Why is basketball so popular in the US?

Answer 1

It was invented in the United States by James Naismith. It is a sport that taller people can excel at. It has few minimum requirements, a ball, a target, a person. Other team sports like Baseball or soccer are more fun with more people. Basketball can easily be enjoyed with a friend or to play variations of the game like PIG. Also, with the game becoming more popular around the world it is going to rival the popularity of soccer one day. The first sport that elementary school kids get a chance to play is usually basketball. Almost all schools have basketball hoops, and most have up to 10. Basketball only requires a hoop and a ball, so playing basketball is cheap and requires little. Thus, most kids start out playing basketball as their first sport and many love the idea, playing for colleges, the NBA, or on their free time. Basketball is also a little contact sport for younger kids, giving everyone a fair chance to play the game. Kids grow up with basketball, and thus, watch basketball. They love to play the game and get hooked very easily. More and more kids play each year.

Basketball requires only a ball, a hoop (which can be found on any playground, and in many driveways, and, unlike baseball and football, which require large areas, can be played in an area as small as 15'x15'. Also, one can shoot hoops alone. Unlike football, which can be painful, and baseball, which requires fairly substantial skill to keep a game going, basketball can be played by any skill level with little difficulty.