Comparing Aussie sports leagues to American ones

Australia and the United States are about as far apart, geographically-speaking, as any two countries can be. However, there are some similarities in terms of their sports leagues, as well as plenty of differences as well.

Cricket is arguably the most popular sport in Australia, as fans flock to matches to watch the exciting sport, with the results possibly swinging back and forth every few seconds. Part of the appeal of cricket is how many opportunities there are for the losing team to come back and potentially win, so matches are never really over, until the final whistle sounds.

Tennis is also extremely popular as well, with the Australian Open being one of the most important tournaments in the entire world. It’s an event that locals and tourists alike flock to, with many Aussies waiting for January to roll around, to bring in the new year in the best way possible -- by watching tennis. Stars such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are worshipped by Aussies, who are always hoping these two square off on the court against one another -- preferably in the finals.

There’s also the National Basketball League, as sports fans like the up-and-down, uptempo play that hoops bring. The endless possibilities to bet on so many different props are alluring as well -- such as best RTG casino Australia.

Here’s the thing: The United States has its own basketball league as well, and it’s actually the most popular one in the world. The National Basketball Association houses nearly all of the sport’s top 100 stars, and it’s where all basketball players hope to end up, given the amount of money they can make, and the competition they play against.

The National Football League, too, houses the best athletes in the world for that respective sport. It’s a league that has been known to make -- or break -- player’s lives, as guys train from young ages to hopefully make their way into the NFL. Still, it’s an extremely stressful process, as there really isn’t a “minor league” system for the NFL, unfortunately. After playing college football, it’s the XFL, NFL -- or nothing. And the XFL just wrapped up its first season, so its future is unclear.

As you can see, there are some similarities and differences between sports in these two countries.