Sports In The USA

Here in America we have several popular sports which are American Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, and Soccer.  One characteristic that all these sports have in common is that they all have some sort of professionalized level in which the best adults in each of these sports play for teams representing their respective states in the United States.  In general, each of these sports has different divisions within all the teams that divides them into two sides.  All the teams on one side play each other until the last two from each side are left to play to see who is the best out of the entire country.  This type of competition, for the most part, extends through all non-professional levels.  Furthermore, sports in America are obsessed with determining who is the best out of everyone.

A Typical Game Day:

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

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This is probably what most people think of when they think of a game day.  Game day for fans of the popular sports in America usually means tailgating and grilling hot dogs and hamburgers on the back of their truck or SUV and drinking beer.  Of course not all people can go to the actual game so most people do the same sort of things just at their home.  Athletes in America however have their own unique rituals that "gets their head in the game" or in other words gets them focused on what they need to do to win.  This isn't something that can be boiled down to burgers and beer, each athlete or even coach has their own way of getting ready for the game. During the actual game athletes still have their own ways to stay focused on the entire game.  In America we are obsessed with the big hits, big plays, last minute scores, overtime games, and the most extravagant wins.  We place so much importance on the best that we even want to see the best games, which means close games that come down to the last minute.  We value competition over anything else, blowouts are not as valued as other close games.

As previously mentioned, in America we measure success by wins and by who is the best.  In America, winning means success, and the ultimate success is to win the final game or the championship.  As for the athletes we associate the characteristics such as the best, champion, or the person who overcame great lengths to win.  In America, we love to see a person overcome some great lengths or injuries to come back and win and be the best.  One of the biggest stories in America right now is about Peyton Manning and how he had several neck surgeries a couple years ago and sat out an entire year of football and everyone thought he wouldn't come back as good as he ever was.  Now, he is in the championship game and has had an incredible year.  These are the stories and values we use when we think about sports in America and being successful.