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A spectator sport is a sport
Sport

Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of regulation of sport or traditions and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome , but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports and motor...
 that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches. For instance, cricket
Cricket

Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games team sport that originated in southern England. The earliest definite reference is dated 1598, and it is now played in more than 100 countries....
, ice hockey
Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is a team sport played on ice. It is a fast paced and physical sport. Ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural reliable seasonal ice cover such as Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia and Russia, though with the advent of indoor artificial ice r...
, basketball
Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a basketball through a 10 feet  high hoop under organized rules....
, baseball
Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport of nine players each. The goal of baseball is to score run by hitting a thrown Baseball with a baseball bat and touching a series of four markers called base arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team take turns hitting against...
 and football
Football

File:Football4.pngFootball is the word given to a number of similar team sports, all of which involve kicking a ball with the foot in an attempt to score a Goal ....
 are spectator sports, while hunting
Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing living animals for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to law....
 or underwater hockey
Underwater hockey

Underwater hockey is a non-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a hockey puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into Goal s....
 typically are not. Spectator sports may be professional sports
Professional sports

Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are those in which Sportsperson receive payment for their performance. While men have competed as professional athletes throughout much of modern history, only recently has it become common for Women's professional sports to have the opportunity to become professional athletes....
 or amateur sports
Amateur sports

Amateurism . As a value system, amateurism elevates things done with self-interest above those done for pay . The term has particular currency in its usage with regard to sports....
. They often are distinguished from participant sports, which are more recreation
Recreation

Recreation or fun is the expenditure of time in a manner designed for therapeutic refreshment of one's body or mind. While leisure is more likely a form of entertainment or rest, recreation is active for the participant but in a refreshing and diverting manner....
al; golf
Golf

Golf is a sport in which players using many types of Golf club including wood , iron , and putter , attempt to hit golf ball into each hole on a golf course in the lowest possible number of strokes....
 and tennis
Tennis

Tennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber Tennis ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's tennis court....
 can be either.

Spectator sports require venues or sometimes stadia
Stadium

A modern stadium is a place, or venue, for outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event....
 in which the fans may observe a game or event.

The increasing Broadcasting of sports events
Broadcasting of sports events

The broadcasting of sports events is the coverage of sports on television, radio and other broadcasting mediums. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing the events as they happen....
, along with media reporting can effect the number of people attending sports due to the ability to experience the sport without the need to physically attend and sometimes an increasingly enhanced experience including highlights, replays, commentary, statistics and analysis.






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A spectator sport is a sport
Sport

Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of regulation of sport or traditions and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome , but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports and motor...
 that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches. For instance, cricket
Cricket

Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games team sport that originated in southern England. The earliest definite reference is dated 1598, and it is now played in more than 100 countries....
, ice hockey
Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is a team sport played on ice. It is a fast paced and physical sport. Ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural reliable seasonal ice cover such as Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia and Russia, though with the advent of indoor artificial ice r...
, basketball
Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a basketball through a 10 feet  high hoop under organized rules....
, baseball
Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport of nine players each. The goal of baseball is to score run by hitting a thrown Baseball with a baseball bat and touching a series of four markers called base arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team take turns hitting against...
 and football
Football

File:Football4.pngFootball is the word given to a number of similar team sports, all of which involve kicking a ball with the foot in an attempt to score a Goal ....
 are spectator sports, while hunting
Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing living animals for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to law....
 or underwater hockey
Underwater hockey

Underwater hockey is a non-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a hockey puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into Goal s....
 typically are not. Spectator sports may be professional sports
Professional sports

Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are those in which Sportsperson receive payment for their performance. While men have competed as professional athletes throughout much of modern history, only recently has it become common for Women's professional sports to have the opportunity to become professional athletes....
 or amateur sports
Amateur sports

Amateurism . As a value system, amateurism elevates things done with self-interest above those done for pay . The term has particular currency in its usage with regard to sports....
. They often are distinguished from participant sports, which are more recreation
Recreation

Recreation or fun is the expenditure of time in a manner designed for therapeutic refreshment of one's body or mind. While leisure is more likely a form of entertainment or rest, recreation is active for the participant but in a refreshing and diverting manner....
al; golf
Golf

Golf is a sport in which players using many types of Golf club including wood , iron , and putter , attempt to hit golf ball into each hole on a golf course in the lowest possible number of strokes....
 and tennis
Tennis

Tennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber Tennis ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's tennis court....
 can be either.

