Why do many American sports have a 'World Series' when only American teams take part?
549117
its because their sports are so boring (baseball American football) that nobody else in the world play them so they call it the world series to make it sound better and the winning team can say its the best in the world which i suppose they are cause no one else plays them
1033292
It's the nature of the game, of all sports for that matter. Everyone thought the US would take the new World Baseball Classic, but they lost. The best teams never win every game. If they did, events like the World Cup wouldn't be as popular as they are now. Repeat winners gradually lose their luster.
325873
No way.  All the other sports let so many teams in, it kind of cheapens the regular season.  In baseball, the regular season actually means something.  I think the wild card is enough.
191411
Because this isn't basketball where almost every team makes it in.  If there were more games, it would take longer to do the season, and while you would think it would be popular, extended playoffs actually aren't exciting to most fans.\nRemember, 10 years ago, there were only two divisions in each league and only one playoff before the WS.  The addition of the wildcard and the additional round are recent additions, and exciting ones at that (especially with 4 of the last 5 Champions coming from Wild Card berths).\nHowever, I think 2 additional teams (so lets say a playin game/series between the two wildcards) would add too much time to the playoffs and throw a lot of teams off cycle/rotation.
144031
The best players from countries all over the in the world play on US teams. \n\nAlso do not forget, the name World seies came about 100 years or so ago. At that time, there was little question that the best baseball in the world was played in the US. It is just a name, I weould not get that worked up over it.
1130804
Nope.  Soccer doesn't fit in with the American mindset.  First of all, soccer is nationalistic, and the U.S. isn't.  We like to divide up and go at each other, not unite as one big team to play other countries.  Second, we're an insular nation.  Since the overwhelming number of Americans wouldn't be able to find a single World Cup participant on a map, it's unlikely they would enjoy the competition.  The rest of the world is a mystery to us.  Third, the U.S. has developed an "MTV/ADD" mindset.  Soccer is too slow for us to pay attention.  All sad, but all true.
315274
Becasue back in the early 1900s, the U.S. was the only country in which people were playing baseball professionally and in competitve forms.  The champions back then were actually the best in the world.  So when they named it, there weren't thinking hmmm....100 years from now people from Japan and Latin America will be playing the sport and importing a lot of our best players.\nNow people from other countries play the sport, but I don't think there's really any reason why to change the name from the "World Series" to the "American Series".
394021
No it's not fair that the winner of one game has home field advantage in the World Series.  Usually the team with home field advantage is the American League because they usually have the better League.  The team with home field advantage should be the team with the best overall record.  The All-Star game should just be a game for bragging rights, if not just for fun.
1159674
While it is probably a mis nomer given it is not a world competition.  Due to the quality of the leagues and the $$.  The best players from around the world (Though in the NFL most are still from the US) play in those leagues.    MLB and the NBA are now very much international leagues with players from all over the world.\n\nAlso as a clarification I don't think I have ever heard the NHL champions declared the world champions.  They are call the Stanely Cup Champions after the trophy which is named for Lord Stanley.
721680
It is just not the "IN" sport. Americans are different to the rest of the world. They want contact sports and/or high scores. Soccer is considered neither. World football is not shown much over here so when American think of soccer they think of that pathetic excuse of a league, the MLS. Because the MLS is boring and slow, they think that all soccer is boring and slow. It will take a while to become the number one sport but i think it eventually will. The problem now is the parents. Because they were brought up with baseball, basketball, american football, and ice hockey, they want their kids to play it. I actually know someone in America whose dad wouldn't let him play soccer! All it will take is for the soccer loving generation (in about the next 30 years) to have children and pass on their love for the game, then it will spread like a forest fire. It is definately becoming more popular but at my school, about 1500 people think it is a stupid sport. So that means that when they have kids, their kids will have similar views. One generation is all it will take.
363815
Very good question...It's what prompted the World Baseball \nChampoinships this year for the first time....Some feel that it's not fair that MLB named it the World Series considering not every country gets a chance to represent...There are players from all over the world playing in our(U.S.) Major Leagues, but still, it's not the "World" series if every country doesn't have a chance to enter a team...
298155
Not sure what the allure is in other countries, but here in the U.S. most televised sports contain more action.  Few other sports can run the entire game with only one score. OK, hockey is like that, but there's more action without scoring than in soccer.  Soccer is gaining in popularity here, but don't look for it to bump any mainstream sports off the tube in the near future!
1149102
The reason they are called world champions, is that these leagues hold the highest standards of talent in the world. Athletes from all over the world aspire to play in Major League Baseball for example. Look at the cultural diversity that makes up the populations of these leagues, and the guys that play in them have hero status' back in there own countries.
207961
I would watch it no matter who is in it.I love Baseball and I would not care who are in it.The World Series is probably one of the most thing in sports history.That is way it is America's past time.I think it would interesting,but it would not get high ratings.
1047357
Since we are Americentric the "World" consists of America and possibly Canada.  If India wanted to host the world series of say Polo we wouldn't make a fuss.  Also some of you are so dated, the Montreal expos are long gone
206170
The way I see it, like for example basketball, baseball, they originated in America, and when they started holding tournaments, no other country in the world was doing it, so, I guess they decided to call it world, even if it only had local participation.
1017742
I've yet to understand the popularity of baseball myself but hey to each there own.  When I ask my family about world cup and I have to tell them it's soccer. They roll their eyes and yawn.  To those that never played the game it is rather boring and you can catch all the action on the highlight reel of the late night news.  When you get down to it, when one doesn't know someone that's actually playing it's hard to spark interest.  Baseball players, basketball etc...have become household names and hence an increase of popularity.