Lurker Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 The NBA put Chinese basketball on the map Boss ab yeh kya baat huyi? In BB the ONLY map that is considered is the NBA. Who cares about European or South American league? My point was China was always a great BB country and Yao going into NBA just put them on the NBA roasters. It did not do anything more than that. That is a strange analogy of yours. Obviously not everyone who follows F1 would go out and drive go-karts every weekend now would they ? Motorsport is expensive - it's not like basketball, where you only need a ball and a hoop, playing in the corner of your apartment complex. Viewership is an accurate enough indicator of F1's popularity, so just because a handful of people are registered racers doesn't mean that it's not a closely followed sport. To race you also need tracks, and racing infrastructure in India is almost non-existent, BTW. F1's arrival would change that and consequently, more people could take to it. You bring up an excellent point Predz. Motorsports is an expensive sports and hence one reason why it is more popular in Europe perhaps? What are the odds that an average Indian would latch on to F1 when they would rarely ever be able to do anything remotely associated with the game? The situation may be different in Bahrain or some place else but India? By the way here is a questio for you now(regarding NBA and F1)- If you ask an average Indian about 5 great players today in F1 and NBA, what do you think he would be more at comfort in answering?? Do you think an average Indian knows more about NBA or F1? Again, like i said before - F1 is a viewership sport for the most part - NOT a participation sport. That is what makes it slightly different. So if a race rakes in 91 million viewers, it can be deemed a success - regardless of whether people are racing cars or not. Again, can you find me one single NBA game which has generated a viewership of 91 million ? This part I would agree. Yes F1 is indeed a viewership sport. Question - On this MB who is a F1 fan? Are you a F1 fan by any chance? xxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holysmoke Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 If you ask an average Indian about 5 great players today in F1 and NBA, what do you think he would be more at comfort in answering?? F1. No doubt about it. People in India know Micheal Jordan, but I doubt the average Indian will know any other Basketball player. On the other hand, everybody knows Schumacher and Ferrari. Even Alonso, Barrichelo, Hakkinen Coulthard were very famous. Hell, every sunday, in the news, and even on FM radio, they inform you about what happenned in the race, who was on pole, who won, in what order, etc. I think the only time they mention basketball is when someone wins the NBA(one day in a year). I am a F1 fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predator_05 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Boss ab yeh kya baat huyi? In BB the ONLY map that is considered is the NBA. Who cares about European or South American league? My point was China was always a great BB country and Yao going into NBA just put them on the NBA roasters. It did not do anything more than that. Arrey bhai saab, you're totally missing my point. Chinese basketball WAS in the same position Indian racing is in NOW. You bring up an excellent point Predz. Motorsports is an expensive sports and hence one reason why it is more popular in Europe perhaps? What are the odds that an average Indian would latch on to F1 when they would rarely ever be able to do anything remotely associated with the game? The situation may be different in Bahrain or some place else but India? hahaha. I am going to stop just short of calling you ignorant. As far as overall popularity is concerned, F1 is the biggest sport in the world if you discount football (soccer). Hence why they have races in EVERY continent (bar Africa). You don't have to participate in the sport to enjoy it because it's a sport which thrives on viewership and fan interest, not necessarily participation. There will be a handful of people who will take it up though, a future generation of racers. If it happens in Brazil, why can't it happen in India ? By the way here is a questio for you now(regarding NBA and F1)- If you ask an average Indian about 5 great players today in F1 and NBA' date= what do you think he would be more at comfort in answering?? Do you think an average Indian knows more about NBA or F1? I would BET MY BOTTOM DOLLAR that most Indian school kids could tell you who MICHAEL SCHUMACHER is. But Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O'Neal ? Definitely NOT. Lurker, stop it - you know that nobody gives a flying frig about the NBA in India, not in the same way that they care about F1. I always like to wear caps BTW, and a little over a year ago when i was visiting family in New Delhi, i wore my favourite blue Renault F1 cap when visiting the school which my neighbour's son went to. To my surprise, when i walked into the playground a couple of kids started screaming, "Fernando, oye Fernando !". I was shocked. Seriously. These