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The Seven Factors That Determine How Exciting a Sport Is
The rules of a sport present opportunities for increased tension for the viewers
I’ve never been too into watching sports. I’ve certainly never been much into the most popular sports in my home country: football, baseball, basketball, soccer, or ice hockey. To my surprise, however, I’ve enjoyed watching volleyball at times.
I wondered why I found volleyball, which in many ways seems less dramatic than basketball or football, so much more entertaining. Having assessed these various sports, I believe I’ve determined a number of metrics that determine their inherent ability to be exciting.
The factors are as follows: 1) threshold for scoring a point, 2) offense/defense designation, 3) threshold for offense/defense switch, 4) potential for continuation, 5) potential for stoppage, 6) dynamic movements, and 7) pauses in play.
The reasons these are exciting vary, but fundamentally, they raise the stakes at any given moment. This leaves the viewer in a place of tension while they eagerly await what comes next. There is a direct correlation between the rules of the game and the number of opportunities for swift change throughout a game. Thus, it’s possible to quantify the excitement a game is able to produce in its base state.
