A brief history of sports and society

In modern American history, the popularity of certain sports at certain times has reflected the lay of American culture, society and attitudes of the time. From the early popularity of working men's games in the 19th and early 20th centuries to the current mainstream acceptance of "extreme" sports, sports often say not only a lot about the people and sociand fusion of these sports. Faster-paced than cricket, it was allegorical for the emergence of the fast-growing, fast-moving American nation then emerging onto the world scene to supplant the stodgy old tea-and-crumpets world of the British Empire and cricket. It was also unlike cricket, a game of the upper crust, in that it was a working man's game that emphasized teamwork, stressing the worker's ideal in the growing industrial giant that was the United States.

Football gained popularity in the early 20th century by again building on a British game, but again reversing the class roles of those who played the game. Rugby, which had its origins at England's prestigious Rugby school, was, like cricket, a game of upper-class gentlemen. Football, on the other hand, emerged in the coal mining regions of Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, and was an even grittier and more worker-oriented game than baseball. Played at first by the coal miners themselves, it reflected the dirty, muddy existence they led; their play was nearly as punishing as their back-breaking work.

Basketball emerged in the same spirit of worker solidarity and teamwork. Whereas football had its roots in mostly rural areas, basketball grew mainly (with the notable exception of Indiana) in urban areas. Baseball, first on the scene, drew from all areas.

But basketball's emergence also heralded the beginning of a great expansion in American sports. The 1960s saw the national popularization of proteam sports other than baseball; previously, only individual pro sports like boxing, track and field and horse racing occupied anywhere near the amount of space in the American sport psyche as baseball. The growing national popularity of football and basketball, combined with the ever-increasingly multicu-ltural and heterogeneous American cultural landscape, paved the way for more and more sports to make their way onto the national scene. These changes revealed the growing acceptance for difference in America at the time, and saw increasing coverage of hockey and other winter sports.

The tennis boom that started with an increasing popularity of pro tennis in the 1970s and then led to the popularization of recreational tennis in the 1980s highlighted a societal trend, of greater self-importance and exhibition of wealth. Traditionally a rich man's game, tennis allowed Americans a sport they could play and exhibit their financial success in simultaneously in the me-centric go-go 80s.

Throughout the current decade, the amount of information available on nearly every conceivable event has multiplied exponentially, and sports have not escaped that general trend. With just ESPN at the beginning of the decade and as recent as a few years ago, the proliferation of sports-only cable channels proves that sport-news is a booming trend. Consequently, the overall public consciousness of sports in general and more individual sports has increased.

This, in and of itself, is a sign of the times. As certain sports once represented American society individually, the multitude of sports now represents the diversity of society. And just as American culture is more prone than ever to fads, so is American sports culture. The Tonya-Harding-Nancy-Kerrigan fiasco ignited increased interest in figure skating, as Tiger Woods has done for golf. The case of golf, just as in tennis in the 80s, is also a matter of exhibiting financial success; predictably, the bubble on the golf boom has burst just as it has on the world economy. Which is not to say that sports disappear from the scene after the fads are over; rather, they maintain a residual, higher exposure and bigger fanbase than before, but may not be everyday front page news.

The 1990s have been a decade characterized not only by media saturation but a growing numbness to the ordinary. Hence, the rise in popularity of "extreme" sports. Games where the players maul each other in giant body armor are no longer exciting enough; there must be a real element of danger now, an actual possibility not just of severe or lasting injury but of death. America is bored, and so turns to the most outrageous outlets it can find-extreme sports are merely another sign of the times, a signal that our collective eyes have glazed over to all but the most terrifying and dangerous sporing events, and events in general (witness the popularity of "When Animals Attack" and the like).

What does this then say for the future of sports in America? Well, current and recent labor disputes aside, it is highly unlikely that any of the big three sports will suffer a severe loss of popularity anytime soon. However, look for the trend of increased soccer popularity to continue as an ever-greater portion of the population plays or has played the sport, combined with continued high levels of immigration from Mexico and other soccer-playing nations. Beyond that, also expect to see more and more sports get more and more exposure, as the newsmedia's creedo shifts from "All the news that's fit to print," to "All the news." Most of all, expect America to continue expressing its cutural and societal moods in the same manner that it has, almost from the start: with its games.