In today’s society people make sports an important part of their life. So much so that we even consider the superbowl and other large events as holidays. Today, contests pushing physical limits are more popular than ever before. Athletes have a tremendous economic, political and cultural influence on us and our society. Watching and playing sports are some ways children, students and adults cope with the stress of their daily lives and come together as a community. Sporting events can oftentimes boost profit for a city. Sports in the public eye can even impact our understanding of gender roles and financial issues, and they can help outline city, state and national personality. Indeed, even with individuals who don't enjoy playing or watching
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“At least forty percent of children in the United States play a team sport on a regular basis.” Even for those who have never played a sport themselves, watching college-level, professional and international sports often become an important part of their life. Almost 112 million people watched Super Bowl 50 this past February, and it was predicted that 480,000 tourists will flood Rio for this past summer’s Olympics. The sports market in the U.S alone was worth more than $60 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach $73 billion by 2019. Studies show that it’s more important for fans to be identified with a favorite team rather than with their work and friend groups, and it’s equally as important if not more as being identified with a religion. The quantity of emotions invested into sports is often viewed as dramatic, specifically to outsiders or people who aren’t fans of sports. The obsession around sports has and can have negative effects on many children. Allot of young children today are not capable to act as a child. Many children are being pushed by their parents every year to participate in sports that may not even interest the child. Sundays are now full of sporting events and practices. Sundays used to be for spending time with family and often to go to church. American values and quality time family have now been replaced with sports. Football players are thought of as “warriors,” basketball stars are considered “godlike” and baseball jocks are talked of as “superman.” The dark side of this love affair with sports has now begun to manifest itself in ways the public can no long ignore. New claims of domestic violence involving NFL player Ray Rice and child abuse involving another player, Adrian Peterson, have begun to crowd out the headlines of players’ activities on the
“At least forty percent of children in the United States play a team sport on a regular basis.” Even for those who have never played a sport themselves, watching college-level, professional and international sports often become an important part of their life. Almost 112 million people watched Super Bowl 50 this past February, and it was predicted that 480,000 tourists will flood Rio for this past summer’s Olympics. The sports market in the U.S alone was worth more than $60 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach $73 billion by 2019. Studies show that it’s more important for fans to be identified with a favorite team rather than with their work and friend groups, and it’s equally as important if not more as being identified with a religion. The quantity of emotions invested into sports is often viewed as dramatic, specifically to outsiders or people who aren’t fans of sports. The obsession around sports has and can have negative effects on many children. Allot of young children today are not capable to act as a child. Many children are being pushed by their parents every year to participate in sports that may not even interest the child. Sundays are now full of sporting events and practices. Sundays used to be for spending time with family and often to go to church. American values and quality time family have now been replaced with sports. Football players are thought of as “warriors,” basketball stars are considered “godlike” and baseball jocks are talked of as “superman.” The dark side of this love affair with sports has now begun to manifest itself in ways the public can no long ignore. New claims of domestic violence involving NFL player Ray Rice and child abuse involving another player, Adrian Peterson, have begun to crowd out the headlines of players’ activities on the