Quite simply, no! On a national level, football’s popularity is unrivaled and that is no different in Florida. Kids learn at a very early age that the high school football stars get the most attention, date the prettiest girls, and become local celebrities.

Over the past decade or so, football popularity has skyrocketed and basketball has been on a slow and steady decline. Fans can’t get enough of the blue collar work mentality that football players demonstrate each week. With no guaranteed contracts, players can be cut at any time if their play is unsatisfactory. So players play through sprains, strains and even broken bones and the everyday fan can relate and appreciate that toughness.

Basketball players on the other hand, do have guaranteed contracts. There are countless examples of players busting their butts to receive their first huge guaranteed contract, then to fade away into mediocrity when they are rich beyond their wildest dreams and have nothing left to prove. It’s hard not to view these players as entitled, when quite literally, they ARE entitled to every bit of their money whether they produce or not. This perception of the players is a major turn off to the fans.

It would take several major, likable stars to emerge for basketball to have a glimmer of hope to overcome football in popularity. Football is king, and looks to stay there for the foreseeable future.Related Article : Funeral held for Pennsylvania high school football player killed in N.C.