Didn't know how to word the title correctly...but here's my question. I know soccer is the biggest sport in Brazil. Is BJJ the second biggest? Is someone like Rickson a household name in every Brazilian household like a Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods, LeBron James is in America? Or is he like a great Judo guy would be in America? Most don't know who he is unless you follow the sport. Is he more "celebrity" in America than he is in Brazil? I've never been there, so I was interested to see how "well known" BJJ is in Brazil. I used Rickson as an example because its pretty unanimous that most think he's the best at BJJ. Anyone know or have thoughts?
I've never met anyone from brazil outside of MMA/BJJ that had ever heard of the Gracies... I keep trying always thinking it's going to be a great ice breaker/conversational piece and they look at me blank faced...
sawdusk - I've never met anyone from brazil outside of MMA/BJJ that had ever heard of the Gracies... I keep trying always thinking it's going to be a great ice breaker/conversational piece and they look at me blank faced...
Exactly. I work in an office where we get 5-6 new brazilian employees every year, and I always ask them if they are familiar with jiu jitsu, vale tudo, the Gracies, etc. and they usually just laugh.
Most of them mention that BJJ is something the thugs do. Always amazes me that BJJ is not as big in Brazil as I had imagined
MMA and BJJ guys are famous in Brazil like Skateboarders are famous here. Some people know some of them, some dont know any, and then there are guys like Tony Hawk that people may not know but they have heard of.
no, Jiu-jitsu is not even a top 10 sport in brazil...
Soccer (tv)
Volley Ball (tv)
beach soccer (tv)
beach volley ball (tv)
basketball (tv)
judo (tv only in special events such as the olympic summer games)
Futsal (tv)
footvolley (cable tv)
tenis (tv, only in special events or cable tv)
capoeira (no tv)
formula one (tv)
are much bigger than BJJ (never been on tv, ever) .
Not too long ago, only middle class or rich people could afford to pay memberships at a bjj academy.
As for Rickson being a celebrity... people that are not involved with the sport judge the Gracies as trouble makers, because of Ryan Gracie's antics in the past.
Other than the Gracies (which people only could name 2: Ryan, because of his problem with the law, and Royce because of the early UFC's), no other BJJ guy is known by the people that are not involved with the sport...
Anderson Silva, Rodrigo Nogueira, Vitor Belfort (probably the most well known) and Demian Maia are making a name for themselves though. But still, not because of BJJ.
Is bull riding/rodeo big in Brazil? I ask because there have been several bull riders from Brazil competing in PBR including possibly the greatest ever, Adriano Moraes.
IAHAWKS13 - Is bull riding/rodeo big in Brazil? I ask because there have been several bull riders from Brazil competing in PBR including possibly the greatest ever, Adriano Moraes.
Only big in the shitty part of the country....:)
edited
Thanks for the responses. I'm kind of surprised to hear that BJJ is not that big of deal there......I don't know why, I just am. I guess I thought there were tons of BJJ schools there. It sounds like the "Gracie" name may be bigger in America, than it is in Brazil.
On a different note, does anyone know if its the same in Japan? Was Sakuraba a national hero....or kind of the same thing the responses said about Rickson, etc.
Again, interesting stuff... thanks
Vinny Magalhaes - no, Jiu-jitsu is not even a top 10 sport in brazil...Vinny is Vitor known more though as a fighter or celebrity from that reality show and becaus eof who his wife his?
Soccer (tv)
Volley Ball (tv)
beach soccer (tv)
beach volley ball (tv)
basketball (tv)
judo (tv only in special events such as the olympic summer games)
Futsal (tv)
footvolley (cable tv)
tenis (tv, only in special events or cable tv)
capoeira (no tv)
formula one (tv)
are much bigger than BJJ (never been on tv, ever) .
Not too long ago, only middle class or rich people could afford to pay memberships at a bjj academy.
As for Rickson being a celebrity... people that are not involved with the sport judge the Gracies as trouble makers, because of Ryan Gracie's antics in the past.
Other than the Gracies (which people only could name 2: Ryan, because of his problem with the law, and Royce because of the early UFC's), no other BJJ guy is known by the people that are not involved with the sport...
Anderson Silva, Rodrigo Nogueira, Vitor Belfort (probably the most well known) and Demian Maia are making a name for themselves though. But still, not because of BJJ.
PJ Benn Fan -Before he had started date his now wife, he was already in the modeling circuit, he was already doing some appearances for Bad Boy in some fashion shows.Vinny Magalhaes - no, Jiu-jitsu is not even a top 10 sport in brazil...Vinny is Vitor known more though as a fighter or celebrity from that reality show and becaus eof who his wife his?
Soccer (tv)
Volley Ball (tv)
beach soccer (tv)
beach volley ball (tv)
basketball (tv)
judo (tv only in special events such as the olympic summer games)
Futsal (tv)
footvolley (cable tv)
tenis (tv, only in special events or cable tv)
capoeira (no tv)
formula one (tv)
are much bigger than BJJ (never been on tv, ever) .
Not too long ago, only middle class or rich people could afford to pay memberships at a bjj academy.
As for Rickson being a celebrity... people that are not involved with the sport judge the Gracies as trouble makers, because of Ryan Gracie's antics in the past.
Other than the Gracies (which people only could name 2: Ryan, because of his problem with the law, and Royce because of the early UFC's), no other BJJ guy is known by the people that are not involved with the sport...
Anderson Silva, Rodrigo Nogueira, Vitor Belfort (probably the most well known) and Demian Maia are making a name for themselves though. But still, not because of BJJ.
The whole Reality tv show on SBT just increased his popularity, SBT (one of the biggest tv channel from Brazil) even showed his fight against Chuck Liddel live at the UFC 37.5 in National Television .
its a sampling fallacy. you know brazil for soccer and bjj. it's like thinking everyone watches cartoons or plays video games in japan
On a somewhat related note, Bob Sapp was definitely a big name in Japan. I made Bob Sapp jokes all the time with my japanese coworkers and they always know who he is