...Move over Baseball, Football is America’s New National Pastime Abstract The argument over which sport actually ranks as America’s national pastime is as enduring and intense as American sports themselves. Each and every week millions of Americans tune in to watch their favorite sports. Over the years baseball has traditionally been known as the national pastime among all sports, but the rich tradition and history behind baseball is almost certainly being slowly replaced by the glamour of football season. Although baseball is still referred to as America’s national pastime, football is by far the most popular sport in this country today. This can be attributed to many factors including a superior television product, more controlled violence, and legalized gambling with fantasy football. Keywords: national, pastime, football, baseball, sports, television, violence, gambling Move over Baseball, Football is America’s New National Pastime Each and every week millions of Americans tune in to watch their favorite sports. Basketball, baseball, football, golf, soccer, and racing all have a place and a market with the sports fans in America. Over the years baseball has traditionally been known as the national pastime among all sports, but the rich tradition and history behind baseball is being slowly replaced by the glamour of football season. Over the past two decades, baseball has been left behind while football has become America’s new national pastime (Gramling, 2010...
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...America and Baseball: If You Want to Know America, Then you better Know Baseball Sean R. Golob Western Governors University If You Want to Know America, Then you better Know Baseball Baseball hits a home run when it comes to comparing it to the American identity. Both baseball and the American identity have three aspects that are exactly the same; both are very diverse, both are rather competitive, and both are driven by business and money. America is a diverse country, according to US Census Bureau (2013) quickfacts reference page, “Caucasians alone total 77.7%, Hispanic and Latino alone 17.1%, and African American alone 13.2%”. However, America has races from every inhabitable continent; we have a large number of Asians, mass amounts of Europeans, and growing amounts of Latinos and African ethnicities. These aspects all put together combine to make a huge part of the definition of American identity. Along with diversity, another aspect that is used in the definition of American identity is business and corporations. Corporate America is one of the largest and wealthiest forms of business in the world. Wall Street deals with billions of dollars daily, corporations throughout the country grow in size and significance. Lastly, competition is the last big part of the definition because of the international trade, emphasize on sports and athletics, and between other rivalries between other countries. The same is with baseball in America;...
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...20th Century Baseball In 1865 towards the end of the American civil war, U.S. military officer, Abner Doubleday, had decided to draw up a sketch of a diamond shaped field and wrote up some simple rules and a few days later put his ideas to live use. He had just invented the greatest game of all time. Baseball (baseballalmanac.com). Six years later, what was once a game for military men had now started to become the national pastime. On May 4, 1871, the very first professional game was played. At this time, there was only one league, the National Association of Baseball Players. On this day, the Cleveland Forest Citys would take on the Fort Wayne Kekiongas where Fort Wayne would go on to win 2-0 over Cleveland. With only about 500 people in attendance, the game lasted for a little more than two hours as Kekiongas pitcher, Bobby Mathews, would make history as the very first pitcher to have a win on his record throw the first shutout game as Mathews went on later in the year to be tied as one of the league leaders in shutouts. In 1876, the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was organized, but today we simplified the name just to the National League (Mckissack 12). Throughout the rest of the late 1800’s, baseball massively grew in popularity as all-stars were being born. Baseball has a long and incredible history, especially in the twentieth- century, with events such as the first night game in 1935, the first World Series in 1903, and Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot?” home...
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...decade, football in the ratings and the eyes of Americans surpassed baseball in popularity. Leading many sports writers and common sports fans to pronounce football as America’s new national past time. However, a national pastime is not created over a mere decade. A sport that encapsulates a nation shares feelings about an event or general trend in the country with the majority of the country and has events within the country interwoven within the sport. Even Professor Gerald Early at Washington University in Saint Louis said that “There are only three things that America will be remembered for 2000 years from now when they study this civilization: The Constitution, Jazz music, and Baseball.” Baseball best captures the essences...
