Why does it seem like the sports culture in high school/college in so much stronger in American culture than others? (stadiums, horse)
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That has more to do with "soccer" being the only sport available in those areas than their obsession over athletics in general. Cities like Pittsburgh, Detroit, Atlanta etc have 4 Professional teams in 4 different major Sports and that's not considering the college, high school and womens versions. I guarantee Americans watch & read more about sports on a daily basis than anyone else.
In London there are 14 (fourteen!) professional football clubs, 6 (six!) In the Premiership alone! London is also home to professional Rugby clubs and Twickenham is the home of Rugby, there is Lords (the home of cricket), London is also home of the Wimbledon tennis championships, the boat race and the London Marathon, there are dog race tracks in London and horse race tracks on the outskirts, there are athletic stadiums in London that hold world athletic events (Crystal Palace) and the Olympic Stadium! The combined attendance's of these sports over a weekend dwarfs what New York or LA attract, how much sport do you want?
In London there are 14 (fourteen!) professional football clubs, 6 (six!) In the Premiership alone! London is also home to professional Rugby clubs and Twickenham is the home of Rugby, there is Lords (the home of cricket), London is also home of the Wimbledon tennis championships, the boat race and the London Marathon, there are dog race tracks in London and horse race tracks on the outskirts, there are athletic stadiums in London that hold world athletic events (Crystal Palace) and the Olympic Stadium! The combined attendance's of these sports over a weekend dwarfs what New York or LA attract, how much sport do you want?
Consistency. Most of what you mentioned occurs once a year for a short period of time. Are there college, high school & womens football, rugby, cricket etc events occurring?
Consistency. Most of what you mentioned occurs once a year for a short period of time. Are there college, high school & womens football, rugby, cricket etc events occurring?
No it doesn't, football, cricket and rugby have seasons like American sports, the football season is 9 months! Weekly attendance's at the football in London alone runs into the hundreds of thousands, there is just as much (if not more) sporting interest in Europe than there is in the US (well in the UK anyway). There is however a difference that you've mentioned, there is of course school/college sports, personally I played football, cricket, rugby (and a couple of times hockey) for my school but there is no interest in the games outside of the schools taking part, all public interest is in pro sports in this country.
Consistency. Most of what you mentioned occurs once a year for a short period of time. Are there college, high school & womens football, rugby, cricket etc events occurring?
No, because the sports system is completely different in the US and Europe. Schools are schools, sports associations are sports associations. There's a ton of Europeans who are involved in junior or adult sports teams, either as players or volunteers. Or then they just go to the nearest park and play soccer with their friends or to the nearest tennis ground. If that isn't sports culture I don't what is.
Young athletes who are in academies or similar go to school after the morning training, but the sports club and the school has nothing in common or equipped with each other. They are two completely different organizations, unlike in the US.
The only sport I remember equipped with school was the provincial tournaments, where you just went to play the matches and then returned. I was in the high school soccer team and we didn't have any training or rehersals, just a bunch of pals who played soccer and had a reason to skip lessons.
In my opinion Europeans are more interested in big events (Soccer World Cup, Tour de France, Olympics Games, Tennis big four, Rugby World Cup, Champions League, etc..) than in days to days competitions, in comparison to Americans.
But many Europeans are soccer crazy fans.. who can speak for hours about a match. Some are crazy about Rugby. And many don't care about sports too, but will nevertheless will watch some big events because it's aired live in free channels.
Back to the OP
College in America has become an extension of high school, American kids are expected to attend and will get there any way they can. If your parents didn't save for your college education then the easiest way in is with a sports scholarship.
In my experience what this achieves is a bunch of people who have attended college, played a ton of sports and left with mediocre academic qualifications who end up working at the local big box store with only tales of their sporting achievements as fond memories while earning low wages and continuing the cycle of failing to save for their children's college education.
Meanwhile elsewhere in the world college attendance is much more optional and still reserved for those 'brainiacs' who gain their places through academic achievements. While colleges still have varsity teams they tend to be amateur based sports (rowing, rugby, football, cricket) not the huge money making ventures of their American counterparts.
I see you guys saying it makes them money to have school sports. How so? Here it's generally an amenity for students that is an expense for the school. Why is a sports team profitable at American universities? Is it all of the sports or just some of them? Thanks.
I just read a new book on this subject, called "THE KING OF SPORTS." To answer your question, when universities have a winning sports team, it creates loyalty and enthusiasm among the alumni (graduates). Successful alumni then will donate money to the university for building projects, and they will travel to the university town for games, thus spending money in the town.
The most famous example of this is, billionaire T. Boone Pickens donated $165 million to Oklahoma State University - most of this amount was to the sports program.
It's very true, that much corruption exists in the recruitment of college athletic stars, and their professors are pressured to give these athletes passing grades which they have not merited academically, --- because long hours of athletic team practice, and traveling to other states, makes it difficult for these athletes to study properly. This is all discussed in "The King of Sports."
That has more to do with "soccer" being the only sport available in those areas than their obsession over athletics in general. Cities like Pittsburgh, Detroit, Atlanta etc have 4 Professional teams in 4 different major Sports and that's not considering the college, high school and womens versions. I guarantee Americans watch & read more about sports on a daily basis than anyone else.
This part I have to agree with. it's the number and types of sports that really set the US apart. Take the San Francisco Bay Area for example; Oakland and San Francisco each have a Football team and a Baseball team. The seasons for these two sports overlap in late summer and fall. In addition, Oakland has a Basketball team and it's season is on for that brief period when there is neither Baseball nor Football. Then there is San Jose which has a Soccer team and a Hockey team. Then there are the college teams like Cal (Berkeley) and Stanford. Then there are the minor league teams mentioned earlier and I won't even get into the High Schools as there are an immense number of them throughout the Bay Area.
Cable and Satellite TV packages are frequently sold around their various sports packages (I know because I sell them). Many people subscribe to a service only for the sports packages and nothing else.
Basketball
Baseball
Hockey
Soccer
Golf
Spring College Football
and probably other stuff I didn't see
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