Many people believe that the Millennial generation isn’t big on sports, with many blaming them for the decline in popularity of many sports. Some even suspect that, because of a lack of interest from Millennials and younger generations, football will no longer be one of America’s favorite sports by as early as 2050. However, this isn’t entirely accurate; many Millennials do love sports, just not the sports people expect. Here are some of the most popular sports with the Millennial generation.
- Cycling: Millenials and Gen Z’ers are picking up this sport far more than their older counterparts. Roughly one-third of both Millennials and Gen Z’ers have ridden a bike in the past year, making this an incredibly popular sport and general activity among younger generations. This number could, however, be at least partially in part due to younger generations opting to bike their commute rather than driving.
- Water Sports: Millennials have shown a profound interest in this category of sports. 19.6% of Millennials participate in water sports of some kind, from boating and surfing to more adventurous sports like scuba diving and waterskiing. This trend seems to be continuing, if not increasing, in Generation Z.
- Soccer: In general, Millennials have shown less interest in televised pro-sports, but this hasn’t been quite the case for soccer. Both Gen Z and Millennials have shown an increased interest in soccer compared to older generations, with Gen Z, in particular, showing nearly 50% more interest than older generations in Major League Soccer.
Why the shift in interests? It’s suspected that because the way younger generations consume media is changing, Millennials and Gen Z’ers have less interest in watching longer broadcasts of televised sports. This could contribute to the reduced popularity of American classics like baseball and basketball.
Regardless of what sports do or don’t remain popular, it’s going to be interesting to watch the shift in professional sports moving forward, as major sports organizations struggle to appeal to a younger and ever-changing audience.
