U.S. Culture Series: American Sports - Scott Manley

U.S. Culture Series:
  American Sports
            Scott Manley

Sports in the U.S.

Sports in the U.S. are an important part
of the culture.
The sporting culture is different from
that of other countries, with a unique set
of sports being popular.
Sports are organized differently:
   No system of promotion/relegation.
   Playoff system after the regular
   season.
   School and college competitions are
   important.
   Competition between national teams
   is far less important.

Importance of Sports in
       the U.S.

 Sports play an important role in
 American society, beyond their
 popularity.
 They are vehicles for transmitting values
 such as fair play, justice, and teamwork.
 They have contributed to the racial and
 social integration, and act as a “social
 glue”that helps bind society together
 (Jackie Robinson).

Team Sports: The Big
       Four

Baseball
Basketball
Football
Hockey

University of Michigan
        Sports

 The Wolverines comprise 25 varsity sports.

 10 of the past 14 years, UM finished in the top five of the
 NACDA Director’s Cup which charts the overall success (in
 top 10 in 14 of 16 seasons).

 One of two schools to win national championship in the four
 main men’s sports: football (11), baseball (2), basketball
 (1), and hockey (9)*.

 Also won championships in: women’s field hockey (1) and
 softball (1) and men’s golf (2), gymnastics (3), swimming
 and diving (11), tennis (1), and outdoor track and field (1).

 Football is the most successful in college history: 877
 games and .741 winning percentage.

 Michigan Stadium is the largest football stadium in the
 world (106,201, with biggest of 112,118).

      Tailgating is a tradition, as it is at most football
      games.

Baseball

Oldest of American team
sports: MLB is from 1869.
Remained the most popular
until the 1960s.
Still referred to as
“America’s pastime.”

Major League Baseball

 Now considered to be the second most
 popular professional league.
    Still leader in ticket sales, due to
    high number of games in the season.
 30 teams in two leagues: American (14
 teams) and National (16 teams).
 National League from 1876, American
 from 1901.
 Recently, PEDs have become the main
 topic of concern.

World Baseball Classic

 Created by MLB and other professional
 leagues.
 Sanctioned by International Baseball
 Federation as one of two major world
 championship (along with the Summer
 Olympics, but baseball is no longer an
 Olympic sport).
 Japan won the first two championships
 (Matsuzaka was MVP both times).
 Most Americans don’t care for it
 because they think the players won’t
 play as well for their MLB teams.

Basketball

Invented in Massachusetts, by Canadian
James Naismith.
Considered 2nd most popular sport
overall when including amateur levels.
   College basketball is more popular
   that professional basketball in many
   areas of the U.S.
More Americans play basketball than
any other team sport.

National Basketball
    Association

3rd most popular professional
league.
30 teams in two conferences
(Eastern and Western).
Increasing number of
international players helping
the league gain popularity
worldwide.

March Madness

Single elimination tournament of 65 top
college teams organized by the NCAA.
   Determined by a selection
   committee, 30 automatically
   admitted, 35 at-large bids.
Affects workplace productivity, some
estimates project U.S. companies will
lose up to $3.5 billion this month.
One of the major events for gambling
(office pools and brackets).

Football

Most popular sport in the
U.S. at every level:
  high school
  college
  professional
The most television viewers
too.

National Football League

  Preeminent professional
  sports league in the U.S.
    32 teams divided equally
    between two conferences.
    16 game regular season.
    12 team playoffs that
    culminate in a
    championship game.

The Super Bowl

The Championship Game of
the NFL.
Biggest annual sporting event
in the U.S.
Almost as famous now for the
commercials as it is for
football.
  30 seconds in 2010 cost
  $3.01 million

College Bowl Games

Four major bowl games rotate the
championship game the BCS National
Championship Game.
The more prestigious the bowl game, the
more money the school receives.
Conferences commit to sending
representatives to specific bowl games.
Controversial because the two top-
ranked teams play for the championship,
but might not be the two best teams
(politics, multiple teams with no losses,
etc.).

Hockey

Always been a mainstay of the culture in
the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, and New
England areas.
Becoming increasingly popular as ice
rinks are built in the southern and
western states.
Some of the most famous U.S. sporting
events have been in hockey, the
“Miracle on Ice.”

National Hockey League

 30 teams, with six located in Canada.
 Divided between the Eastern and
 Western Conferences.
 Very internationalized with players from
 18 different countries.
 Talk of expansion in Europe.
 Stanley Cup is reused each year.
 Smallest fan base and revenue of the 4
 major sports.

Soccer

Is slowly gaining in popularity; it is the
#1 youth participation sport today.
Men’s national team has steadily
improved due to this, and the women’s is
one of the world’s premier sides.
Major League Soccer is popular, but
most don’t view it is a premier league
and will follow the main European
leagues, such as the Premier League in
the U.K.

Less Popular Team
      Sports

Lacrosse
Rugby
Volleyball
Cricket
Curling

Individual Sports

Golf

Tennis

Motor Sports (NASCAR, Indy Car, Formula One)

Boxing

Horse Racing

Skiing

Outdoor Sports (Hunting, Fishing)

Mixed Martial Arts

Alternative/Extreme Sports (Snowboarding, Skateboarding)

Fandom

Fan is short for fanatic, and many sports
fans are crazy about sports
What determines which team you will
support?
   Geography
   Family
   School attendance/enrollment
Gives a sense of community,
camaraderie, and escapism to people.

Fantasy Sports

Also known as rotisserie or roto.
Participants act as owners, build their
teams through a draft, and compete
against other participants.
Scoring is based on the statistics of real
players.
One participant acts as a league
commissioner and sets the rules for the
league and solves disputes between
participants.
Most leagues play for money which is
legal under the Unlawful Internet
Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.

Sports in the Media

Television networks pay millions for the
rights to broadcast sporting events.
Cable and satellite has greatly expanded
coverage (ESPN).
U.S. does not have a national daily
sports newspaper (difficult to do with the
four time zones).
Many magazines, even ones about
fantasy sports (Sports Illustrated is the
most famous).
The Internet has turned sports into a
24/7 business.

Sports Influence on
       Language
The ball is in your court
(tennis).                      Lead with your chin
                               (boxing).
Beat you to the punch
(boxing).                      Lightweight (boxing).

Down for the count             No holds barred
(boxing).                      (wrestling).

Down to the wire (horse        Play ball (baseball).
racing).                       Pull one’s punch (boxing).
Drop the ball (baseball).      Run interference (football).
The gloves are off (hockey).   Saved by the bell (boxing).
Hands down (horse              Slam dunk (basketball).
racing).
                               Throw in the towel
Hit below the belt, low        (boxing).
blow (boxing).
                               Win by a nose (horse
Keep your eye on the ball      racing).
(baseball, tennis).