Sports in the United States bring together different regions of the country and creates (sometimes) friendly competition as a past time. The sports that are the most popular in the United States are Football and Baseball. Both things that are not as common in other parts of the world. Both of these sports share a large fan base and a huge revenue from games, merchandise, and media. They are both male based sports that have no women's leagues, but their fans are both male and female. A typical game day usually involves a heavy alcohol intake, food, and fan pride. This usually all takes place at a tailgate, which is the pre-game festivities to celebrate the sporting event that takes place outside of the stadium before the event. The values that are conveyed are fan pride. This means wearing, from head to toe, jerseys and apparel pertaining to their specific sports team. Usually a fan is supposed to support the team regardless of who they play or if they win or lose. We measure a success in US sports by how many titles are won and how large the fan base is. This means how many championships are won or how well they rank internationally. We associate that a successful athlete has been consistent with their winning career. This means how they are a leader not only on the field, but within a community. An athlete can win countless titles and championships, but if they are not a role model within the community, it means nothing. The most important aspect of sport in the USA is the aspect of community and entertainment. It brings together various groups of people from different types of life and gives great opportunities to talented athletes.
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ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you only view football and baseball as the most popular sports, because I think of hockey and basketball as being just as, if not more, popular than baseball. For hockey, this may be because I live in the northeast pretty close to Canada, and I grew up in a family with four brothers that all played hockey. Either way, it's interesting to see that people from different areas even in the US differ in what they consider the most popular sports -- let alone internationally.
ReplyDeleteI also think it is interesting how you talked about athletes not only in terms of their ability, but in terms of their influence on society in being a role model and being a leader both on and off the field. I agree with this, but think athletes get even more attention (even though it may be negative) for doing just the opposite.
-Taylor murray