Spectator sports require venues or sometimes stadia
Stadium

A modern stadium is a place, or venue, for outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event....
 in which the fans may observe a game or event.

The increasing Broadcasting of sports events
Broadcasting of sports events

The broadcasting of sports events is the coverage of sports on television, radio and other broadcasting mediums. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing the events as they happen....
, along with media reporting can effect the number of people attending sports due to the ability to experience the sport without the need to physically attend and sometimes an increasingly enhanced experience including highlights, replays, commentary, statistics and analysis. Some sports are particularly known as "armchair sports" or "loungeroom sports" due to the quality of the broadcasting experience in comparison to the live experience.

Spectator sports have built their own set of culture and traditions including cheerleading
Cheerleading

Cheerleading is a sport that uses organized routines that range from 1 minute to 3 minutes made from elements of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and List of cheerleading stunts to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games and matches and/or compete at cheerleading competitions....
 and pre-game and half time entertainment such as fireworks
Fireworks

A firework is classified as a low explosive material pyrotechnics device used primarily for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display....
, particularly for big games such as competition decider events and international tests. The passion of some sports fans also means that there are occasionally spectator incidents
List of violent spectator incidents in sports

This list of violent spectator incidents in sports includes events in which a spectator at a sporting event was engaged in a violent confrontation with an athlete, coach or game official, either through the spectator's intrusion upon the field of play, or as a result of such an event participant entering the spectator seating area....
.

Notable spectator sports events where events regularly sell out well in advance and are broadcasted to large audiences include the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the List of men's national association football teams of the members of F?d?ration Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global govern...
, Olympic Games
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
, Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. Held every four years, it involves the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations....
, FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final

The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just The Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the second List of sports attendance figures#Domestic club championship events and the best attended domestic football event....
, Super Bowl
Super Bowl

In professional American football, the Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League . The game and its ancillary festivities constitute Super Bowl Sunday....
, Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)

The four Grand Slam tournaments are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, and public attention....
 tennis, World Series
World Series

The World Series is the championship series of Major League Baseball, the culmination of the sport's playoff each October. Since the Series takes place in mid-autumn, sportswriters many years ago dubbed the event the Fall Classic, a usage reflected in the logo for the 2008 World Series; it is also sometimes known as the October Clas...
 Baseball, Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup is the premier international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board , and is contested by the List of international rugby union teams....
, The Ashes
The Ashes

The Ashes is a Test cricket series, played between England cricket team and Australia national cricket team. It is one of international cricket's most celebrated sports rivalry and dates back to 1882....
, Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a graded stakes race for three year-old Thoroughbreds, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival....
, Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major annual thoroughbred horse race. Billed as The race that stops a nation, it is a race for three-year-olds and over, over a distance of 3,200 metres....
, PGA Tour
PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is an organization that operates the main professional golf tours in the United States. It is headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville, Florida....
, AFL Grand Final
AFL Grand Final

The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions....
, All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship is the premier "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in Ireland. The series of games are organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association and are played during the summer months with the All-Ireland Football Final being played on the third or fourth Sunday in September in Crok...
 and Rugby League State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin

The State of Origin is an annual best-of-three series of rugby league football matches between the Queensland Maroons, representing the state of Queensland, and the New South Wales Rugby League team, representing the state of New South Wales....
.

See also

  • Sports attendances