luckyphil247 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 For a long time now , Melbourne has always been the sporting capital of Australia Now it looks like its also the sporting capital of the world . http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/01/2204562.htm The following is a list of major events in the Melbourne sports calendar ; Australian Tennis Open Australian Formula One Grand Prix Australian Football League Grand Final Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix ( Phillip Island ) The Melbourne Cup ( horse racing ) Boxing Day Test ( cricket ) Are there any other cities out there , that might come even close to Melbourne when it comes to great sporting events ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyphil247 Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 And Copenhagen Masturbate-a-Thon in May 2008 Are you serious ??? Well Melbourne also has its fair share of wankers . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyphil247 Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 And Copenhagen Masturbate-a-Thon in May 2008 Are you serious ??? Well Melbourne also has its fair share of wankers . as a heart attack http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23032131-12377,00.html Unbelievable !!! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha We kind of have a similar event on TF ; " The Longest Forum ever " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyphil247 Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Makybe Diva ; arguably the greatest ever race horse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makybe_Diva Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave40 Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Australian Tennis Open Australian Formula One Grand Prix Australian Football League Grand Final Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix ( Phillip Island ) The Melbourne Cup ( horse racing ) Boxing Day Test ( cricket ) I have lived in Melbourne all my life and I love sport, I have only been to 2 events The Oz open when I was a kid it was played on grass, and a Boxing day test!!! I plan on going to all of them but I always say next year, and I don't end up going!!! Gotta agree with you phil we are the sporting capital!! Yes I am bias!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katoom Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Australian Tennis Open Australian Formula One Grand Prix Australian Football League Grand Final Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix ( Phillip Island ) The Melbourne Cup ( horse racing ) Boxing Day Test ( cricket ) I really had no idea that Phillip Island was in Melbourne, clever, very clever indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelBragg Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Makybe Diva ; arguably the greatest ever race horse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makybe_Diva Yep, I have to agree. She is a superstar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Win Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Australian Tennis Open Australian Formula One Grand Prix Australian Football League Grand Final Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix ( Phillip Island ) The Melbourne Cup ( horse racing ) Boxing Day Test ( cricket ) Ahhh but only one of them is worth attending. Myself I don't even care about that one but the point is that the events are cute but if you're honest the events aren't really worldwide as much appreciated as soccer (I mena come on... horseriding?) for example PLUS Australia doesn't have to many other places to host events. If you llok at London, they already have Arsenal, Chelsea & Wimbledon EACH year let alone other sports. In the US there are jsut way too many options to host events so they're spread all over the country. But that's enough breaking down Australia for now because I don't want people to think I don't like Aussies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave40 Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 if you're honest the events aren't really worldwide Cricket is played in India!!! pop over a billion people! Australia doesn't have to many other places to host events I think the people from Sydney would disagree they held the 2000 olympics the stadium they built holds 100 000 people!!!! The f 1 cars is a worldwide event that was in Melb a few weeks ago!!!! I agree with a few things you said but not everything!!!! Aussie Rules is not a worldwide event!! Horse racing is popular in some countries!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Win Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 if you're honest the events aren't really worldwide Cricket is played in India!!! pop over a billion people! Australia doesn't have to many other places to host events I think the people from Sydney would disagree they held the 2000 olympics the stadium they built holds 100 000 people!!!! The f 1 cars is a worldwide event that was in Melb a few weeks ago!!!! I agree with a few things you said but not everything!!!! Aussie Rules is not a worldwide event!! Horse racing is popular in some countries!! I agree with some of the things you say as well, don't get me wrong but these are the (respectively) biggest sports in the world from 1 to 10 Soccer Basketball Tennis Gymnastics Swimming Cycling Karate Cricket Baseball Field Hockey Holland is a pretty small country with a population about the same as Australia if I'm not mistaken, Rotterdam has 3 clubs in the soccer eredivisie (which unfortunately isn't good anymore compared to the english, spanish, Italian & german leagues) they host a marathon every year, they have Neptunus which has been