The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article today that outlines the huge popularity and performance gap between China and the United States. The best table tennis players in the world are from China, and the gap is widening. The sport draws huge crowds in China and the popularity and participation continue to grow.
Table tennis a smash in China, not in U.S. - The Philadelphia Inquirer
And as the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where no tickets are harder to get than those for table tennis, figure to make evident, the Ping-Pong gap between China and the United States is widening like the Yangtze River at flood tide.
“Chinese players outnumber Americans by at least 1,000 to 1, probably more,” said Danny Seemiller, the U.S. men’s coach. “In China, it’s thought of as a sport. It has credibility as a sport. Here, it’s thought of as a game, something fun to do but not really an athletic competition.”
0 Responses to “Struggle for Popularity in the U.S.”