Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

BoMcCready OP t1_j9ak59c wrote

Reply to comment by Make_the_music_stop in Average Attendance for North American Sports Leagues [OC] by BoMcCready

That's a great question! I'd also note that baseball continues adjusting its rules to improve watchability/pace of play, which isn't something you've seen much in other leagues. I enjoy baseball but I understand why it's a hard sell and attendance has been declining for years.

12

Make_the_music_stop t1_j9aljzs wrote

Average game for MBL and NFL is around 3+ hours.

Now test cricket can be 5 days with 8 to 9 hours per day. Sometimes those stadiums are packed the whole time.

7

NarcissusLovesEcho t1_j9arijh wrote

But aren't test cricket matches usually pretty important? MLB teams play 162 games per season and relatively few of these games have serious implications. I love baseball, but even I usually have it on in the background while I'm doing other things. The slowness of the game and the fact that it really doesn't matter too much whether my team wins or loses any particular game suits me. But I can see why the average person is going to have a hard time getting into it at all.

19

Make_the_music_stop t1_j9asm26 wrote

Yes you are right. Test matches are international matches and each country will play 8 to 12 per year. Only half at home on average.

6

LordRobin------RM t1_j9c7yll wrote

Sometimes? Maybe? But whenever I see test cricket on ESPN+, the stadium usually looks abandoned. There's no shortage of "test cricket is doomed" articles to be found on the web, and the ICC has even tossed around the idea of shortening the match time limit from 5 to 4 or even 3 days to add a sense of urgency and more aggressive play.

5