one of the best baseball teams in Europe for a while, Tennis tournament (no grandslam though) Basketball tournament etc. Back in Holland people are yelling Rotterdam is the sport capital of Europe but it's not, it is just promotion going all out. Surely Melbourne has a lot going on (maybe more than many other cities) but to say it is the sport capital of he world is maybe a bit too much. I might be wrong ofcourse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loburt Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 if you're honest the events aren't really worldwide Cricket is played in India!!! pop over a billion people! Yes, but the Indians aren't playing in Melbourne on Boxing Day. It's not as if the cricket world championships are held in Melbourne every year. Australian rules football? No one outside of Australia cares about that. New York has the US Open (tennis), and the Belmont Stakes (horse racing and the third leg of the Triple Crown). Not to mention all the world championship boxing matches that have taken place in Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium, and the occasional but regular US Open golf championships (Winged Foot, Shinnecock, Bethpage Black). The New York City marathon is the world's largest. We have the Millrose Games (athletics) and amateur boxing's Golden Gloves tournament. Two professional men's basketball teams make their home in the greater NY area (and one professional women's team), two professional American football teams, one football (soccer) team, three professional ice hockey teams and two Major League Baseball teams (much more popular worldwide than Aussie rules football), one of which I believe has won more championships than any team in any league sport history. We have a professional rugby team, semi-professional cricket teams and even host events in the Gaelic Games. Formula One and motorcycle racing? We leave that to the rednecks, thank you. London has Wimbledon and with all those football clubs, more people around the world probably watch sports broadcast from London than Melbourne. Yes, Sydney has an Olympic stadium, but R. Win's point is valid - outside of Melbourne, how much other choice do Australians really have for places to host a major sporting event? Australia has a great sporting tradition. But the world capital of sports? No way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyphil247 Posted April 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Australia has a great sporting tradition. But the world capital of sports? No way. Obviously its all subjective , but I dont think NY can compare . Ok yes , NY has the boxing , but other than that there isn't anything else NY has on Melbourne . Both cities have a major grand slam tennis event , Melbourne also has a marathon ( not as large as NY ) , but it does have the Australian Masters Golf every year unlike NY. The Melbourne Cup would be considered a much bigger event and more prestigious than the Belmont Stakes . Melbourne also has 2 professional basketball teams but obviously the sport isn't as popular . There's also the Melbourne Victory soccer team which is quite popular . American Football compares to Australian Football in that no one else cares about it . However attendances at football games played in Melbourne compared to NY would be about at least 2 to 5 times greater, due to the number of teams and games played . Melbourne Storm rugby team , would no doubt also bring in larger crowds than its NY equivalent . Cricket is also more popular than Baseball world wide . Also some trivia for you ; the MCG until recently held the record for the largest ever Baseball crowd ( 114,000 ) when it hosted an exhibition game during the 1956 Olympics . I think NY has some major sporting events but until it hosts a F1 event , it doesn't stack up with Melbourne in world sporting events . Maybe London and some other European cities , yes perhaps . Melbourne has the advantage of having the MCG and also the fact that Australia only has 2 major cities . I think also attendances play a role and even considering that the population in Melbourne is only about a third compared to NY , I'll go out on a limb and say that per capita more people attend sporting events in Melbourne than in NY . The reason ; we just love our sport so much and we'll just about watch anything . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loburt Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Several of your points simply don't hold up to objective scrutiny. The Melbourne Masters golf tournament doesn't hold much prestige worldwide, especially compared to the US Open which is a Grand Slam event and attracts the best golfers from every corner of the world. The Melbourne Cup is one of the most prestigious races, but it is not as prestigious as the Belmont Stakes, for the simple fact that the Belmont Stakes is the final race in the Triple Crown, which is the sport's ultimate prize. Only the Kentucky Derby, the first race in the Triple Crown, is more prestigious - worldwide. More people will remember who won the Triple Crown than the Melbourne Stakes. Maybe not in Melbourne, but everywhere else. Cricket being more popular than baseball isn't a trump card, considering the hundreds of millions of fans and the many countries where baseball is played. That's basically an even situation. Rugby is not a major sport in NY. The point is, though, we do have it. Because there isn't just about any sport that we don't have. Except for F1. There were plans to build an F1 track several years back, but the community didn't want it. Like I said, the rednecks can keep it. Attendances? Where's your total numbers for every sporting event combined for comparison? Sheesh. You