Welcome back to July's UBC. This month I'm going to be talking about cultural differences between Switzerland and the USA.
Today's topic is Sports.
What might be different about sports in the US compared to Switzerland? It's about scoring and winning in both countries, no?
Let's start with kids.
If in Switzerland a kid wants to, say swim, play soccer or ice hockey, you will have to find a private club on your own initiative. You have to enrol them and pay fees as well as volunteer for the dreaded jobs such as manning the snack stand or the penalty box. There will be skill-based categories, meaning the fastest and strongest will train and play with the A-team. It's the parents' responsibility to take the kids to practice and games.
The clubs may be youth departments of national franchises or local associations.
What about schools?
There's two kinds of school sports: The mandatory PE that is part of the official curriculum, and voluntary sports courses that you can sign up for outside of lessons. They will only take place once a week and are entirely for fun. Back then I took badminton and jazz dance.
We have absolutely no school teams like you know them in the U.S. No high school football, no college hockey. There's no getting into college if you're a gifted tennis player but a mediocre student.
On the other hand, after passing the Matura exams (Highschool Diploma), as an athlete you're getting into college the academic / "regular" way, plus you may benefit from special structures allowing you to balance sports and studies.
Which sports are the most popular?
USA: American Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, Soccer
Switzerland: Soccer, Hockey, Ski, Tennis (think Roger Federer!) and Cycling
Since I'm a Hockey Mom, let's dive into the hockey landscape in the respective countries
Switzerland is very small, only 42k km2 (16k square miles) we have almost 9 million citizens and 14 National League hockey teams.
Canada and the USA combined come up with 20 million km2 (7,660 million square miles) and roughly 370 million inhabitants and 32 National League teams.
Thanks to the high density of hockey teams in a small area, it is logistically possible for us Swiss hockey fans to attend our team's away games - if we can get hold of a ticket. I think this is a great addition to the fan culture. People meet outside the home stadium to travel to the away stadium in rented vans. Or they take a special train provided by the Swiss Federal Railways to get to their destination. They sing and drink a little on the way. Typically, there are separate entrances and spectator sectors for home and visiting fans. This is to prevent aggressive encounters. Compared to soccer, however, hockey matches are quite peaceful. There are individual clubs that have violent and rowdy fans, and an increased police presence is deployed at these games.
Atmosphere
Fans in Switzerland sing and clap practically throughout the entire game to cheer on their team. Swiss players who are under contract in the NHL, such as Roman Josi with the Nashville Predators, always like to come to Switzerland to enjoy the unique atmosphere. Some time ago, he helped organize a friendly game for the Preds against his youth club SC Bern. He proudly told his North American teammates that they could look forward to a great crowd, and they were not disappointed!
I mention this so explicitly because I've noticed that attending a hockey game in North America is a little less euphoric. Sure, many wear a fan jersey, and they clap or cheer when encouraged to do so on the video cube. Just like they kiss their partner when the “Kiss Cam” prompts them to do so during the commercial break. Otherwise, I observe that many North American fans are busy eating or staring at their phone. They will even get up while the game is in full swing to get a refill of popcorn, hotdogs or beer. A no go in Switzerland! And if you still do, you'll get disapproving looks ;-)
Money
Speaking of commercial breaks, in Switzerland we don't have them during National League games. This shortens a regular game by almost an hour! Good for those who have a train to catch, and basically everyone who needs to go to work or school the next morning.
According to Statistica, here are the annual salaries in USD millions including bonus payments of the top earners in the NHL in the 2023/2024 season. Proud to see Swiss native Timo Meier on this list!
The compensation packages of the Swiss NL are not public. However, we assume that they amount to a maximum of just over CHF 1 million per year for the highest-paid players.
As discussed in my post about high-price countries, everything is expensive in Switzerland. However, I am always surprised, shocked even, about the ticket prices for hockey games in North America! And I'm not even talking about playoffs! We attended the season opener in Pittsburgh, PA, a few years ago, see picture on top of this post. Regular ticket prices seemed over the top, so we were lucky to be able to get some off StubHub, which is a platform for the resale of tickets. Typically season ticket holders can sell theirs on to others. Even this type was no bargain. Add to this parking and food. I don't know how people, especially families are doing it? We did have a lot of fun though and even dressed up for the event!
Media
In the US, major networks such as ESPN, Fox Sports and NBC Sports dominate sports coverage, with the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL receiving the largest share of airtime.
In Switzerland, SRF (Swiss Radio and Television), RTS and RSI, the respective French and Italian-language counterparts, report extensively on popular sports, covering international and national events in equal measure.
Can you imagine the effort involved in sending three reporters to every single match to commentate in the respective language?
In addition there are a few paid sports channels.
That's what comes to mind when I'm reflecting on differences when it comes to sports. Anything else you can think of?
Well this is one category where there is quite a difference between here and there. I do like the fact that a student has to have good grades, not just excel in sports to get into college. As for wearing Jerseys when a favorite team is playing, my daughter who lives in Virginia used to live in Alabama where her son when to college. She still wears a Crimson Tide shirt, hangs the flag and cheers them on, win or lose she's an Alabama fan.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Roger is the best. I am a long time tennis player and teaching pro and he is number one for me. Say no more.
ReplyDeleteTamara, wow, what a contrast between sports in the US and Schweiz! You pointed out that the hockey stadiums are smaller in Switzerland, and there are no commercial breaks. I wonder if that is the very reason why the fans are so much more involved? You would feel the energy of the action much more if you were sitting closer, seeing the plays so close. And the no-interruptions style of game would keep up the momentum and interest. What do you think of my theory? Also, more people per square mile are attending the hockey games, so there is more community cohesion. And then all of you enjoy the hockey season more! In the US, it's those commercial breaks from the sponsors that pay those huge salaries and allow people to go to the food windows and order $15 hot dogs. A football game with 60 minutes on the clock takes a couple of hours or more to play. Who knows what it will be like in 10 years? Money money money :-)
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