American Sports

Robert Frost (1874-1963) underlined the countrys fascination with sports when he said Nothing flatters me more than t have it assumed that I could Write prose-unless it be to have it assumed that I once pitched a basseball with distinction

The sports played in America

Baseball Basketball Disabled sports Rugby Soccer Tennis Lacrosse

Baseball

The sport that evokes more nostalgia among Americans than any other is baseball. So many people play the game as children that it has become known as "the national pastime. As one sport historian noted, "Baseball without records is inconceivable." For most Americans, for example, it is common knowledge that Roger Maris's 61 home runs (balls that cannot be played because they have been hit out of the field) in 1961 broke Babe Ruth's record of 60 in 1927. The first professional baseball league was established in 1871 Baseball is both a sport and a business. Many disgruntled fans sometimes view the business side as the dominant one.

Basketball

Basketball is a uniquely American sport. It originated in 1891 when James Naismith, a young physical education teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts, was instructed by his boss to invent a new game that could be played indoors during the cold winter months to keep the students occupied and out of trouble. Basketball gained quickly popularity due to its simple equipment requirements, indoor play, competitiveness, and easily understood rules. Superstar players like Michael Air Jordan increased the popularity of basketball internationally. In 1992, a so-called Dream Team, made up of the top American professional basketball players, represented the United States in Olympic Games for the first time.

Disabled sports

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 49.7 million Americans over the age of four with a disability. That represents 19 percent of the population. Among that 19 percent, 14.3 million Americans have a mental disability and 2.2 million say they use a wheelchair. Three pieces of federal legislation have opened doors in all aspects of life for people with disabilities in the United States. The International Paralympic Games offer a venue in which to showcase the talents and abilities of the world's most elite athletes with physical disabilities. The multisport Paralympic Games are the second largest sporting event in the world, second only to the Olympics. Special Olympics is perhaps the best-known organization for athletes with developmental disabilities. Special Olympics offers children and adults with mental retardation the opportunity to train and compete in 26 Olympic-type summer and winter sports.

Rugby

American football is a distinct type of football that developed in the United States in the 19th century from soccer and rugby. It requires teams to run, throw and kick an oval ball across a 100-yard field (91.4 meters), is unrelated to the game most of the world knows by that name, and which Americans call soccer. Football is played by school, college and professional teams and is one of the most popular American sports, attracting thousands of participants and millions of spectators annually. The Super Bowl is the final contest of the NFL's season. Each year, on a Sunday at the end of January or beginning of February, tens of millions of Americans declare their own unofficial holiday.

Soccer

Peoples around the world have played soccerstyle games for centuries. Games similar to soccer were played in China more than 2,000 years ago. Such games were also played in ancient Greece and Rome. The popularity of youth soccer, and the attention gained when the United States hosted the World Cup in 1994, led to increased interest in the sport in the United States. In 1996 a new outdoor league, Major League Soccer (MLS), debuted with professional teams in 10 U.S. cities. Five years later, in 2001, a U.S. women's professional league, the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), began its first season with 8 teams. There are some unique differences between the two leagues. While MLS often loses its best players to overseas clubs and can find few big stars willing to play in the United States, the WUSA faces the reverse situation: it has attracted the very best female players in the world.

Tennis, game played with a racket and a ball by two (as in singles) or four (as in doubles) competitors, on a rectangular court with a net strung between the midpoints of the longer sides of the court. Tennis may be played indoors or outdoors. The game ranks as one of the most popular spectator and participation sports in the world, with fans and competitors in more than 100 countries. Originally called lawn tennis to distinguish it from the sport of court tennis, from which it was derived, the game is now commonly known as tennis. After a successful serve the ball is hit back and forth until one player or side fails to return the ball successfully. A shot is unsuccessful when a player lets the ball bounce twice, drives it into the net, or hits it beyond the boundaries of the opposite side of the court. Scoring is identical in the singles and doubles games. A tennis game, when not prolonged by a tie, is played to four points, designated by the terms 15, 30, 40, and game

Tennis

Lacrosse

Lacrosse was one of many varieties of indigenous stickball games being played by American Indians at the time of European contact. Almost exclusively a male team sport, it is distinguished from the others, such as field hockey or shinny, by the use of a netted racquet with which to pick the ball off the ground, throw, catch and convey it into or past a goal to score a point. The cardinal rule in all varieties of lacrosse was that the ball, with few exceptions, must not be touched with the hands.

X-games

The sky is the limit, or so far it seems, for the snowboarders in Alaska. X marks the spot for a new generation of American enthusiasts, as so-called extreme sports push the very limits of the human endurance. For a new generation of Americans, pushing the envelope of sports laisure are all in a days work. Be warned: these sports require psihycal training and even some addition to ones vocabulary.