really are out on a limb there, buddy. Every major sport in NY sells out - even with insanely high ticket prices. Probably several times higher than the ticket prices in Melbourne. NY fans are the equal of any in passion. But once again, Melbourne is one of the best places in the world for sport. I just don't think you can claim it as the top place, above all others. And I'm sure residents of other cities might want to make cases for their cities too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyphil247 Posted April 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 The Melbourne Cup is one of the most prestigious races, but it is not as prestigious as the Belmont Stakes, for the simple fact that the Belmont Stakes is the final race in the Triple Crown, which is the sport's ultimate prize. Only the Kentucky Derby, the first race in the Triple Crown, is more prestigious - worldwide. More people will remember who won the Triple Crown than the Melbourne Stakes. Maybe not in Melbourne, but everywhere else. Just for the record , 2007 Melbourne Cup attendance was 102,411 compared to the 2007 Belmont Stakes attendance of 46,870 Prizemoney of 1 million USD for the Belmont stakes winner compared to 4.4 million USD for the Melbourne Cup winner . Winning a triple crown is indeed more prestigious , but the Belmont Stakes compared to the Melbourne Cup as a stand alone event isn't . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyphil247 Posted April 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Attendances? Where's your total numbers for every sporting event combined for comparison? Sheesh. You really are out on a limb there, buddy. Every major sport in NY sells out - even with insanely high ticket prices. Probably several times higher than the ticket prices in Melbourne. NY fans are the equal of any in passion. Its not a question of passion , I dont doubt NYers love their sport . Just for example though , this weekend I'd estimate about 300,000 people will attend a professional sporting event in Melbourne . That's about one in ten people . Quite impressive I think anyway . As I said earlier , attendances play a role , but its not the be all and end all when it comes to choosing the world's top sports event city . There are other factors as well , but to be named twice in succession , it says quite a lot about Melbourne as being a great city when it comes to hosting major sports . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Win Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 this weekend I'd estimate about 300,000 people will attend a professional sporting event in Melbourne it is a lot maybe but like you already said yourself, a number like this won't impress a city like NY, at the moment the stadiums are not sold out but for basketball the NETS & the KNICKS together get a maximum of people visiting of about 39.000 (they also play more than once a week during the season). The yankees stadium can have 60.000 people attending and then count up the rest of what's going on you'll get pretty impressive numbers In Barcelona for example, Fc Barcelona alone gets an attendance of roughly a 100.000 every game in their Camp Nou (max. 98.772 to be exact). But you never hear anybody about this because it's taken for granted, it isn't special and it isn't news, it is standard year in year out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyphil247 Posted April 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Australian Tennis Open Australian Formula One Grand Prix Australian Football League Grand Final Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix ( Phillip Island ) The Melbourne Cup ( horse racing ) Boxing Day Test ( cricket ) I really had no idea that Phillip Island was in Melbourne, clever, very clever indeed. You like that one ??? Well supported by Melbournians though . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiaranM Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 The Melbourne Cup is one of the most prestigious races, but it is not as prestigious as the Belmont Stakes, for the simple fact that the Belmont Stakes is the final race in the Triple Crown, which is the sport's ultimate prize. Only the Kentucky Derby, the first race in the Triple Crown, is more prestigious - worldwide. More people will remember who won the Triple Crown than the Melbourne Stakes. Maybe not in Melbourne, but everywhere else. Just for the record , 2007 Melbourne Cup attendance was 102,411 compared to the 2007 Belmont Stakes attendance of 46,870 Prizemoney of 1 million USD for the Belmont stakes winner compared to 4.4 million USD for the Melbourne Cup winner . Winning a triple crown is indeed more prestigious , but the Belmont Stakes compared to the Melbourne Cup as a stand alone event isn't . the winner of which race would u want to buy to stand at stud .... that's the prestige !! and it won't be the winner of the melbourne cup !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave40 Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Yes, but the Indians aren't playing in Melbourne on Boxing Day The Indians played in Melb last Boxing Day!! (They don't play there every year!! But once again, Melbourne is one of the best places in the world for sport. I just don't think you can claim it as the top place, above all others Well said but we are close though!!!! The Melbourne Masters golf tournament doesn't hold much prestige worldwide, Sorry Phil he is right, but we do have some courses here that are well rated by Tiger Woods, (we can't afford to pay him to come down here and play) It all makes for a good debate!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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