and yet we hear Leeds Rhinos proudly being crowned 'champions of the world' today in a competition only contested by 2 countries. Can someone explain the difference to me?
I'm not sure of the difference, probably in the same respects as baseball it's only played to a high level in those countries. I know a similarity though, I couldn't give a **** about either.
Yes, there's a competition between the best sides from the two best countries in terms of club-level Rugby League, as opposed to the best two teams from the only country that gives a **** about Rounders 2.0
Rounders is just as big a sport in Japan. And don't Canadians compete in the world series as well? Exactly the same in my book.
I don't understand why it offends you so much to be honest. And last time I checked, England, Wales, France, Australia and New Zealand were 5 countries.
No, Canadians don't. Well, only in the same way as Wales and France/Spain compete in the World Club Challenge (y'know, Crusaders, Catalan Dragons, etc).
I can't be the only one that had to google the rugby thing can I? Having looked, it's as big a load of bollocks as the world series. I think even quite a few rugby fans seem to accept it as such.
If the Americans played the Japanese in the final, then they could just about get away with calling it The World Series, as they're the only countries that play the game. Unfortunately, the last time the champions of each country did play each other, the Japanese won, so the Americans won't play them again.
Toronto Blue Jays. That technically confirms its contested by other Countries, but good on the Yanks for bigging it up.
The World Series is so called because it was originally sponsored by a newspaper called 'The World' and nothing to do with its global significance. In fact you used to be able to see the faded paintwork on the side of the paper's headquarters down Wall Street. Just saying like.
Actually, that's a myth. Clickety click full article "The New York World never had anything to do with the World Series, however, other than being one of the many newspapers to report the results. The modern World Series (like its predecessor series waged between National League and American Association teams from 1884-1890) was so named not because of any affiliation with a corporate sponsor, but because the winner was considered the "world's champion" — the title was therefore simply a shortened form of the phrase "world's championship series."
I knew it was only a matter of time before someone mentioned "The World" newspaper! As has been pointed out already, that's total bollocks - not a grain of truth to it.
That's a claim made by Simon Winchester of the Guardian, but it's apparently rubbish, there's no evidence that the New York World ever had any involvement with the competition. It was originally called 'The Championship of the United States', then between 1884 and 1928 it became 'Baseball's World Championships', to make it sound like a bigger event, then later to 'The World's Series'.
Don't forget the yanks also love Netball ( basketball ) As well as rounders and that sissy version of rugby where fat guys chase an egg while wearing body armour .. Thank fook I wasn't Born an American ..
Puerto Ricans , Cubans ,Canadians , Japanese all play to a high ish level . Even GB has a team and there has been a lot of local success over the years with various Hull teams . I think Rugby league is played at a high standard in Northern England , Eastern Oz , a small part of NZ , a few volcanic islands here n there and a small S.E corner of France. so thats all over ther errrrrm wold
@ BCC Why are you so passionate about promoting American and Italian sport, usually while telling us how crap English sport is in comparison?
I really wasnt promoting American sport here, I was criticing rugby fookin' league cos I bloody hate it.
I don't follow any American sports but what I've noticed before is that whatever game is on seems to take forever to watch with hundreds of interruptions so thats why I prefer to just follow European games like soccerball.
