Statistics

Odd_Bloke · 05-29-2003, 10:07 PM

Is it just me or are the American sports industry (and I do believe it is nigh on an industry) and it's viewers (this means you

) over-obsessed with figures and statistics? Save percentages, awards based on complex formulae (the Quarterback of the Year award or whatever it is called especially so). It just seems to over-complicate a good game. Football (ie. soccer) in Britain has nowhere near as many statistics and so on.

Any ideas why this might be?

Odd_Bloke · 05-30-2003, 09:14 AM

No comments?

Undertoad · 05-30-2003, 09:27 AM

Alright, I'll go.

I think it's because of baseball. Baseball lends itself to stats very well. And for decades the pasttime was following the sport via the daily newspaper. They would play every day, and every day there would be not only scores but "box scores", a way of detailing the results of the game in a table format. Television changed that a bit but the tradition remains.

SteveDallas · 05-30-2003, 09:40 AM

Well a soccer-basher might say it's because in soccer, you don't score enough to keep statistics!

but I wont' go there. (I actually enjoyed watching it back when I could get Fox Sports World without paying an arm and a leg. Though I have to say, for an American Football fan, watching Newcastle run around in their black and white striped shirts was like watching an entire team full of referees.)

Anyway. Statistics. I don't know why such an obsession, especially in a moderately anti-intellectual society that regards too deep an interest in something like math to be somewhat abnormal, if not downright unAmerican and treasonous. But my favorite example is Monday Night Football. (In case you didn't know, one game a week is played on Monday night, and ABC, the network broadcasting these games, has been successful at hyping the Monday games as more of an Event(tm) than the traditional Sunday games.) They'll say stuff like, "That's the longest kick return for a touchdown ever made on Monday Night Football," or "He's just set a record for most sacks in a Monday Night Football game." Oh yeah, somebody may have had TWICE as many on a Sunday afternoon, but all that's important is the Monday games.

elSicomoro · 05-30-2003, 10:15 PM

Americans are fascinated with facts...especially numbers, dates, etc. They're kinda like badges of honor, and in some cases, bragging rights. And they also help bring those events back to life, keeping them alive.

I can tell you that Bob Gibson had a 1.12 Earned Run Average in 1968, which is the lowest season ERA for a starting pitcher in the modern baseball era. I can tell you that John Tudor went 21-8 with an ERA under 2.00 in 1985. I can tell you that Carl Yastremski was the last Triple Crown winner in baseball, in 1967. And that he had the lowest batting average ever for a Triple Crown winner, .301 I believe. And I can also tell you that Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for most points in a season with 212 points: 92 goals, 120 assists.

These are mundane facts. You could give two shits less. But just talking about those facts brings back a lot of great memories and history.

Odd_Bloke · 05-30-2003, 10:42 PM

Fair enough.

That low-scoring soccer argument doesn't hold much water.

I have found some season stats for the Peterborough Phantoms (my local ice hockey team:
Peterborough Phantoms Stats (warning: this is a PDF file)
Compare this to Anaheim Mighty Ducks stats (my team of choice in the NHL) for Steve Rucchin:
Steve Rucchin Stats (this is not a PDF)

There are more columns on the NHL (American) one than on the Phantoms (British) one.

And don't put me down on this one, it took ages. :p

elSicomoro · 05-30-2003, 11:11 PM

Hockey is an exception to the low scoring rule, more or less. Hockey action is so fast and furious that many fans have no problem with a scoreless or low-scoring game. We like it when our team's goalie gets a shutout. We like the big hits, the smooth passing, and a killer slapshot. And you've got 20,000 people packed into an indoor arena, the sound so deafening at times, you can barely hear yourself think.

Man, I love hockey.

xoxoxoBruce · 05-30-2003, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Football (ie. soccer) in Britain has nowhere near as many statistics and so on.

Sure it does. You just don't care or keep track of them.
Example; How many times does a particular player head the ball with his arms inside 45 degrees from the perpendicular axis of his body? Outside 45 degrees? Same 2 for the whole team? Whole division ? Whole league? Players 20 years old? 21 years old?
See what I mean? The stats are there but you don't care.

