Missing Texas; California sports Vs. Texas Sports

[Mavchamp]

Work has sent me to California. I'm currently living in Sacramento, which seems to be in the middle of everything... linking southern cal to northern cal.

 

I've been watching the local news with interest, mostly the sportscasts. And it seems high school sports don't mean much out here. There is little to no mention of HS sports on the news here. Of course...it's not football season, so that may have something to do with it.

 

But talking to people....it seems to be the consensus that my thoughts are right on target. HS sports are not as popular in California as they are in Texas. .

 

I asked why......and the answer kind of jumps out at you.

 

Let's see..... all within a 1.5 hour drive of Sacramento there is...

 

Sacramento Kings

Golden State Warriors (Oakland)

San Francisco Giants

Oakland Athletics

San Fran 49ers

Oakland Raiders

 

That's a lot of pro sports saturation in a relatively small area. That;s almost as many pro teams as Dallas and Houston have combined. All Within a 150 mile radius.

 

Then L.A. has 2 NBA teams, a hockey team, the and the Dodgers. Not to mention the Angels and the Ducks across the street in Anaheim.

 

San Diego has their share of pro sports too. The Chargers and the Padres.

 

No doubt that the NBA, NFL, MLB, and the NHL capture the eyes of millions in Cali. But it seems there may be a bigger business in Cali than pro sports....

 

NCAA sports are HUUUUGE in California. Football, basketball, and baseball are big news in California. And the NCAA sports saturatuion out here is mind boggling.

 

Sacramento State

Long Beach St.

CSU Fullerton

Cal Poly

UC Santa Barbara

UC Irvine

CSU Northridge

Pacific

UC Riverside

San Diego State

UCLA

USC

Gonzaga

Santa Clara

St. Mary's

San Francisco

San Diego

Loyola Marymount

Pepperdine

Stanford

Fresno State

San Jose State

 

That's 22 Division I programs in California. That doesn't even count Div II, III, Community college and NAID prgrams.

 

Seems like maybe that is the reason we don't see the widespread interest in HS sports in Cali like we see in Texas. They simply have bigger fish to fry out there.

 

Each section of California seems to have a major Division I program to hang their hat on. That isn't true in Texas. East Texas doesn't have a Division I program close. SMU and TCU are the closest...and well.... no comment.

 

UT, A&M, and Tech are all 4 hours away or more from most East Texans.....more if you are deep East (Marshall) or far north (Texarkana). SFA isn't a big boy, it's a mid major. Houston, Rice, Baylor, and UTEP all seem to be lesser sisters in Div I race.....and their fan bases suffer.

 

Is the reason HS sports are bigger in Texas than California because there is less pro and NCAA saturation???

 

Interesting stuff. What do you think?

 

And for the record.... the reason I have time to type all this out is because the whole sunny California thing is a myth. I've been out here 9 days. It has rained 8 of them....and it's been cold too. So much for that.

 

I miss Texas.....and am counting the days I will be home.

[cheaptrick77]

^ Do the hated San Jose Sharks fall within your radius ??? :D

 

Seems like maybe that is the reason we don't see the widespread interest in HS sports in Cali like we see in Texas. They simply have bigger fish to fry out there.

^ I prefer to live in Texas, but I wish the "bigger fish" concept prevailed at least here in East Texas ... perhaps then we would have more sports entertainment options :hmmm:

[Mavchamp]

I knew I was going to miss someone.

 

And I agree. SFA is the biggest fish in East Texas. And it seems to me that very few people outisde of Nacogdoches really seem to care about what's going on in the Lumberjack program.