Americans are faithful practitioners and avid consumers of sports who compete on an international scale every year, most noticed during the Olympics. American soil has promoted sports to such an extent that certain companies earned around 4,400 million dollars in 2018. As of 2022, sports globalization has been on such a rise (except for when we all had to take a break from the pandemic), that we see multiple new faces in football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, boxing, and wrestling! So while several of the world’s most popular sports were invented in the US, the expansion of the sports only sees a few true contenders who have made it a global success. Before you turn on the television and browse through the multiple sporting events on some channel, let’s compare the most popular sports in America! In this article, we break down the rules, the intention of the game, the duration of the seasons, and other interesting things about each sport which help us understand why they blew up on American soil. This will also help us understand why for some matches, many of us buy our tickets in advance, as they sell out quickly!
What Are The Most Popular Sports In America In 2022?
1. Football
The Pinnacle of Sports in America is American football also known as the National Football League (NFL). The broadcasts of these matches bring together all the families around the television. The stadiums are also packed every weekend and the Super Bowl brings in approximately 100 million viewers around the world every year.
American football, which is one the most popular sports in America today, was derived from European sports such as rugby and football (soccer in the US).
Unlike the original European football, however, American football focuses more on passing and catching the ball with the hands, rather than hitting it with the feet. American football is becoming more popular than baseball and has more and more fans. It is considered a “full contact sport”, due to the great physical beating that the players give each week, both in training and in games. Due to the constant collision of all parts of the body with rival players and with the ground, players wear protective equipment to minimize injuries. Despite these precautions, however, player injuries are very common and, in some cases, result in surgical operations that spell the end of the player’s career.
The standard football field is 120 yards long and 160 feet wide. There are hash marks at every yard and every ten yards. At each end of the field (the first and last ten yards) is an “end zone” with a raised goal or goal post in the shape of an H or Y, consisting of two vertical yellow posts connected by a horizontal yellow post. The game lasts 60 minutes and is divided into four quarters of 15 minutes. After the first two quarters there is a half time, which is a break in the middle of the game. The object of the game is to score more points than the opposing team in the allotted time of 60 minutes.
Teams can score by driving the ball into the opposing team’s end zone for a 6-point touchdown or try, or they can score by kicking the ball between the aforementioned yellow uprights for a 3-point field goal. Each team has eleven players on the field at all times, and substitutions are allowed at any time. The attacking team starts by having possession of the ball at the beginning of the game. It is decided which team starts attacking by tossing a coin before the match. The attacking team has four attempts (“downs”) to advance the ball ten yards. If they succeed, the team will have another four opportunities to try to go another ten yards. Teams can throw the ball forward down the field to gain yards or simply pass it to another player to try to gain yards running down the field. A rally (attempt) is over when a player with the ball in his hands is brought down, goes out of bounds or an incomplete pass occurs. If a team does not manage to advance 10 yards in their 4 attempts, the opposing team will relieve them in the attacking role from that point on the field. In most cases, if the attacking team has used three of their attempts and hasn’t gone the full 10 yards, they will most likely decide to slap the ball as far forward down the field as possible, so that the opposing team has to start attacking as far away from their end zone as possible.
As most fans know, penalties are a fundamental part of every football game. They are called whenever there are offsides, personal fouls, game delays or pass interference. The referees strictly enforce the rules and are responsible for fair play, the timing of the match, and ensuring the safety of the players as much as possible. Penalties are an important part of the game because a team that commits an infraction that has been penalized will lose yards and/or attempts. To signal a penalty, the referee throws a yellow handkerchief onto the field.
2. Basketball
The best league on the planet and one of the most successful American sports in America was invented by James Naismith in 1891. Basketball was originally played with elevated peach baskets placed at each end of the court. Basketball can be played indoors or outdoors. Height and speed play a huge role in this brilliant and unpredictable sport, which is one of the most popular among spectators in the United States. Most of the players are between 6 and 7 feet tall. The National Basketball League (NBA) hosts games in indoor arenas across the country. It is a fast and spectacular sport, especially when the players perform acrobatic dunks. A game is divided into four 12-minute quarters (professional basketball) or two 16-minute halves (college basketball).
There is also a shooting time, from 24 to 35 seconds. Shooting time is the time the attacking team has to shoot the ball to the hoop and try to score on each possession. The player cannot move forward with the ball without dribbling it. The objective of the game is to score more points than the rival. To score a point, a player has to get the ball through the rim by shooting or dunking one or two hands. Scoring is counted as follows: a free throw is called after a certain number of fouls have been committed, consists of shooting uncontested from the free throw line and is worth one point; a field goal is worth two points if it is shot from inside the three-point line; and three points are scored if it has been shot from outside the three-point line. To prevent the attacking team from scoring the defending team tries to do things like steal the ball or, if the other team misses the shot, they can grab the rebound and win back possession. As in soccer, referees call fouls in this game. Instead of throwing a handkerchief they blow a whistle, with which they stop the game instantly.
