An Overview of American Sports

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the history and development of sports from the ancient Greek ideal of sports to American sports of today. It specifically discusses collective versus individual sports in America and the values of playing sports for fun compared to competitive sports. The paper also briefly looks at the general differences between male and female sports.

From the Paper:

"The most popular spectator sports today are collective sports, much in line with the English ideal--baseball, basketball, and football. Even the much despised soccer is popular amongst American youths. Yet Americans cheer on their favorite individual stars in all of these sports, especially if the starts engage in charity efforts to justify their bloated salaries. The tension remains about what good sports do for both the individual or society, and Americans today are clearly using sports as a means of practical self-improvement like the Greeks as well as a means of collective identification like the English: "in the 1950's or 1960's, few people exercised; baseline fitness-consciousness was just above zero. Today, 20% of the U.S. population works out on a regular basis, while an additional 60%+ can be classified as...'Consciousness III'--those persuaded of physical fitness, but who by their own admission, don't get enough exercise. As behavior lags enlightened attitudes, 4 out of 5 adult Americans are true believers in exercise and fitness." But the protests remain that Americans are too busy to exercise, too busy working to do something as decadent as work on their bodies for either the individual or the collective good."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Ancient Olympic Events," Peruses Digital Library Project, Edited by Gregory R. Crane, 2007, Tufts University, 29 May 2007, <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu>.
• Dillon, Sam. "Schools Cut Back Subjects to Push Reading and Math." The New York Times. 25 Mar 2006. 29 May 2007. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/education/26child.html?ex=1301029200en=0c91b5bd32dabe2aei=5088partner=rssnytemc=rss>
• "Overweight children benefit from fitness-oriented gym classes." Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine." JAMA and Archives Journals 2005: 159:996-997. 29 May 2007. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=31562>
• Rader, Benjamin. American Sports: From the Age of Folk Games to the Age of Televised Sports. Fifth Edition. New York: Prentice Hall: 2004.
• "Sports Research Bombshell from American Sports Data, Inc.: Sports Participation Trends Parallel Evolution of a More Tolerant and Permissive Society." Business Wire. 12 Jan 2007. 29 May 2007. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2007_Jan_12/ai_n17114892

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