3 ms·

It's a weird sport from a human perspective. You get folks who just do it as a hobby (because it's not that expensive), die hard folks who live it (but aren't

by ethbro 6y ago

It's a weird sport from a human perspective. You get folks who just do it as a hobby (because it's not that expensive), die hard folks who live it (but aren't that wealthy), plus ultra-wealthy folks (who are generally jealous of the former!). I think it's the peace and tranquillity that attracts. Add to that, that at least in the US, Trout Unlimited is without a doubt the most politically-connected pure sportsperson lobbying organization.

teachrdan 6y ago
"At either end of the social spectrum there lies a leisure class." What you described is also true for skiing, scuba diving, mountain diving and any number of other outdoor pursuits.
- ethbro 6y ago
  Apparently in the US there are about: 7M fly fishers [1], 9M skiers + snowboarders [2], about 3.2M SCUBA divers [3], 14M "active camping households" (3 or more times in a year) [4], and 48M hikers [5]. To pull a few outdoor activities, because I was curious. Fly fishing feels more like bird-watching to me though: in that it's relatively easy and cheap to do, but not a thing you would ever do accidentally. [1] https://outdoorindustry.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2018-Special-Report-on-Fishing_FINAL.pdf https://outdoorindustry.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2018-... [2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/376710/active-skiers-and-snowboarders-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/376710/active-skiers-and... [3] https://www.dema.org/store/download.aspx?id=7811B097-8882-4707-A160-F999B49614B6 https://www.dema.org/store/download.aspx?id=7811B097-8882-47... [4] https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170315005391/en/Camping-U.S.-Trend-Expected-Continue-Millennials-Seek https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170315005391/en/Cam... [5] https://www.statista.com/statistics/191240/participants-in-hiking-in-the-us-since-2006/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/191240/participants-in-h...

by ethbro 6y ago

teachrdan 6y ago

"At either end of the social spectrum there lies a leisure class." What you described is also true for skiing, scuba diving, mountain diving and any number of other outdoor pursuits.

ethbro 6y ago
Apparently in the US there are about: 7M fly fishers [1], 9M skiers + snowboarders [2], about 3.2M SCUBA divers [3], 14M "active camping households" (3 or more times in a year) [4], and 48M hikers [5]. To pull a few outdoor activities, because I was curious. Fly fishing feels more like bird-watching to me though: in that it's relatively easy and cheap to do, but not a thing you would ever do accidentally. [1] https://outdoorindustry.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2018-Special-Report-on-Fishing_FINAL.pdf https://outdoorindustry.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2018-... [2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/376710/active-skiers-and-snowboarders-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/376710/active-skiers-and... [3] https://www.dema.org/store/download.aspx?id=7811B097-8882-4707-A160-F999B49614B6 https://www.dema.org/store/download.aspx?id=7811B097-8882-47... [4] https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170315005391/en/Camping-U.S.-Trend-Expected-Continue-Millennials-Seek https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170315005391/en/Cam... [5] https://www.statista.com/statistics/191240/participants-in-hiking-in-the-us-since-2006/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/191240/participants-in-h...