Sport brings us together. No matter our political affiliations, nationality, or outlook on life, we can all leave our differences at the door and enjoy our shared passion for competition. This phenomenon is most visible at international tournaments like the Olympics and the World Cup, where people from all over the world come together in one place to celebrate athletics and soccer, respectively.
But even though we all share the same passions for sport, there are actually many differences between the competitions that take place in the United States and those that are organized in Europe.
The Most Popular Sports
One of the most notable differences between professional sports in the US and Europe is which ones are the most popular.
With few exceptions, the most-watched sport right across Europe is soccer. The continent is home to many of the world’s biggest leagues and tournaments, including the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, and Germany’s Bundesliga, as well as the continental competitions organized by UEFA, including the Champions League and the European Championship.
Hockey is also popular in the European countries that see a lot of winter snow, such as Russia and Finland, and their Kontinental Hockey League is arguably the closest in size to North America’s NHL.
The same is true with basketball; while competitions exist in Europe, none rival the size of the NBA. In fact, many of Europe’s best players eventually head across the Atlantic to compete alongside America’s best ballers.
In the US, football and baseball are home-grown disciplines that are bigger than any European domestic league.
Sports Betting
Sports betting is a popular activity on either side of the pond, though there are differences in the way Americans and Europeans place their wagers. In the US, the practice of making bets online is relatively new. Even some of the most established operators like FanDuel sportsbook launched as recently as 2018, while sports fans in many European countries have been able to do this for well over a decade.
The differences don’t end there either. When viewing a sportsbook’s website, American fans will see different things to their European cousins. Firstly, US sportsbooks primarily use the “American odds” format displaying them as a three or four-digit number preceded by a + or -. Over in the UK, punters are used to seeing their odds displayed as fractions such as 4/1 or 11/2, while on the rest of the continent, decimal odds are the most common choice. These different formats can be converted and sites will typically allow you to switch between them, but they usually lead with whichever is most common in their market.
On top of that, Americans often prefer spread bets, where they will bet on whether a team will win or lose by a certain number of points. However, while spreads are available outside of the US, Europeans are much more accustomed to making moneyline wagers where they just choose which side will finish on top.
League Structures
The entire structure of sports leagues in the US is very different to almost all of Europe. Both systems offer their own pros and cons, so it’s not possible to categorically say one is better than the other, but most fans that watch sports on either continent will tend to have a preference.
Fundamentally, the difference comes down to the primary aim of the leagues. In the US, sports are “profit-maximizing” entities, focusing on making their owners and teams as much money as possible. Over in Europe, profit is important too, but teams that try to focus on business objectives tend to suffer. This is because European sports place much more focus on “utility maximization” which, in this instance, means trying to achieve sporting success.
European clubs that win trophies tend to make the most money. For example, the highest-earning Premier League teams are Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea – all of which have won the Premier League at least once in the last decade.
In contrast, the wealthiest NFL team is the Dallas Cowboys, despite the team not winning the Super Bowl since 1995.