kids could identify with the blue and yellow Renault logo and knew Fernando Alonso drove for them. True story. Question - On this MB who is a F1 fan? Are you a F1 fan by any chance? xxxx I watch my fair share of races. Holysmoke talked about F-1 following in Mumbai in this very thread. Dhondy follows it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 Not all investments will benefit the poor. Sure, there are 250 million people who have a tough living, but why should the interests of the burgeoning middle class - the real FORCE behind India's economic growth - be compromised ? I suppose the Delhi Metro was a waste then - after all, the millions of destitutes in India can't even afford to ride it ? Forget the fact that millions of working class people have benefited from it, and thousands more made a livelihood out of building it. The Delhi Metro was an investment into infrastructure, while money into F1 cant be compared in the same vein. And your argument about investing in the middle class since that is where all the money comes from is a bit surprising actually. India has a 300 million middle class, while it has 400 million poor people. This is not a question of choosing between the two. And tell me , how many millions of the 300 million middle class you are talking about are going to be benefited from F1 anyway ? And i have just question for all. If somebody comes up with ONE investment , just ONE investment , which is proved to bring in more money ( or value ) than F1 , will you give up the F1 plans ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I would BET MY BOTTOM DOLLAR that most Indian school kids could tell you who MICHAEL SCHUMACHER is. But Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O'Neal ? Definitely NOT. Lurker, stop it - you know that nobody gives a flying frig about the NBA in India, not in the same way that they care about F1. Really? I would say more Indian kid knows of a Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson or even as back as Larry Bird though you would be hard-pressed to eek out any information about the likes of Nigel Manshell. Schumacher is pretty popular I will give you that, but can safely say Jordon was the more popular of the two Michaels. I always like to wear caps BTW, and a little over a year ago when i was visiting family in New Delhi, i wore my favourite blue Renault F1 cap when visiting the school which my neighbour's son went to. To my surprise, when i walked into the playground a couple of kids started screaming, "Fernando, oye Fernando !". I was shocked. Seriously. These kids could identify with the blue and yellow Renault logo and knew Fernando Alonso drove for them. True story. Good for you. And Alonso Fernando. :thumbs_up: I watch my fair share of races. Holysmoke talked about F-1 following in Mumbai in this very thread. Dhondy follows it as well. Good good. I know Dhondy used to follow it, not sure if he still does. Holy is an interesting case. I always thought BB was more popular in Bombay, will check with him. xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 Question - On this MB who is a F1 fan? Are you a F1 fan by any chance? xxxx I think i qualify for being one. From 1998 to 2005 , I watched almost every single race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I think i qualify for being one. From 1998 to 2005 , I watched almost every single race. Good to know that. Where did you pick that love for F1 Sriram? Was it when you were in India or when you moved abroad? Every single race..thats something. xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketics Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 well even the english/hindi news channel of India don't give updates of basketball because even they consider it as a less famous sport in India. f1 is certainly more famous and popular too.... if u go to espnstar website.. u will see tonz of Indians who are living in India playing those F1 games started by them.. just like super selector of espnstar, they have this super selector of f1, lot of participants from India take part in it.. this indigates a bit that Indians do have some interest in this sport.. f1 is popular Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holysmoke Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 F1 is much much more popular than B'ball in Bombay. There's not even a single shred of doubt in my mind. In any big town or city, F1 wins by a mile!. I know this because all my cousins, friends, brothers friends, etc all follow F1, wear the caps, proudly show themselves to be BMW fans/Ferrari fans/etc. I am yet to meet someone living in India who will say that he is a diehard Knicks fan/pacers fan etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 F1 is much much more popular than B'ball in Bombay. There's not even a single shred of doubt in my mind. In any big town or city' date=' F1 wins by a mile!. I know this because all my cousins, friends, brothers friends, etc all follow F1, wear the caps, proudly show themselves to be BMW fans/Ferrari fans/etc. I am yet to meet someone living in India who will say that he is a diehard Knicks fan/pacers fan etc...