm from Canada so hockey is obvious and impossible to get away from (not that I'd ever want to). The speed and flow of the game makes it similar to football, very exciting and compelling to watch. Plus there's no diving. :)
Kathi

ping pong ftwinz :D
simon

5-a-side
Rob

F1 for me for sure. It was actually my first love - I dreamed of being a f1 driver long before I dreamed of Cruyff turning someone in the FA Cup Final. So yeah, F1 is my second sport.
MoMONEY

Basketball- no doubt
Johnny1987

To play is baseball... there is nothing like smacking a ball into the most inconvenient place on the feild and watching the outfeilders scamble to throw one in. To watch is basketball.. high scoring, fast paced, international appeal... whats not to like?
A.

Cricket in the summer and Australian football in winter.
greg

Definitely Basketball. The athleticism it takes to play it is tremendous, as with football, so I'm able to respect that. American football? you got to be kidding me. stops every 4 seconds.
mele419

Baseball most definitely. Since I'm from Boston I've got deep ties to the Red Sox. Ice Hockey is a close third though, again I've got deep ties to my Boston team, the Bruins.
Julien G.

Dodge ball all the way, other than that it would be between volleyball and rugby.
Ronald

The other sport close to my Hear is Baseball, probably from my half Cuban Roots
Matteo

Ice Hockey; mostly to play, and watch it too. It's fast and very skilled, like football.
god's day off

to watch: it's gotta be rugby union esp the interntionals like the 6 nations. seen the stanley cup on tv a couple of times too would watch hockey a lot more if i could.
Chris

Paul's right--it's ice hockey. The speed, the constant movement, the physicality (is that a word?) of the sport make it just like football.
OhYes

I'd watch american football if it didn't stop every 5 minutes.

Hockey is an interesting sport as well but for some reason I just can't really get into it.
Paul

Hockey, constant movement with on the fly line changes, it's beautiful like football with the movement and build up of play.
Sam

I really like rugby, but I dig volleyball as well. When you're watching a world-class volleyball match, you just can't help but be in awe at the size and power of those fuckers.
Nkem

I'd probably sign up for yoga from an exercising standpoint and play Ultimate Frisbee for the team atmosphere. I'd definitely start caring about and watching more American football.
Utku

basketball hands down, but not euro leagues, NBA all day :)