Sports are an important component of any country’s identity. Which is why when nations compete, passions erupt like a geyser. But which country’s sports fans hold the title of most passionate? Machochip Editor Alejandro De La Cruz risks your wrath by daring to define the top five.

If disgraced Major League Baseball player Roger Clemens were pitching in Roman times, there would be no Congressional hearing to investigate his steroid use. He’d simply be pitted against a lion to prove his honor, and if he won, fans would accept him back into the fold. So it has been since the dawn of competitive games that fans are the governing body of sports. Which got me thinking: With so much power on their hands, which country’s fans are most passionate? It’s a question burdened by nationalism, ego and variety.

First off, what defines passion? Is it how much money a country spends on its stadiums? Is it the amount of violence in the stands? Or is passion characterized by the exhibiting of Janet Jackson’s nipples during the most watched sporting event of the year? Maybe, my friends. Maybe.

The truth is that all around the world, sports are an integral part of the cultural makeup of any country. But since we don’t have time for the entire world, I’ve narrowed it down to the top-five, without a doubt, most hate mail-inspiring, passionate sports countries in the world, ranked in descending order:

5) England

Initially, I wasn’t sure if I would even include England on this list. But when I asked myself: What is the most popular sport in the world? The answer was obviously soccer—sorry football. And when I further ask myself which country admires that sport most, I instinctively careen towards images of hooligans—from the country that invented modern-day football: England.

No other country in the world blurs the line between fanaticism and lunacy like good old Mother England. The NFL’s Raiders’ fans are Catholic missionaries compared to some of England’s most notorious fans (hooligans). Their unique interpretation of how passion should be unleashed is recognized all over the world by copycats in South America, Eastern Europe and Asia. Alas, violence doesn’t earn a place higher than number five in my book.

I’m sure St. George’s faithful will start spittin’ cockney slang down my throat as soon as they see who tops the list as the most passionate sports country in the world.

4) China

Yao Ming is what most Americans think of when they hear the words “China” and “sports.” But the country’s infatuation with sports goes beyond basketball. Take into consideration these stats:

By the end of 2004 Chinese athletes had altogether won 1,800 world championships and broken 1,119 world records. In the 16 years since 1989, Chinese athletes have won 1,446 world championships, accounting for 80.3 percent of the total; and broken 737 world records, making up 65.9 percent of the total. It was a period when China’s competitive sports developed continuously and rapidly.

Some of China’s most important Olympic sports:

• Basketball
• Soccer
• Badminton
• Diving
• Swimming
• Table Tennis

The latter being the most fascinating. In fact, China could have earned its spot as the fourth most passionate sports country in the world on the strength of this video alone:

3) New Zealand/Australia

Australasia is home to, arguably, the most ferocious sport on earth that isn’t related to Mixed Martial Arts: Rugby. When fans can inspire the home team to incorporate traditional indigenous fighting rituals into the pre-match festiviites, those fans deserve to be called the third most passionate in all the world. Check out the New Zealand “All Blacks” traditional Maöri Haka salute to their opponents. Wouldn’t this be a bad ass way to commence a Boston Red Sox/New York Yankees series?

2) The US of A.

The United States is ranked second by way of substance because the Americans give where it hurts—from the wallet. There isn’t a country more passionate when it comes to shelling out dough for the best athletes in the world. In fact, teams are willing to allocate the gross domestic product of Dominica to Alex Rodriguez (or David Beckham) to make their fans happy. Why? Because of substance. The United States attracts the best athletes in the world, maintains the highest level of competitiveness in the world and, by default, has the most exciting domestic championships in the world. In fact, there is no other premier destination for foreign athletes than the United States.



• In 2005, more than 30.3% of Major League Baseball players were foreigners. And, by the looks of it, we’re guesstimating that figure has shot up like the U.S. National Soccer team’s credibility.
• As of 2007, 19 percent of the NBA’s players were foreigners. You didn’t think Manu Ginobli was a Bronx born Italian, did ya?

Besides the elite leagues, Americans also indulge in a variety of other sports:

• Number of fans that follow NASCAR stock car racing: estimated 75 million
• Number of Americans who played golf in 2004: 24.5 million
• Number of Americans who played tennis in 2004: 24 million

Whether or not you agree with Billy Bob that a car speeding 500 times around a racetrack is a sport, what is certain is the incredible versatility of the American fan. But even that’s not enough to reach first place on this list.

1) Argentina

You’re probably wondering the obvious by this point: Where’s Brazil? Where’s Mexico? Where’s San Marino—the country that always loses 19-0 to Germany? I told you this was a list of five. And, frankly, Argentina tops all of aforementioned and unmentioned countries for one very simple reason: ego.

Argentina, above all other bona fide ambassadors of arrogance, takes the golden chalice for it’s incessant exaltation of one man: Diego Maradona. And one sport: soccer. Even with his addictions and his formidable presence as a raving lunatic, in Argentina Maradona is revered as a god. And why the hell not? He singlehandedly thrashed England in the World Cup in 1986 and in Argentina that’s all you need to be loved forever.

Check out the Million Maradona March in this video.

I have one recommendation to all the countries left out of this list—step it up. But just so you know, Spain and Japan were, like, this close to making it.

Images [SportsFane]
Videos [YouTube]