Culture of the United States

This article very generally discusses the customs and culture of the United States; for the "culture" of the United States, see arts and entertainment in the United States.

Sports

Main article: Sports in the United States

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American sports are quite distinct from those played elsewhere in the world. Baseball has a huge following and is referred to as the "national pastime"; Major League Baseball teams play almost every day from April to October. American football (known simply as "football" in the U.S. and as gridiron in the UK) attracts more viewers than baseball nowadays; however, National Football League teams play only 16 regular-season games each year, so baseball is the runaway leader in ticket sales. Basketball, invented in Massachusetts by a Canadian, is another popular sport. NASCAR has also grown from a mainly southern sport to the second most watched sport in America behind football. Less popular, but still considered a major spectator sport, is hockey. Hockey, always a mainstay of Great Lakes area culture, gained tenuous footholds in regions like the Carolinas and Tampa Bay, Florida, in recent years, as the National Hockey League pursued a policy of expansion. The cancellation of the 2004-2005 NHL season could slow, or even halt, the spread of hockey into new regions of the United States. Unlike in Europe, Africa, South America, and recently, Asia, soccer has a small following, and is mostly popular in the more international cities of New York and Los Angeles, where there happens to be a high immigrant population. Generally few non-Hispanic American adults appear to be attracted to soccer as spectators, but the sport is widely played by children of all backgrounds. Sports such as cricket and rugby, common in other English-speaking nations, are nearly nonexistent in the United States. However, many amateur cricket leagues have been formed by Indian and Pakistani immigrants, and as a result, the sport has made limited inroads into the non-immigrant community.

Related Topics:
Baseball - Major League Baseball - American football - Gridiron - National Football League - Basketball - Massachusetts - NASCAR - Hockey - Great Lakes - The Carolinas - Tampa Bay, Florida - National Hockey League - Soccer - New York - Los Angeles - Cricket - Rugby - India - Pakistan

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The extent in America to which sports are associated with secondary and tertiary education is unique among nations. Particularly notable in basketball and football, high school and particularly college sports are followed with a fervor equalling or exceeding that felt for professional sports; college football games can draw six-digit crowds and, for upper-tier schools, sports are a significant source of revenue. Though student athletes may be held to significantly lower academic requirements than non-athletes at universities, a minimum standard does exist.

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