OT - Is there room for another pro sports league?

I ask this of the fans of pro sports (which is probably everyone here): Do you think there is room for any more leagues to develop and expand or are we pretty much tapped out in America? I'm not talking about betting interest (we would bet anything where we could find value, obviously, and sometimes even when we don't find value), but as far as league survivability, what do you think? A friend and I were having this discussion of how things have almost gotten out of hand with so many leagues now.

For football we have the NFL, Arena, and the CFL is just north of the border for those that are interested. We also now have college games on TV almost every night of the week. XFL, USFL have flopped in the not too distant past. We were thinking no more room for new leagues in the football market.

For hoops, we have the NBA, CBA, college hoops all over the place. Not to mention the WNBA, and let's not forget about Streetball on ESPN (ummm, no, but thanks anyways). Seems to be tapped out as well.

For baseball we have MLB and minor league teams scattered all over the country. Would a winter league survive, running from November to February, or would NBA and NFL playoffs overshadow it too much?

For hockey, there is no "off-season" league, but not sure it would survive as the sport probably isn't popular enough (one league is enough, IMO).

My buddy was saying that a winter baseball league could survive with teams in warmer, southern cities or domed stadiums (Southern California, Arizona, Vegas, Texas, Florida, etc.), but my theory is that we, as fans, aren't nearly as interested in the 2nd best league as we are the 1st. That's why the XFL flopped, that's why CBA isn't very popular, Arena will never come close to NFL, and I don't believe a winter baseball league or summer hockey league would survive.

Just looking for some opinions. Would you guys even watch these 2nd rate leagues if the books didn't post a line for the games? Also, didn't AFL gain popularity as soon as people were able to wager on it over the internet?

cCan someone please tell me what the "OT" means at the beginning of many of these posts?

OFF TOPIC. My question is sports related, but not necessarily with a focus on handicapping.

OT means off topic (which this one really isn't....at least not to any extent).

Lacrosse is the big rage out here & Denver is really working to build up the league-don't be surprised if you see a lot more of it in the future.

Sure beats crappy sit coms.

Do you think there is room for any more leagues to develop and expand or are we pretty much tapped out in America?

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There may be no room for another league in the US, but def not because you're "tapped out". It's absolutely shocking how few sports events are broadcasted in NA because of lack of interest by the general public. You don't have practically any live(or even taped) coverage on volleyball, handball, winter sports, athletics, tennis or any other olympic sports. Not even teh corresponding world championships. Basicly, any sport that isn't popular for the "crowd"(6-pack sports fan) have no broadcast time. I've been missing several european channels I thought I won't shed a tear about ever since I moved across the ocean.
So, no, you don't need another sports league. Getting interested in real sports tho, may be a good start.

CalState....In answer to your question...NO..Not in the USA anyway. JMHO

Thanks for the response, zee. You are absolutely right about a lack of interest in these sports you mention. I enjoy tennis, can sit through a volleyball match, appreciate soccer, and I'm glued to the TV during both summer and winter olympics. So I, personally, am not a 6-packer, but I have to admit - I'd much rather watch the Brewers and Devil Rays play a mid-May interleague game than watch round 1 at Wimbledon (or a smaller tournament, for that matter). Just my personal preference. I do like tennis (just using this sport as an example) and it is a "real sport" that takes tremendous athletic ability to play, but I can't call myself a "true" fan. It's probably my 5th or 6th favorite sport. It's a good sport, but there's only 24 hours in a day. What can I say? I guess people just like what they like.

What can I say? I guess people just like what they like.

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My critisism was more to the TV channels than to the fans. As you say, you like what you like, but I'm pretty confident every single sport out there could find a fanbase in North America if given the chance. The problem is, none of the sports above are commercial enough for the US/Canadian channels, while they're being given a fair chance in Europe.
Off the top of my head, the progress Biathlon has made as a televised sport is absolutely amazing.
About tennis, I had a friend living in Houston while I was in Europe. He was continuinly insisting about the States have the worst tennis coverage in the world, including the US tennis circuit(US Open + TMS). I found out he wasn't joking;o(((

Ufc

now is the best time as ever for another football league to give it a shot. not saying it could make it for sure but with all of these horrible rules in the nfl now it would have as good a chance as others in the past.

The NHL is about to disappear because it is full of angry whites.

Signed,

gtc08

I'm enjoying the http://www.lflus.com/ .

The fake rack league.