Sports and spectators

[sje]

Why is it that there's such a large variance in the number of spectators for different sports? Specifically, why is it that commonly televised sporting events like baseball, football (both American and European), basketball, hockey, golf, boxing, and wrestling have much larger audiences than chess? Even poker gets far more air time than chess.

A world class boxing event where two guys bash each other physically earns many millions of dollars in advertising revenue. A world class chess championship match where two guys bash each other mentally doesn't even make the broadcast news in the United States (unless one of the contestants is an American).

[JuLieN]

Why does Harry Potter sell more than Tolstoy ?
Why did Titanic got more entries than Casablanca ?
Why do only 2% of the people have a IQ higher than 130?

[sje]

I admit to reading Rowling's HP books. I thought the first was rather good, although patches of logical contradictions didn't help much with the rest of the series.

How many people can play world class European style football? Not many, yet nearly all know the rules. It's the same as chess in that regard.

Is it because chess is stuck with a reputation as a game suitable only for intellectuals? And that's an undeserved reputation as an average ten year old can teach himself the game. (I did.) Perhaps there was a time centuries ago when only royalty and the uppermost classes had the time for the game, but that was very long ago. And I doubt if a single knight from medieval times could play as strongly as a typical street chess hustler of today.

[Steve B]

i can tell you that i attended two games of the Karpov-Kasparov WC match held in NY 18 years ago in 1990
i of course love the game of chess and even i was bored
you basically sit there in a darkened auditorium ..not allowed to speak or move ..looking at the two players who are looking at the board
every so often one of them gets up and walks off stage to return when it is their turn to move
this goes on for about 5 hours until someone resigns or they hand shake a draw(dont remember if they actually shook hands as these two hated each other back then..but i think they did )
nowadays they try using GM's like Maurice Ashley and Yasser Seriwan to entertain the audience with play by play color commentary in a room different from the playing hall
i dont know if that helps much

at the end of the day...chess is simply not a very good spectator sport

No Spin Zone Regards
Steve

[sje]

Perhaps the pace of the game at long time controls is too slow for most viewers. Yet I'd guess that most world class players would balk at having to do battle at a game/30 minute time limit.

Maybe a running color commentary could be generated entirely by programs. A very strong program might evaluate many of the moves as being game-ending blunders!

How about having the human players be wired for real time polygraph or electroencephalographic analysis? The output could also be fed into programs for color commentary.

[Steve B]

i say we let Spooky loose .. right on top of the game board while the two champions are playing..preferably at a crucial moment in the game

that would shake things up a bit ..i bet

Feline Gambit Accepted Regards
Steve

[kgburcham]

Ufc is making millions and drawing huge crowds, and setting records for pay per view. Have Kramnik and Anand set up a board in the middle of the octagon and play a game during a championship fight.

Bristol sells out, at about 100,000 seats twice a year. Have the two GMs set up a Table in the infield and play a game during the race. Of course they would have to wear earplugs.

The superbowl is still a big money maker. Have the two GMs set up a table and play a game during half time instead of some female showing a silicone body part.

kgburcham

[Robert Weck]

The superbowl is still a big money maker. Have the two GMs set up a table and play a game during half time instead of some female showing a silicone body part.

I'm afraid, the GM's would be bombarded with beer cans (don't know whether they are allowed there), bottles and other objects!

I must admit, that i too would prefer "some female showing a silicone body part" during a football game


Robert

[fern]

Truth is that chess is acceptable and even a passion as much as one play it. As a show, it's boring to death. At leat me I have never been capable of looking at other guys games without a yawn. Looking at games in books, the current championship, etc? No way....
I include in this boring stuff to study the game, look at opening books, etc.
Perhaps, I realize now, I am not a chess lover, but a guy that like to play games, an altogether different ball game


Discovering myself regards
Fern

[fern]

Man, I am an above 140 IQ guy and nevertheless, as I said in other post, the sheer thought of looking games played by others guys bore me to death. Clearly I would prefer to look at a good basketball game.
On the contrary, I have known very limited people that can be hours looking at a game in a book. In fact most chess player I have known to date, club players I mean, are not specially distinguished by high intelligence, although they like to think they are.
Probably really smart people does not waste his time and his mental resources ruminating moves on a board.

Looking Anad Vs who-ever-be games is not better than reading Kundera regards

Fern