05-29-2003, 10:07 PM	#1
Odd_Bloke Resident Denizen Join Date: May 2003 Location: Peterborough, UK Posts: 60	Statistics Is it just me or are the American sports industry (and I do believe it is nigh on an industry) and it's viewers (this means you ) over-obsessed with figures and statistics? Save percentages, awards based on complex formulae (the Quarterback of the Year award or whatever it is called especially so). It just seems to over-complicate a good game. Football (ie. soccer) in Britain has nowhere near as many statistics and so on. Any ideas why this might be? __________________ "I am after all," said Pooh, "a bear of little brain." - A.A. Milne

05-30-2003, 09:14 AM	#2
Odd_Bloke Resident Denizen Join Date: May 2003 Location: Peterborough, UK Posts: 60	No comments? __________________ "I am after all," said Pooh, "a bear of little brain." - A.A. Milne

05-30-2003, 10:42 PM	#6
Odd_Bloke Resident Denizen Join Date: May 2003 Location: Peterborough, UK Posts: 60	Fair enough. That low-scoring soccer argument doesn't hold much water. I have found some season stats for the Peterborough Phantoms (my local ice hockey team: Peterborough Phantoms Stats (warning: this is a PDF file) Compare this to Anaheim Mighty Ducks stats (my team of choice in the NHL) for Steve Rucchin: Steve Rucchin Stats (this is not a PDF) There are more columns on the NHL (American) one than on the Phantoms (British) one. And don't put me down on this one, it took ages. :p __________________ "I am after all," said Pooh, "a bear of little brain." - A.A. Milne

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05-30-2003, 09:27 AM	#3
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Alright, I'll go. I think it's because of baseball. Baseball lends itself to stats very well. And for decades the pasttime was following the sport via the daily newspaper. They would play every day, and every day there would be not only scores but "box scores", a way of detailing the results of the game in a table format. Television changed that a bit but the tradition remains.

05-30-2003, 09:40 AM	#4
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Well a soccer-basher might say it's because in soccer, you don't score enough to keep statistics! but I wont' go there. (I actually enjoyed watching it back when I could get Fox Sports World without paying an arm and a leg. Though I have to say, for an American Football fan, watching Newcastle run around in their black and white striped shirts was like watching an entire team full of referees.) Anyway. Statistics. I don't know why such an obsession, especially in a moderately anti-intellectual society that regards too deep an interest in something like math to be somewhat abnormal, if not downright unAmerican and treasonous. But my favorite example is Monday Night Football. (In case you didn't know, one game a week is played on Monday night, and ABC, the network broadcasting these games, has been successful at hyping the Monday games as more of an Event(tm) than the traditional Sunday games.) They'll say stuff like, "That's the longest kick return for a touchdown ever made on Monday Night Football," or "He's just set a record for most sacks in a Monday Night Football game." Oh yeah, somebody may have had TWICE as many on a Sunday afternoon, but all that's important is the Monday games.

05-30-2003, 10:15 PM	#5
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	Americans are fascinated with facts...especially numbers, dates, etc. They're kinda like badges of honor, and in some cases, bragging rights. And they also help bring those events back to life, keeping them alive. I can tell you that Bob Gibson had a 1.12 Earned Run Average in 1968, which is the lowest season ERA for a starting pitcher in the modern baseball era. I can tell you that John Tudor went 21-8 with an ERA under 2.00 in 1985. I can tell you that Carl Yastremski was the last Triple Crown winner in baseball, in 1967. And that he had the lowest batting average ever for a Triple Crown winner, .301 I believe. And I can also tell you that Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for most points in a season with 212 points: 92 goals, 120 assists. These are mundane facts. You could give two shits less. But just talking about those facts brings back a lot of great memories and history.

05-30-2003, 11:11 PM	#7
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	Hockey is an exception to the low scoring rule, more or less. Hockey action is so fast and furious that many fans have no problem with a scoreless or low-scoring game. We like it when our team's goalie gets a shutout. We like the big hits, the smooth passing, and a killer slapshot. And you've got 20,000 people packed into an indoor arena, the sound so deafening at times, you can barely hear yourself think. Man, I love hockey.

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