WELCOME... THIS IS SPORTS!!! THE MOST POPULAR SPORTS IN AMERICA, PART 1!!!

Hello everybody! Welcome to this new entry of Montcada in English! Today I want to bring you another top 10 list, but this time is all about sports. So, I will talk about the Top 10 Most Popular Sports in America. I’d like to make myself clear. The list is about the most popular sports in America, not my top 10 favorite sports (which is a little bit different). Well, let’s get down to business and let’s get the ball rolling.

So, sports of different kinds play an important role in American society. These sports have earned tremendous popularity across USA, but most importantly they are the vehicles for transmitting such values as fair play, justice and team work. Sports have contributed to social and racial integration and over history, they have been a social glue bonding the whole America together.

Early American personalities like President Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin stressed the need for sports such as running and swimming. In the 20th century, American presidents like Dwight D. Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy continued to encourage sports among the Americans.

The list will be divided in two parts. Here we are with the first part.

10. Martial Arts

Martial arts are the traditions of combat practices and are practiced for various reasons: self-defense, physical health and fitness, competition, entertainment purposes, as well as physical, mental and spiritual development.

Actually, the term Martial Arts has become associated with the fighting arts of eastern Asia. But it was originally referred to the combat system of Europe, in early 1550s. The term Martial Arts derived from the Latin word Arts of Mars, the Roman God of war. Not only in Europe, this activity have also gained popularity in America. It has been a mandatory in US military to learn it as a form of self-defense.

 

Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar, UFC World Heavyweight Championship, 2008.

The US government is also encouraging Martial Arts as a form of sport. In 2007, the wholesale value of martial arts related sports equipment in America was estimated 314 million USD. The participation in the same year was at stunning 6.9 million. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has become the most popular activity related to Martial Arts in the USA.

9. Motor Sports

Like the rest of the World, Americans initially began to use their public streets as a track of automobile races. As time progressed, and it was realized that these venues are not safe for the public as they offered relatively little crowd control. Promoters and drivers in America discovered that horse racing tracks could provide better conditions for motor sports than public streets. Since then, there was a huge development in the racing motor sports in America.

 

Mario Andretti, one of the greatest NASCAR drivers.

United States are quite capable of arranging famous motor racing events such as Indianapolis 500 (which is the most popular open wheel racing event in USA), NASCAR (which is the result of enormous expansion of stock car racing), Formula 1 or Motorcycle racing, commonly known as MotoGP championship (which after American football, is the 2nd most watched in America).

8. Pro-wrestling

Professional wrestling in the United States, until the 1920s, was viewed as a legitimate sport. This view did not endure into the 1930s, as professional wrestling became identified with modern theatrics, or admitted fakeness, moving away from being a showcase for true competition. The scripted nature of the art has made critics view it as an illegitimate sport, particularly in comparison to boxing, mixed martial arts, amateur wrestling, and the real sport itself, wrestling. No major promoter or wrestler denies that modern professional wrestling has predetermined match outcomes.

 

The Inmortal Hulk Hogan

Through the advent of television in the 1950s and cable in the 1980s, professional wrestling began appearing in powerful media outlets, reaching never before seen numbers of viewers. It became an international phenomenon with the expansion of the World Wrestling Federation. Throughout the 1990s, professional wrestling achieved highs in both viewers and financial success during a time of fierce competition among competing promotions, such as World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment, World Championship Wrestling, and Extreme Championship Wrestling.

 

The Nature Boy Ric Flair, 16-times World Heavyweight Champion

The nature of professional wrestling changed dramatically to better fit television, enhancing character traits and storylines. Television also helped many wrestlers break into mainstream media, becoming influential celebrities and icons of popular culture. Names such as Gorgeous George, Bruno Sammartino, The Nature Boy Ric Flair, The Steiner Brothers, Ricky The Dragon Steamboat, Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, Macho Man Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels, Bret The Hitman Hart, Sting, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, John Cena or Randy Orton have become authentic American icons.

  

Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Undertaker

7. Tennis

Tennis was first played in America at the home of Mary Ewing Outerbridge at the Staten Island Cricket club in New Brighton Staten Island, New York in 1874. In 1880, USA held the American National Tournament for the first time in history. The United States Tennis Association was formed on 21 May, 1881 to build up rules and organize tennis tournaments.

Pete Sampras & Andre Agassi, great rivals - better friends

America has possessed a glorious memory in the history of tennis. The sport is equally popular in men and women. Although these days the most dominant male players are not Americans, it is well known that many of the greatest players ever are from the USA. Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Ivan Lendl, Andy Roddick or Todd Martin are only a few of the biggest names in the game. It must be emphasized that girls are not behind in the list of achievements. Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati, Martina Navratilova, Billy Jean King, Lindsay Davenport, Venus and Serena Williams are worthy representatives of American greatness in women's tennis.

Venus & Serena Williams

The America’s national singles championships is currently known as the US Open. The first US Open was took place in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island and it was made officially one of the tennis majors from 1924.

6. Golf

Golf began many centuries before the Europeans migrated to America. Presumably, they brought the game across the Atlantics. This game took a while to become popular in the USA.

Jack Nicklaus & Tiger Woods, the greatest American golf players in history

American Professional Golfers Association (PGA) was formed in 1916. The catalyst in this procedure was the department store owner Rodman Wanamaker.

America is considered as the heartland of golf. There are hundreds of beautiful golf courses around the country. America’s history of golf is much enriched. For sure is undoubtedly one of the most popular sports in the country.

Tiger Woods is probably the most iconic golf figure in the USA, but the one who is considered as the best golf player ever is other American: Jack Nicklaus, winning a total of 18 career major championships, while producing 19 second-place and 9 third-place finishes in them, over a span of 25 years.

I hope you have enjoyed the first 5 sports from this Top 10 list...

C Ya!!!