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...The Integration of Baseball & its Effect on Social Movements The integration of baseball during 1947-1959 was a time period where barriers were broken resulting in positive social changes that would alleviate class conflicts. Social changes through integration of baseball helped the Civil Rights movements although its major impacts weren’t made until the late 1960s. Baseball players were praised within the sport of baseball; however, their social status still remained the same. What was the impact of the integration of baseball on the Civil Rights movement and the social status of African Americans? These players did great things to help change the game of baseball, but were not respected by majority of their peers. The challenges that did players had to face were ridiculous. Recognized as superstars on the field, baseball players like Jackie Robinson were looked down upon by society because of their skin color. Therefore, the effects of baseball integration on society was crucial for the Civils Rights movement, but its impact was limited at best for individual baseball players and for the collective African American society since their social status as a whole remained the same. This would lead to residual class conflicts. Even the process of baseball integration was not smooth as some teams embraced integration for various reasons such as competitive advantage or box office potential, but others such as the American League’s old guard faced public pressure to limit the integration...
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...Literary Analysis Essay on Fences The sport of baseball is an extremely integral aspect of the book Fences. Troy Maxson, our protagonist in this play, was a baseball player. It is Troy’s belief that the only reason he never made the major leagues was because he has the wrong color skin. Throughout the play, it is noticeable that Troy is still bitter over this and continuously makes references to current players and how he is much better than them. Troy’s life is a difficult one, and the connection between baseball and Troy’s trying life leads me to my point. The use of baseball in Fences is to symbolize the American dream and it being unattainable to Troy Maxson. First, how is it that our American pastime can be directly related to and represented as the American dream? There are several connections between the sport and the American dream that lead me to my thesis. The article Baseball as History and Myth in August Wilson’s Fences does a great job of connecting these two seemingly unrelated subjects. This article starts with a great quote by John Thorn saying, baseball has become “the great repository of national ideals, the symbol of all that [is] good in American life: fair play; the rule of law; equal opportunity; the brotherhood of man; and more.” Fair play shown through sportsmanship between the two teams, rule of law in “objective arbitration of disputes,” equal opportunity as each team is given a chance on both offensive and defensive sides each inning...
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...phenomenon during the Gilded Age of America, which consisted of a period of unprecedented success for Americans in regard to wealth and long-term business enterprises. During the Gilded Age period, the country was consumed by the belief that every man had an opportunity to become wealthy, and those who were wealthy actually were able to spend their leisure time consumed with spending this wealth on lavish pursuits. ("Why Sports History Is American History | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History," n.d.) It was during this era that the rise of professional sports began to emerge as a way for the wealthy to entertain themselves during their leisure time. It was also during this time that immigrants were coming into the country in the millions, and the use of sports was an opportunity for these recent newcomers to become “Americanized” wherein the use of sports was an avenue to identify with their new country. This became an important way for these immigrants to mark their progress within the American society. Coupled with the political machines of that time, sports became a way to elicit support from large groups of people that were in support of specific geographic areas wherein the politicians who used sports for leisure also saw the importance of using them to garner support from immigrants. These were seen as community building institutions, and they are still used as this function wherein the use of sports to rally entire populations has been effective. Professional...
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...The 1920’s: Baseball Uniform The decade of the 1920’s is often characterized as a period of American prosperity and optimism. This was the Jazz Age, the decade of the flappers. The 1920’s opened with an explosion of color and the wailing sounds and fast rhythms of jazz and energetic dancing. It was a time of tremendous change in America. America was one of the victors in the First World War and it enjoyed a period of great prosperity in the twenties. The Americans were opposed to anything that might drag them into another European war. Many Americans simply wanted to enjoy the prosperity that had developed in the previous decade and felt that foreign entanglements would threaten it. For the next decade America kept to herself for the most part. Most Americans enjoyed a high standard of living. Food was plentiful and cheap thanks to the vast quantity produced on American farms. More and more people bought their own houses through mortgages. Thanks to Henry Ford and mass production, one could buy a ford for $290. It was the “Roaring Twenties,” the decade of bath tub gin, the model T, the $5 work day, the first transatlantic flight, and the movie. It was the great age of popular entertainment. Among the world of entertainment, there were sports. Baseball’s growing popularity in the 1920’s can be measured by structural and cultural changes that helped transform the game. Ballparks were being constructed left and right. In 1920 the Cubs Field was opened and in 1926 re-named to...
