Basketball is the best, IMHO. Maybe I'm dense, but I'm still trying to figure out why all the fuss about David Beckham. Seems like he's could be injured a lot and getting past his prime. Is he really that good?
To be honest he was never really THAT good. He had no pace, he's poor in the air and he can't really tackle. His vision and passing however were incredible, as was his ability to put a football EXACTLY where he wanted it. It was those 'champagne moments' that sealed his fame like his goal against Greece or his penalty against Argentina. A better all-round midfielder IMO was Beckham's Man U and England colleague Paul Scholes - but he never married a Spice Girl and he had ginger hair ...
My favorte sport is football, I know probably it's 99% of the world favorite. But that's the reason why it's so damn good. Everybody is hooked on Football all over the world proves it.
American football is my favorite to watch. It'll never be that popular worldwide, because it's not a great participation sport for young people. You need a lot of people to play a decent game, you need a football (as opposed to any old spherical ball), and you need a large open space. If you are going to play tackle football, you'll probably want a helmet and some pads. Soccer is popular because you need one sphere and at least one person to play it, which makes it accessible to all of the world.
I have to agree with you there, Tim! And I love to watch the Olympics to see all the other sports that you never hear about - like short-track speed skating, and the Biathlon...
Olympics are a blast too. It was hard during the last summer....to avoid all the media coverage before you could actually watch the even ton TV!