In the United States, do players really only go to play basketball if they can't eat the bowl of football?

Not long ago, a video of American football player Metcalfe jumping and catching went viral. In the video, Metcalf's take-off height is shocking. Although the video was confirmed to have undergone special technical processing, Metcalfe's physical fitness is still evident. Since then, in the Masters Game of NBA All-Star Weekend, Metcalfe, who was invited to participate, completed multiple dunks and won the MVP with an outstanding performance of 20 points and 9 rebounds. In the United States, there are many players like Metcalfe who can play basketball and are good at football, and some people believe that many basketball players choose basketball because they cannot get a foothold on the football field. So, is that really the case?

Strong as Zhan Huang, he was also a good rugby player

Today's NBA top LeBron James was a great football player in high school. Attending St. Mary's High School, Zhan Huang was twice named Ohio Best Wide Receiver and showed incredible catching ability and physicality. At the time, he was also playing basketball, and after his senior season, James decided to give up his football career to focus on basketball. "If my high school team had a better quarterback, I might continue to play football." That's one of the reasons he gave it.

Of course, James' choice also has to do with his inclination toward basketball. He missed his senior season of football due to a broken wrist, and after that, he stopped playing football to ensure that his basketball career could continue. Entering the NBA had been James' goal all along, so despite playing well in football, he ended up firmly on the basketball court.

However, in 2011, James, who was 27 years old at the time, still received an offer from an NFL team. With the NBA on a standstill, James faced a no-ball situation, and the managers of two NFL teams offered him contracts, and James was once enthusiastic, recalling the rampage years of his youth. But the NBA shutdown ended quickly, and James failed to hold hands with the NFL, keeping the jerseys of both teams as a souvenir and confidently saying: "If I take the team's tryout, I will definitely be signed." ”

James gave up football and chose basketball, which eventually succeeded, and some players switched to football with the basketball court. Jimmy Graham played only one season of football in his four years in college, and more often than not, he was a basketball player in Miami. But in the NFL draft, he was picked by the Saints in the third round, and his excellent physical condition allowed Graham to play well in football.

Football players such as Tony Gonzalez and Julius Thomas were also basketball players in college. Since there are so many similarities between rugby and basketball, athletes who switch from basketball to rugby have a certain probability of success, and vice versa.

Rugby and basketball have their own merits

In the United States, football is a more popular sport than basketball, and the annual NFL Super Bowl scene is spectacular, so some people call it the "American Spring Festival Gala". A foreign media report late last year pointed out that the NFL's single-season revenue can reach $14 billion, while the NBA's total revenue is only $7.4 billion, almost half of the NFL. In terms of sponsorship, the NFL received $1.32 billion in sponsorship revenue in the 2017-18 season, and the NBA's revenue was $1.12 billion, which is still slightly better than football, and the revenue brought by a Super Bowl is more than the NBA Finals and the MLB Finals combined.

In terms of overall revenue, it is indeed the NFL that has the upper hand. However, the NBA also has its own advantages. An NFL team has as many as 53 players, while the NBA team has only 12 to 15 players, and the total number of players, the NBA only has about 450 players, and the NFL has more than 1600 players, so although the NFL is more profitable in terms of total revenue, the number of NBA players involved in the specific distribution of each player is less, so the top basketball players can earn more than football players.

In addition, in terms of internationalization, the NBA is better than the NFL, this is clearly visible, in many parts of the world, Kobe, James, Curry are the idols of teenagers, but football fans are more concentrated in the United States, so it is easier for the NBA to get popularity and attention from overseas, and the internationalization level of the NFL needs to be improved.

In terms of ratings, at present, the ratings of the NFL still have a relatively large advantage compared with the NBA. However, it should be noted that in recent years, the NFL's ratings have continued to decline, while the NBA's upward momentum has been very rapid. Therefore, the possibility of the NBA surpassing the NFL in terms of ratings in the future is not excluded, after all, the eyes of the world are on the NBA, and the NFL is still a little too niche.

So, is it really impossible to eat the bowl of football in the United States, will you choose to play basketball? There is no absolute right or wrong answer to this question. James, for example, has made it his goal to enter the NBA from the beginning, and although he played football well, he still chose basketball, and if he had chosen football, with his super physical fitness, he might have done the same. It can also be seen from the income that as long as you become the top player, no matter which sport you choose, the income will be very considerable.

At the same time, basketball is rising at a rapid rate in recent years, and it is very likely to surpass football as the most popular sport in the United States in the future. However, who is first and who is second is not really the most important. In the United States, whether it is football, basketball, football, volleyball, any sports event, almost will flood a large number of spectators, even high school players, will have a certain reputation in the local area. Such a sports atmosphere with universal participation is an important reason for the strength of competitive sports in the United States.

(Supine Push-ups/Yin Chongzeng)