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...The American people have always been infatuated with competitive play against one another. We owe this anomaly to the primeval mentalities left behind through human evolution; and, we certainly have much to thank for these actions. Sporting, as is explained by renowned sports author Richard Davies, is the “Organized competitive activity between participants that requires some combination of skill and physical prowess.”1 Though, something more complex and unusual also comes with activity of this nature, and this is the ability to forget the destitution and difficulty of everyday life and the capability to be on a level playing field with many people that believe the same way, no matter what socio-economic class they represent. One sport in particular has transcended all other games, has continually been a psychological shelter from pain and hardships of life, and also a cultural rocket breaking through the social barriers in the American society. That sport is simply the most beloved American game of all, baseball. The purpose of this essay is to critically explore a myriad of aspects of life that have been changed due to sports, all the while concentrating on baseball as the main focal point. Further, this work will continually pose the question of how it is conceivable that a single and simple sport could greatly impact a country the way baseball has the United States. At the time of the first foreign inhabitants of North America, life was more difficult than someone of the...
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...The American society has changed drastically from 1920 to present day 2014. Over the last 100 years there has been transformations in lots of things which has changed the way America is viewed today. There has been many major culture booms such as the type of clothing worn, the music that is produced,the way different races are treated and multiple other reasons. The 1920’s, sometimes referred to as the roaring twenties were characterized by economic prosperity and tremendous social,artistic, and cultural dynamism.The twenties witnessed the large scale of cars, telephones, motion pictures and electricity. The demand and aspirations bought out significant changes in lifestyle and culture. Popular culture in the 1920’s was characterized by the innovation in film, radio, music, fashion, dance, literature and intellectual movements.The 20’s was often referred to as the “Jazz Age”, Jazz music experienced a dramatic surge in popularity.George Gerswin wrote Rhapsody in blue And in American in Paris. Eddie Lang and Joe Ventuiti While the first musicians to incorporate the guitar and Violin into jazz.Dance clubs became extremely popular.Dances such as the waltz, foxtrot ,and the tango were the most popular.There was a variety of novelty dances during this period which were the break way,and he lindy hop, which eventually evolved into the swing.Before world war one woman started to migrate towards the cities,during world war two they started to work in factories.After WWI woman found...
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...Josh Booth Professor Pearson West Georgia Technical College 05/02/2015 History of Sports/Games Using A Ball Sports or games have played a large part in the history of the world in regards to culture and entertainment and in some cases even sacrificial beliefs. Games using spherical shaped balls have been recorded as early as 1,400 B.c. in MesoAmerica and have evolved into what are now the World’s most prominent sports such as soccer or fùtbol. Games have evolved into sport, which has taken modern society by storm and created one of the largest economical entertainment industries in the world today. The first recorded history of games played with round objects was known as Ōllamaliztli, or simply as, “The Ball Game.” This game had ritualistic associations and has been dated back to 1,400 B.C. Many cultures grew to involve this game into it’s culture and ritualistic lives but the great civilization of the Mayans was the prominent exerciser. “As best as is now known from archaeological and iconographical sources as well as the structure of the sport courts, this was a very physically taxing and important part of Mayan culture.” (Blümchen). Although the exact rules of the game are unknown to this day, historians have made certain hypothesis as too how it was played. The game was played in large courts found all over Central America and as far north as Arizona. Diagonally arched balls surrounded the court with rings at the top of each wall. “Evidence suggests that...
