by Denise I Smithson
The American sports scene is a constantly changing landscape; the sports which were the most popular a century ago have lost their status and new sports have pulled ahead of the pack. However, it doesn’t take a hundred years for the priorities and tastes of American sports fans to shift. Tastes can change in a few decades or even a few years time. Sports go in and out of vogue for many different reasons; good timing, a stroke of luck or spectacular events.
Baseball, boxing and horseracing were the most popular sports in the country around the beginning of the 20th century. Out of these three, only baseball is still a major sport today and even it has seen its status fall – baseball now has to vie for the attention of fans with faster paced, more television oriented sports.
Boxing has enjoyed spurts of popularity. Muhammad Ali led the charge for a boxing renaissance in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler led another resurgence through the early and mid 80s. However, the sport has been undone once again by its own corruption and an image problem that has banished it from the major networks and from the top of most of America’s list of interests.
Horseracing has become a minor sport with a small niche audience. The only times the sport gets much attention anymore is during the Triple Crown – and once these events are over, most people quickly forget about horseracing until the next year.
Tennis, hockey and golf have also dropped off of the radar for most American sports fans. Hockey was still one of the most important sports only a few decades ago (largely thanks to Wayne Gretzky), but its audience is now much smaller and regional. In cities with major franchises, there are dedicated fans, but the sport is not even available to television audiences in many parts of the country, which has caused its popularity to plummet. Tennis has lost the attention of younger sports fans and as far as golf is concerned, few fans can name a golfer active in the sport today other than Tiger Woods.
Just one star athlete can change the fortunes of an entire sport one way or another. While the major players don’t get as much individual recognition, mixed martial arts has managed to become one of the more popular sports with American fans, especially younger ones in only a few years.
MMA was thought of as too violent and too crazy. But when the UFC hosted their reality show two fighters in the finale put on an amazing fight. They displayed unheard levels of heart and grit. The fight propelled the sport into the mainstream all by itself. All it takes for a sport is a few minutes like this, one player, one event, which can completely change its place in society.
What does the future have in store for the landscape of American sports? If the past has taught us anything, it’s that trying to predict the future trends in the sports world is a losing bet. The NFL may seem as if nothing could dislodge it from its place of preeminence on the sports scene, many would have the same about hockey just a few decades ago – there’s no predicting the future of American sports, but we can all enjoy the changes sure to come.
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