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Few countries in the world have athletic scholarships, it seems.
How did sports culture come to be a part of school culture in the US but not other countries? It could be that poor countries can't afford to have a gym, stadium, arenas for many schools and colleges, until most people get educated to begin with, but why does it still seem other developed countries didn't put as much focus on sports (even Canadians, Australians, Brits don't have as much of it)? Of course sports are popular all over the world, but it's just not tied to school the same way everywhere else. Probably some of the people watching American movies showing high school cheerleaders dating the captain of the football team in other countries are scratching their heads.
I obviously don't think it's the case that all Americans who attend high school or college are more athletic than high schoolers and college students elsewhere in the world. (Otherwise, ironically why would we have such concern about the obesity epidemic, kids not being active etc), so it must be some cultural thing.
USA has an unhealthy obsession with sports, same with pop culture & entertainment in general. If you have average Cable, there is a sporting event televised every single day and usually every hour from atleast 4 pm to 10 pm. That is staggering. When I am overseas, it takes a little getting use to that I can't just jump into a sports bar and watch live sports.
I heavily disagree with the academia & athletics relationship in American Colleges. It hurts students and keeps athletes from profecting their trade. Why should they be forced to attend school after 18 if their intention is being an athlete. In general it's just a typical business money grab.
There is a great ongoing thread on this current topic
USA has an unhealthy obsession with sports, same with pop culture & entertainment in general. If you have average Cable, there is a sporting event televised every single day and usually every hour from atleast 4 pm to 10 pm. That is staggering. When I am overseas, it takes a little getting use to that I can't just jump into a sports bar and watch live sports.
I heavily disagree with the academia & athletics relationship in American Colleges. It hurts students and keeps athletes from profecting their trade. Why should they be forced to attend school after 18 if their intention is being an athlete. In general it's just a typical business money grab.
There is a great ongoing thread on this current topic
Yup. Schools make money off their teams and they also get prestige (the Oregon Ducks for example... no one would think twice about the University of Oregon nationally if it wasn't for their high-ranking, Nike-sponsored college football team. Hell, I'm not into sports but spent some of my youth in Oregon, and that's the only reason I know them...
While schools maintain that they hold their athletes to academic standards that create better and more intelligent athletes, they also give those same students academic waivers and they quite infamously get away with stuff that regular students wouldn't. I remember when I was in high school, a guy from the basketball team attacked me over a girl, we got into a fight, he got me pretty good but I ultimately had the upper hand on him. The thing that they were the most angry about was that I'd hurt his shoulder and knee in the process of knocking him down and putting him in a hold and he had a game in a couple nights against our rival school that he was going to miss as a result; not the fact that I'd been jumped from behind, on camera, slammed into a wall, given a black eye and was bleeding from a cut lip. They moved to suspend me for defending myself until my parents got involved and threatened a lawsuit. Because if he was suspended it would have barred him from playing sports, they retroactively undid my suspension and counted the days I'd missed as waived. It wasn't the last time he went and started a fight with someone because he knew he'd get away with it.
It seems like there's also more of an emphasis on the individual, "star" athlete in US school sports versus other countries where there's more of a team emphasis. It's probably because of the insane amounts of money that sports stars in the US can earn... they feel they need to market themselves from the start.
....Regardless of what you think of it, do you guys have any ideas on why American culture is different in this way?
I am an American living in southern Portugal, so my observations about what I see are not those of a national. However, I live between two schools, and know a good number of parents with kids in primary and secondary school.
There is a great deal of sports activity in my town (a town just shy of 20,000), and we have an impressively large sports field next to the school in my neighbourhood. Kids are always playing futebol, and bicycling as a sport is very big. The sports field gets frequent use, and team sports in the schools are popular. The town often organizes sporting and outdoor events on a town-wide basis.
However, many of the towns are very small, and the cities - for the most part - are not huge. Thus, we have what in the U.S. would be called centralized school systems. The opportunity to have school vs. school team rivalries at the high school level isn't as feasible in my area as it would be in many parts of the U.S.
I have to say, I have no idea if in areas where there might be several high schools if they do compete in sports against each other.
I think the main reason is the campus structure. In the US, students are living 100% of their life on campus.. including their sport's activities. So, of course, every student wanting to do sport will do it in his university. And because universities are expensive and move around a lot of money, they can afford to build huge stadiums, to look for sponsors, etc. Moreover they are using their sport's teams as advertisement panels. if a university isn't well known for the quality of its lessons, they'll try to be known for how fun it is to study in there, and sport's teams are a good way to show this.
In most of the world, you go to university only to study. Sport classes do exist, but mostly for amateur practice, to stay healthy. We have sport federations which handle competitions. So if someone want to do pro or amateur competition, he will join a club outside his university. Most 16yo+ doing competition are in private clubs, members of national or local federations. Universities teams and competitions are more about fun and almost no players will make it to the pro level.
The sports obsession of the US is somewhat exaggerated as compared to the rest of the world. The real problem is how it intertwines with "education." The "student athlete" thing is absolutely farcical.
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 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.
Colleges make a lot of money from their sports teams, particularly American Football. Football is huge! Alumni donate financially to their old schools when they have good teams. They get corporate sponsorship too. Then there are ticket sales. College Football stadiums are larger than professional ones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ABQConvict
American cities lack club sports. In Europe there are amateur adult leagues. In the U.S. the same thing exists, but it is attached to schools.
There is pretty much the same amount of sports obsession in both North America and Europe.
American cities do have sports clubs in the minor/amateur leagues.
American cities lack club sports. In Europe there are amateur adult leagues. In the U.S. the same thing exists, but it is attached to schools.
There is pretty much the same amount of sports obsession in both North America and Europe.
No-way. In Europe you will find a good portion of people that never watch sports. As in ever. Not even a yearly event (Think Super Bowl)
Then you have people that watch soccer. But that's still 1 single sport. In USA, not only is there a sports league occurring every single month of the year (Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey) but you even have College versions, hell ESPN airs High School & Womens versions in the USA. Not to mention sports like pro wrestling & MMA.
I grew up an American sports fanatic, and like I said it takes getting use to the difference when I am overseas. There is 1, top 2 days of the Week that live games are airing that some people watch. There is no such thing as popular mobile Apps with up to the minute sports updates and Fantasy Leagues that people are constantly tuned into. Except for Beckham and a few select examples, people in Europe are not connected to the off the field lifestyles of their athletes.
It's no comparison.
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