3. Baseball
Baseball is an Americanized version of cricket which is considered graceful and leisurely until the tension increases gradually and steadily.
In America, the baseball season runs from April to October and is played in a closed field. It is played between two teams and the objective is to win by scoring more runs than the rival at the end of the match. Each team has a starting line-up of nine players, substitutions are allowed, but if a player is substituted he will not be able to return to the field. A regulation Major League Baseball (MLB) game consists of nine innings. The visiting team bats in the first part of each inning, which is known as the “top of the inning.” The home team bats in the second half of each inning, which is the “bottom of the inning.” An inning continues until the defense gets three eliminations. There is no regulation time for each inning. If the game is tied in the ninth inning, it goes to “extra innings” and continues until one of the teams holds the lead at the end of an inning. To score a run, a baserunner must touch all four bases in the following order: first, second, third, and home plate last. A batter hits the ball into play and immediately runs to the left past all of the named bases. The batter attempts to get on base by hitting the ball or getting a lead. A hit occurs when the player hits the ball infield and reaches first base before the defense throws the ball to the base, or gets an extra base (second, third, or home) before being put out. Baserunners are safe as long as they touch a base; only one runner can touch a base at a time. The most important of all hits is a home run, which means the batter hits the ball out of bounds. If the pitcher does not throw four balls out of the hitting zone, the batter is allowed to advance to first base. In defense, every time a player has to bat, the pitcher can eliminate the batter by throwing three good balls, thus striking out or striking out the batter. If the batter hits a ball, the defense has several ways to make an out. The defense can make a force out by throwing the ball to first base before the batter reaches the base, put out by tagging the base runner while not on a base, or put out by catching the ball in the air before it hits the ground.
4. Ice-hockey
Yes, Canada’s national sport is also very popular in the neighboring country. So much so that almost all the top players on the planet, including Canadians and Russians, play in the National Hockey League, made up of franchises from the United States and Canada itself. So we can safely say that Ice hockey is one of the most popular sports in America and even dare to say that it is the oldest and most traditional.
In addition to being one of the most popular sports in the USA, hockey is the fastest sport in the world, except perhaps for the point guard (currently very popular in the eastern states). It’s also pretty tainted by the entertainment industry, but the fistfights you see on the ice rink aren’t simulated at all. There are earth-shattering shots, acrobatic parries, and players sliding up and down at breakneck speed. It is not as popular as other American sports because it requires weather cold enough to freeze a pond or lake, or an accessible ice hockey rink. Another reason why it lost popularity was the strike and labor conflict between players and owners of National Hockey League (NHL) clubs that took place in the 2004-2005 season, which was canceled because of it.
With up to four million viewers watching the Stanley Cup Finals, it is well known outside of North America for the massive fights that take place during the matches. So fans are becoming fond of the game again. Hockey is played on an ice rink 200′ long by 85′ wide, with rounded corners. Surrounding the rink is a screen that protects spectators and reserve players in the dugout from hockey pucks flying off the rink. The ice surface has painted lines that mark the faceoff circles, the goal line, and the various zones. Each team consists of six players on the court (strikers, defenders and a goalkeeper), unless a team plays with one less due to a penalty. Players who are given certain penalties have to spend time in the penalty box, giving the other team temporary superiority on the court. The objective is to score more goals than the opposing team by putting more hockey pucks into the opponent’s net.
Each game is divided into three periods of 20 minutes, with short breaks between them. The players’ kit consists of ice skates, helmets, sweaters, shorts, and socks. Hockey umpires are the most physically fit, compared to umpires in other sports. They have to constantly skate up and down on the ice controlling the game to keep it clean.
5. Boxing
We cannot make a list of the most popular sports in America without adding boxing here!
Compared to other sports, boxing has been suffering in the United States the same as baseball: a decline in following and popularity. It no longer generates the expectation that it generated in the days of Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, or George Foreman. However, the boxing sport continues to be an essential mainstay in American sports.
The fights of Floyd Mayweather, an undefeated former boxer, have been recent proof of this, generating enormous expectations in the American country. Ka-ching!
6. Outdoor Games
Other popular sports in North America include horse racing (there are 541 race tracks across the country), golf, tennis, sailing, and motor racing, which includes quirky specialties like drag racing, destruction racing, off-road racing with jeeps, and classic races like the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, NY, and the legendary Indianapolis 500.
7. American Board Games
Many indoor games like bowling or board games like Monopoly, Aggravation, Mastermind, Dominoes, etc. are enjoyed by families and friends across the country.
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