I don't think it's a freaking dessert whatsoever ( helloooo, it's the world's richest country ) , but imagine taking an American futball torment to China. Do you really think it's going to be as successful as others sports are ? Don't think so ... I personally think it's a matter of culture . Glad tho, that fivb is working along with USA volleyball to little by little start bringing bigger tournaments to the US.
it is a freaking desert when it comes to volleyball and athletics, not in terms of talent (the US of course has some of the best athletes in those sports) but in terms of interest. look at television or attendance… except for the olympics, the US has never hosted a major competition for those sports. the WGP finals are the first time ever.
at least in NYC, the non-US matches would have been well attended. in omaha, it was empty when the US was not playing.
The NFL has played games overseas as exhibitions (pre-season and do not count in standings) and regular season (only 16 games in season, so each game is important). Japan wants a regular season game, but the NFL would only send pre-season games. Now, they are playing regular games in London. The NBA has played in many places exhibition and regular season games. This started with Japan, but has gone elsewhere. The NHL has done the same.
With satellite and cable television, and now the internet, people have the ability to experience more things that are not from their local culture. In America, there was a cult following of Australian Rules Football due to it being broadcast on ESPN in the middle of the night. Many Americans had never traveled to Australia, but they were intrigued by this odd looking sport.
Additionally with more international business and interaction, people can start to learn about things with others, such as soccer (aka football). Right now soccer is becoming more popular due to the World Cup (not a men's world cup year) and the Premier League. This does not take into account the FIFA video game either.
During the Cold War, the Olympics was one of the biggest reasons Track and Field (Athletics) was popular, both the US and Russia had strong teams. Also, the biggest events were every 4 years. So, it was and is in our ideas to watch that sport every 4 years. I grew up in Oregon, which is where Nike and Bill Bowerman (head coach of Oregon and US Olympic coach in the past) are from. We follow the college track more so than the pros, but we do host the Olympic Trials often and the Prefontaine Classic (Diamond League).
Whenever, Japan hosts the larger FIVB tournaments, the non-Japan matches (excluding China or South Korea, due to the large populations within Japan and proximity of travel) are usually lower in attendance. To have expected full houses in the middle of the country for non-USA games is just naive. We are a nation of immigrants, but some parts of the country have more of them and those immigrants from countries that play volleyball are not usually in the middle of the country.
The FIVB would love to have a packed gym for every match, but it never happens. The Omaha venue was probably only in the lower bowl reducing capacity (USA volleyball probably requested that).
Just because you put a big FIVB event in the US and put it in a big city, it does not mean it will be successful. USA Volleyball asked for hosts and Omaha said we want it. I am not saying that I would want Omaha to the host the FIVB World Championship Final, but for the Grand Prix, it did about what could be expected. And that is all that USA volleyball wanted to show to the FIVB.
I would love to have the World Championships here, but I doubt that it will ever happen.
