Soccer > Basketball

Thank you for your arguments. 1. Excitement I suppose this point is rather subjective. For me, the thrill of watching a person find creative ways to put a ball through a hoop is very exciting, such as these dunks below. Watch some of them, it's entertaining. https://m.youtube.com... Even in soccer, as you have admitted in your argument, people are waiting for that moment when their team scores. Scoring is arguably the most exciting moment of a soccer game as well. Some soccer goals are very interesting (though less so than dunks, in my subjective opinion). However, these moments occur far less often than in a basketball game. The culmination of excitement, the way that a team wins, is by scoring. Unfortunately, due to the enormous size of soccer fields, (at the very least, slightly over three times the size of a basketball court) [1] the amount of scoring is inhibited. This is not to say soccer is not exciting, this is to say, using an objective measure, basketball is more exciting. 2. Entertainment for Fans Soccer is not unentertaining. However, it lacks the ability to create new and exciting facets of the sport in order to provide the multitude of entertainment that basketball can provide. All Star Weekend for the NBA demonstrates the wide range of activities basketball can provide for. 3. Essentiality Yes, you are correct, sports in general do provide an outlet for people. But who are we to judge a sport as better for this than another? I was under the incorrect impression that we were mainly discussing the United States as you said soccer instead of futbol. Both sports help children in underprivileged areas throughout the world, and neither can be considered better here. My apologies. This argument really cannot show that basketball is better, but it does not show soccer is better either. Rather, they are both beneficial sports to their respective communities and cultures. If soccer is not better than basketball, you have not fulfilled your burden, and you lose. Now I will rebut your arguments. 1. Basketball is played worldwide as well. It is also the third-most popular sport in the US, below football and baseball, and above soccer [2]. I will acknowledge, it is not as popular worldwide as soccer. However, a lot of this comes from European culture, and popularity does not guarantee quality. This is an appeal to popularity fallacy. 2. This argument is fairly fallacious. Here's why: The statement "Soccer gives you pride in your country" is a complete non-sequitur. Soccer does not give pride. Winning above all other nations gives pride. Winning a gold medal in the Olympics, like the United States Basketball team did, gives pride as well. This does not demonstrate that soccer is better. This point is also very similar to the above point, in that you assume just because soccer is more popular and has a world cup, it is better. 3. Soccer is actually less difficult. According to ESPN's scientific rankings of difficulty of sports, basketball is the fourth hardest sport in the world, while soccer is tenth [3]. In conclusion, my opponent has not proven soccer is better than basketball. To be fair, I do not believe my points (though valid) prove basketball is objectively, as a whole, better than soccer. However, they do prove it is an equal and different sport. If the sports are equal, the opponent has not fulfilled his burden, and I have won the debate. Vote con. Thank you all! [1] http://www.fifa.com... [2] http://sporteology.com... [3] http://sports.espn.go.com...