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The REAL Definition of a World Champion

12
Vote

by SSreporters

I'm pretty sure anyone who isn't Ibearg knows that whenever a pro football or pro basketball team wins the Super Bowl or the NBA Finals, the announcers and the players (occasionally the fans) say "WE'RE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!". That's a flaw we have in our country when it comes to sports. If you have leagues in which most of the team is based in the US, and 1 or 2 teams in Canada, that is NOT the world. The MLB should not name their championship series, the World Series. You have the Toronto Blue Jays, who are rarely in the playoffs ever. So that leaves you with the American teams. America does not equal world. The NFL, Bob Lamey of the Colts radio team said "The Colts are World Champions". There isn't even a Canadian or Mexican team in the NFL. America does not equal world. In 2003, Brad Nessler, ABC announcer said "The San Antonio Spurs, are World Champions". The Toronto Raptors are the only team outside of the US, yet it's still generally World Champions that they call. USA does not equal world. Only a handful of people give a darn about the MLS, so forget them. The NHL almost never uses "World Champions" and I respect them for that. Here is what I can safely assure you that you can call a world champion.

  • The World Cup of (Soccer, Rugby, Cricket). Look at the 2nd word. Just curious, how many World Cups have the US won in any of those sports? A whopping three, and two were in the Women's World Cup, the other one being in Rugby.
  • World Baseball Classic. Not that many countries play baseball, but it involves other countries.
  • Track and Field or anything in the Olympics. I don't need to give you an explanation do I?

So do you agree with me (and my dad)? You can't call yourself a world champion, when there are no more than 10 countries involved.


Enable Comment Auto-Refresher
KelsdadAll-Star
835 days ago
Score 8+-
Baseball started with the "World Series" in 1903, long before we so generously introduced the sport to the rest of the World. So the winner then became "World Champion." I agree with your statement its a term which no longer has the same meaning, but there's no point in changing it, either.
Permalink | Reply
SSreportersLegend
835 days ago
Score 3+-
We don't even know that baseball was invented here, but if that's the case, then keep the tradition.
Permalink
JgiuffraDiv-I Stud
835 days ago
Score 0+-
Baseball is almost identical to a little game in england called rounders. Rounders has been around longer than football (soccer).
Permalink
JuTMSY4Legend
835 days ago
Score 5+-
America does = the world...duh ; - )
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SSreportersLegend
835 days ago
Score 0+-
I love your sarcasm Ju.
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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer
835 days ago
Score 3+-
The US have won a Rugby World Cup?
Permalink | Reply
A QQVarsity
834 days ago
Score 0+-
Wait...when have the US won the Rugby World Cup?
Permalink
Alex HolowczakHall of Famer
835 days ago
Score 0+-
"World Champions" should be a title reserved for International sport in my opinion. I don't really care about the number of countries involved, so long as the winner is "United States" or "Great Britain" or "Brazil" or "Equatorial Guinea". Just as long as it is a country.
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JgiuffraDiv-I Stud
835 days ago
Score 0+-
I think a world series could be achieved in baseball. There are many countries an S & C American and the far east who would compete very nicely against the US. Especially if you take into account the amount of foreign players in MLB...Dominicans, Columbians, Venezualens, Japanese and Cubans all feature in MLB.
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Falcon02520Legend
835 days ago
Score 2+-
I agree. It is too late to change baseball because there is too much history there. Football has "Super Bowl Champions" not world champions, so saying world champions is worng. And in basketball, we apparently aren't even the best in the world, so how should NBA champions be wolrd champions?
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B-ryeJV Squad
835 days ago
Score 1+-
We may not have the best national team in the World anymore, but we do have the best individual players (the problem) and not only that, the best international players all end up here, so I do think that NBA teams could conceivably call themselves World Champions.
Permalink
IbeargRed-Shirting
835 days ago
Score 1+-
well since I'm already a named participant in this article i might as well comment. Despite certain misnomers, i do in fact realize that announcers and players in the US call themselves world champions. I don't think they should do it, but do i have a huge problem when they do? no. I don't think any Spanish or Italian clubs could win a series versus most NBA clubs, nevermind the Spurs. Similarly I think you'd be hard pressed to find a Japanese team that could win the "world" series. Hideki Matsui is a good player over here, while he was a superstar in Japan. The NFL champions basically are the world champions, we're pretty much the only country that plays football. not coincidentally it's called american football in most places around the world. So should they do it? probably not, but am i worried about it? no. Just like i wouldn't be worried if the winners of the Champions League called themselves the world club champions. Certainly they have the world club championship nonsense and they could have something similar in other sports, but lets be honest no one cares about the world club championship in soccer. Most likely because everyone knows the champions league champ is the real world champ.
Permalink | Reply
Tyrone BriggsHall of Famer
835 days ago
Score 1+-
The Toronto Argonauts want a piece of Manning's Colts and settle once and for all who is the best football team in the world!
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DaddyMac22JV Squad
833 days ago
Score 0+-
I love US sports but it's a completely ingrained arrogance that leads US sports commentators to drool 'The whole world is amazed by that play' or whatever. The whole world, in general, has only a passing in most US sports. There's about 200 people, for example, who watch baseball in Ireland.

Calling it the World Series is just inane, but, trying to convince anyone to change it would only lead to a really asinine argument and just isn't worth it.

May as well just enjoy the games as they are played!
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This page was last modified 01:32, 8 September 2007. Content is available under the GFDL.

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