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...The NFL in Europe: Will it make dollars, does it make sense? Table of Contents 1. Football in America: Playing on Its Home Turf 1.1 Football Surpasses Baseball as America’s Favorite Pastime 1.2 Football Generates Billions of Dollars for Owners and Players 1.3 The Economics of Football Goes Beyond the Playing Field 2. Football Goes Global 2.1 The Super Bowl Introduces Football to the Rest of the World 2.2 NFL Europe Provides a Testing Ground for NFL 2.3 English Crowds Flock to See NFL Visitors 2.4 Commissioner Wants to Take the League to England and Beyond 3. Looking to the Future: Is It the Right Move 3.1 New Legions of Fans Could Enhance Profits and the Sport’s Popularity 3.2 Why the Move Might Be Counterproductive 3.3 Why stop at London? 4. The NFL in Europe Is Imminent, But Is It the Correct Move? 4.1 Questions Still Remain about London’s Viability 4.2 Final Conclusion The NFL in Europe: Will it make dollars, does it make sense? 1. Football in America: Playing on Its Home Turf 1.1 Football Surpasses Baseball as America’s Favorite Pastime There was a time when baseball was the most popular sport in the United States. Football used to be an afterthought for most sports fans. In the first half of the 20th century, baseball was king and football was fighting for its survival. In fact, football was considered on the same level as professional basketball, boxing, golf and horse racing. That all started to change in the 1960s when professional...
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...History of Professional Baseball in Texas Baseball is an immensely popular American game, played between two teams of nine players each. The basic implements used in the game are a leather-covered ball, wooden bats for hitting the ball, and gloves for catching it. It is played at its highest level in the United States and two Canadian cities, where 26 teams make up the American and National Leagues (each with two divisions, East and West). Combined, these leagues are called major-league (professional) baseball. Most players who reach the major leagues have worked their way up through Little League, scholastic, college, and minor-league ball. In the early 1800s Americans began playing baseball on informal teams, using local rules. By the 1860s, the sport, unrivaled in popularity, was being described as America's “national pastime”. Alexander Joy Cartwright of New York invented the modern baseball field in 1845. Alexander Cartwright and the members of his New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club devised the first rules and regulations for the modern game of baseball. Baseball was based on the English game of rounders. Rounders becomes popular in the United States in the early 19th century, where the game was called "townball", "base", or "baseball". Cartwright formalized the modern rules of baseball. The first recorded baseball game in 1846 when Alexander Cartwright's Knickerbockers lost to the New York Baseball Club. [1] The popularity of baseball grew in Texas as Civil War...
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...Abstract As you read, you will learn about the wonderful game of baseball and a different outlook on the sport. It is a popular sport in America. The rest of the world looks to America as a guiding force. They view America as the baseball empire of the world. Major league baseball is the envy of the world. Baseball has very broad cultural, social, and geographic impacts that go deeper than we think. We will briefly examine the diverse and changing social, economic, and political meanings of this activity in different countries. Baseball has failed in the promotion in many European and African societies and we will discuss why. Baseball is an international sport that brings great experiences and great memories that last a lifetime. It can be very important in the bond of family. The swing, techniques, bat and balls are important and we will learn why it’s important to have proper training. Also you will read about players that have tarnished the sport and players that have changed baseball forever. Mainly this is a view of the importance of the sport worldwide and how it has changed the world through the guidance of American baseballs influence on the rest of the world. Sport of Baseball Internationally this game is viewed as a very powerful game. Baseball is the same in many ways all over the world. Every player is aiming to knock the ball out of the park or just feel lucky to get on base. Although the game has changed, the history of the...
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...Twenties The Roaring Twenties are known for both the magnificent players who helped sports grow and for the scientific and medical innovations that changed American society. Sports grew in popularity and many men and women went to local stadiums to watch their favorite players compete. There were many athletes who were revered during this time and a depiction of the age wouldn’t be complete without them. Babe Ruth (1927) Babe Ruth was the most popular baseball player in the 1920s and people gathered in large crowds just to see him play. He set a new record in 1927 by hitting 60 home runs and won...
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