American Exceptionalism in Sports
... need help from anyone, we had everything we needed right here at home. The US was becoming a wealthy nation and that attracted people from all around the world to come and live in America and start a new life. The United States became the first multi-ethnic society; we had become a nation of immigrants (Lecture 9/28). We are unique in many aspects and even today there are very distinct aspects that are common to the US but different around the world. Media coverage for example is something Americans have shaped their life around. America is centered on television unlike other nations; here in the US more people get their news from the television than from the newspaper. All of these factors have contributed to American excpetionalism. But what about American exceptionalism in sports? The United States is the only country in the world with three big sports. We follow sports such as baseball, basketball, and football all year round. However, it is not apparent why soccer, the world’s most popular sport, does not have the same resignation in the United States. People have begun to ask themselves “why has the world’s most popular game failed to excite Americans in the way it has excited generations of Europeans?” (Waddington). The United States was still growing and Americans wanted to make a name for themselves. Americans definitely did not want to be associated with the Europeans so traditions like soccer did not catch on. Soccer just did not fit into the American sports space. Sports space refers to the cultural meanings of a sport and to the capacity of a society to value a particular kind of sport and render it meaningful and of real social and cultural significance (Tomlinson 1470). In the United States, Americans were content on playing other sports. The creation of the big three sports, baseball, football, and basketball, blocked interest in soccer and their popularity has not faltered (Markovits CP p.245). One could say that baseball and football crowded out soccer from the American culture. Baseball and football are the two most popular sports in the United States today. Although baseball was always America’s pastime, people took to the game of football, it was rough and unlike anything they had ever seen, its characteristics are American by nature. Americans absolutely love watching American football; in fact the Super Bowl has almost become a national holiday. However people around the world have not adapted to the game in the same way Americans have. An example is NFL Europe that was supposed to introduce the game to the world and hopefully greatly increase the games international popularity. Europe did not take to the game in the way we were expecting. Actually it is kind of ironic that Europeans reacted to the American football game in almost the same way we reacted to the game of soccer. Basketball is another game that has contributed to American exceptionalism. The main reason is because the game was invented in the United States by James Naismith. Basketball is an American sport; it was played here first, where it was promulgated, where local institutions took the game to heart (Gorn 175). One can see a clear cut case of American exceptionalism by observing the attitude of America towards the international game. America does not have the same desire to win abroad as they do at home...