Question 5: Sports & recreationLarg

Question 5: Sports & recreation

Large numbers of Americans watch and participate in sports activities, which are a deeply ingrained part of American life. Americans use sports to express interest in health and fitness and to occupy their leisure time. Sports also allow Americans to connect and identify with mass culture. Americans of all classes, races, sexes, and ages participate in sports activities. Public subsidies and private sponsorships support the immense network of outdoor and indoor sports, recreation, and athletic competitions. Sports in North America go back to the Native Americans, who played forms of lacrosse and field hockey. Baseball teams developed in Eastern cities during the 1850s. At the end of the 19th century, football (rugby) was played on college campuses. Basketball and ice hockey are other sports which are very popular in the US. As more Americans watched sports on television, the sports industry grew into an enormous business, and sports events became widely viewed among Americans as cultural experiences. At the end of the 20th century, Americans were taking part in individual sports of all kinds—jogging, bicycling, swimming, etc. as well as more unusual sports such as bungee jumping, hang gliding, and wind surfing. Sports have become one of the most visible expressions of the vast extension of democracy in 20th-century US. They have become more inclusive, with many Americans both personally participating and enjoying sports as spectators.