The most popular sports in Hungary
The most popular sport in the country, just like everywhere in the world, is football. In the
1950’s, Hungary had the best team in the world, it was respected by its opponents world-wide.
With the so-called Golden Team, Hungary had its longest winning streak ever in the history of
Hungarian football. Unfortunately, they were defeated at their most important game, in the
World Cup finals in 1954.
Talking about the Olympics, Hungarian athletes have a good reputation for achieving well in the
Summer Olympic Games.
In the team sports water polo and handball are very popular. Other well-liked sports include
kayak-canoe, fencing, boxing, swimming and pentathlon.
Traditional British sports
Traditional British sports include football, field-hockey, cricket, golf, rugby and horse racing.
The football Premier League in England is one of the best leagues in the whole world.
The English national team has won only one World Cup so far. This success was achieved in
1966, in a World Cup organised on home turf. English football fans are infamous for their
brutality and vandalism. (football’s sanctuary: Wembley Stadium). Some fans turn to violent
action and attack the fans of the opponent team or start tearing up the seats and destroying
the fences. Although some measures have been taken against them, they still pose a very
serious problem to British authorities and the FA.
Cricket is a field-game which dates back to the 16th century. It is a very unique game in the
sense that one game may last from 4 to 5 hours to 5 or 6 days. The game is very popular
nowadays in the British Commonwealth countries like India and Pakistan.
Golf is played on a golf course and the aim of the game is to make the golf ball go into the holes
of the course by shooting as few as you can.
The game ’rugby’ was invented by a student from Rugby, England in the 19th century. (The
game is played by 15 players on each side. It is the handling version of football. A game has two
40-minute halves and is played with an oval ball. There are different ways to score points. The
most points can be scored by carrying the ball to the opponent team’s goal area. This is called a
try.)
Horse racing is mostly associated with gambling, which is a favourite pastime of English
people. Thoroughbred horses compete at different Derbies, the biggest horse racing events in
Britain. The riders who ride racehorses are called jockeys.
The four most popular sports in the US
The 4 most popular sports in the United States are basketball, ice hockey, baseball and
American football.
The governing body of men’s basketball is the NBA (National Basketball Association).
Basketball, especially American basketball is fun to watch. There are some players whojust fly in
the air and dunk the ball into the basket, and tehy just hang on the rim and celebrate
themselves. I think it’s not only a game but also a big show.
The National Hockey League (NHL) governs hockey in North America. The system of the league
is similar to that of the NBA. There are teams from Canada, too, since it’s their national sport.
Major League Baseball (MLB) represents the highest level of baseball in North America. It
includes teams from the US and Canada. The major leagues are divided into the National Lague
(NL) and the American League (AL) and they are divided further into three divisions.
The present-day NFL (National Football League) game is immensely popular in the USA. It is
played from late summer until the end of January. The Super Bowl is the final contest of the
American professional season and determines the league’s annual champion. The game itself is
similar to rugby, although players wear a protective gear in order to save them from injuries.
There are different ways to score and the most points are given for a touchdown, which
happens when a player carries the ball overer the goal line.
The role of sports in our country
Pursuing a sport is absolutely vital nowadays when people live a stressful life. Most people say
that it is very expensive to do sports. It is true if we think of sports like skiing, golf and surfing.
However, we can find ways to do sports for practically free. Jogging, swimming, playing ball
games and aerobics are easily available to basically anyone. Needless to say, the biggest
problem is the bad state or the lack of facilities.
About professional athletes
Professional athlets have to sacrifice in order to get to the top. They have to get up really early
and go to trainings. In summer they go to training camps while their friends kill their time on
the beach. They are to give up a lot of free time to become successful. I think it’s worth
devoting time and energy to sports, because all the efforts will bear fruit in the long run.
There are a lot of risks of becoming a professional athlete. They devote a lot of time and
energy to going to practices, training endless hours and only a few of them can become
really famous. They get injured very often and these injuries will affect their later lives, too.
When they become older, they start limping, have back problems and it hurts them all over.
Football players, who don’t even reach the standard of good players of the world, earn
millions of forints, while some Olympic hopefuls almost have to starve. It’s so discepant.
Do you think Hungary should organise big sporting events?
If Hungary got the chance to host the Olympic Games, our economy would start booming.
As more stadiums, facilities would be built, they could be used in the future for other events,
which do not necessarily have to be sporting events, but concerts or conferences. This would
be a boost for our infrastructure. New highways, bridges, underground lines, railways would
be built which would serve us. This would also advertise the country, and a lot of tourists
would be attracted to see the beauties of Hungary.
Doping, steroids, narcotics
As there is a big competition for being the best in every sport, a lot of athletes turn into
doping, which means taking steroids or other narcotics to boost their performance. I really
condemn such athlets, because it ruins the spirit of a game or competition. It’s an unfair act.
I cannot understand athlets who take steroids deliberately. It destroys their body and there
is a chance that they might die earlier than the average. The effects can be fatal. When an
athlete is caught using illegal drugs or steroids, they will be disqualified from the race or
competition and excluded from further competition for a period.