[/quote'] Interesting. Have always thought BB was more popular in Bombay. You have a fair point in suggesting that you may find a Ferrari fan but would rarely run into a Knicks/Pacers fan. xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predator_05 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 The Delhi Metro was an investment into infrastructure, while money into F1 cant be compared in the same vein. And your argument about investing in the middle class since that is where all the money comes from is a bit surprising actually. India has a 300 million middle class, while it has 400 million poor people. This is not a question of choosing between the two. And tell me , how many millions of the 300 million middle class you are talking about are going to be benefited from F1 anyway ? And i have just question for all. If somebody comes up with ONE investment , just ONE investment , which is proved to bring in more money ( or value ) than F1 , will you give up the F1 plans ? Sure. F1 will take some matching though. It can generate a substantial amount of money through ticketing, television rights, merchandising. Not to mention the duty that can be charged on F1 crews which include trucks and other maintenence equipment. You are talking mega-bucks. So it's not like there is no money to be made - even though it may not be on the same scale as the Metro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predator_05 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Really? I would say more Indian kid knows of a Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson or even as back as Larry Bird though you would be hard-pressed to eek out any information about the likes of Nigel Manshell. Schumacher is pretty popular I will give you that, but can safely say Jordon was the more popular of the two Michaels. xxx Dude, i went to school in India during the mid-late 90's when the Bulls won the NBA championship all the time. I don't remember anyone talking about Michael Jordan, but they knew who Schumacher was and could name all the top cars; the Ferraris, the McClarens. Finding an Indian who knows Larry Bird or Magic Johnson would akin to finding an arab in the Antarctic...:hysterical: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predator_05 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 So Lurker, now do you realise why F1 is such an enticing proposition for India ? Don't tell me i wasted all this time on you for nothing...:hysterical: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Dude' date=' i went to school in India during the mid-late 90's when the Bulls won the NBA championship all the time. I don't remember anyone talking about Michael Jordan, but they knew who Schumacher was and could name all the top cars; the Ferraris, the McClarens. Finding an Indian who knows Larry Bird or Magic Johnson would akin to finding an arab in the Antarctic...:hysterical:[/quote'] :haha::haha: in my school it was completely other way around. Noone knew of F1 drivers and most were aware of BB then. Could be the whole personal experience thingy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holysmoke Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 :haha::haha: in my school it was completely other way around. Noone knew of F1 drivers and most were aware of BB then. Could be the whole personal experience thingy. You didnt go to school in the mid-late 90's :haha: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 So Lurker' date=' now do you realise why F1 is such an enticing proposition for India ? Don't tell me i wasted all this time on you for nothing...:hysterical:[/quote'] To be fair only you have made a valid point about F1, and that is it has its appeal in India. Also supported by Holy of course. That line of argument would have saved us all a lot of time. My stance was always that I am not gonna support a sport ONLY for its money. Of course if it has its support amongst Indians why not? But my grip remains with people who suggest MONEY is bigger than the SPORT itself, and then suggest how it will boost the investment, brand image blah blah. Wrong path of argument me thinks. :regular_smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 You didnt go to school in the mid-late 90's :haha: By late 90's I was making money and having a blast in Mumbai Holy while you were doing your homework.. yayyyy :bootyshake::bootyshake: By the way hows the job coming along? Received your paycheck yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holysmoke Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 nah, not yet got paycheck, its every 2 weeks at work right now :alberteinstein: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 ^^ ah good good. Pahli kamai! Now dont get started on "This is not my pahli kamai..I made some money in Bombay" :angry_smile: By the way after a week or so at work now what do you think is more fun - college or work? :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holysmoke Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 college, for sure :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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