Among all other country United States of America is truly the only melting pot in the world. It is the only country the blends so many different ethnic and culturally diverse individuals from all parts of the world, from all walks of life. One of the things I cherish most about sports is that no matter who you are, what you look like, what you believe in, all of that is put to the side if we are cheering for the same team. Look at a tailgate scene — the only colors that matter are the home team. You will see the rich next to the poor, black, white, and Asians all cheering together. This is what makes sports truly remarkable.
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” — George Bernard Shawa
As the world shrinks due to technological advances and globalization becomes a shocking reality, we must adapt. Multinational companies are doing it; our sports teams are doing it, too. We may have already noticed it, maybe we haven't.
Let’s take the example of America where all of them are not from America. They came from these "other" countries or one of their great grandparents originally did. So sit back and enjoy something a little different from the norm. This is an opportunity to learn about a different sport, to appreciate a different game. Possibly one that your great grandfather played.
Additionally, let's talk a little bit about American sports. Which American sport is attempting to go global? The better question is which one isn't? We may be surprised by the answer.
That being said, let's first take a look at American sports that are being raised in the
world.
Baseball — At one time, was the most popular sport in America, and often is called "America's pastime." Today,
Major League baseball features plenty of foreign players l
ike from Dominican Republic, Japan, and Venezuela.
Basketball — Nowadays the National Basketball Association features many foreign players. You can expect to see at least one European on just about every team.
Ice Hockey — while popular in the U.S., hockey has nowhere the popularity here that it does in its home of Canada. Governed professionally by the National Hockey League, the league is dominated by Canadian players, but also features many from Russia and Scandinavian countries.
Golf — while most Americans love football, basketball, and baseball, they don't usually play these sports past their youth. Golf's popularity on the other hand, rests almost entirely on the shoulders of middle-aged men who use the game as a means of socializing, as well as conducting friendly business.
Tennis — Similarly to golf, tennis is just as popular to play as to watch. In America, the sport's popularity tends to wax and wane with the rise and fall of successful American tennis stars.
Swimming—swimming is also being popular among American where we can see lots of player from different ethnic.
Young Americans also enjoy what are usually called the "extreme sports" such as surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, dirt biking, etc., which are judged by tricks and stunts.
Ever since Yao Ming came to play basketball from China, there have been reports about his immense popularity in China and the exposure that the NBA is receiving there. But is that really where it started for China? Similarly, when Hideo Nomo came to play baseball from Japan, we saw a news story on "Hideo-vision," a large outdoor television in downtown Tokyo that played his games nonstop.
In this way we can see changing thought of people about sports and their player. Best example of sports globalization can be seen in cricket among the India and Pakistan game where people are cheering for cricket even though both countries are having political disputes.
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” — George Bernard Shawa
As the world shrinks due to technological advances and globalization becomes a shocking reality, we must adapt. Multinational companies are doing it; our sports teams are doing it, too. We may have already noticed it, maybe we haven't.
Let’s take the example of America where all of them are not from America. They came from these "other" countries or one of their great grandparents originally did. So sit back and enjoy something a little different from the norm. This is an opportunity to learn about a different sport, to appreciate a different game. Possibly one that your great grandfather played.
Additionally, let's talk a little bit about American sports. Which American sport is attempting to go global? The better question is which one isn't? We may be surprised by the answer.
That being said, let's first take a look at American sports that are being raised in the
world.
Baseball — At one time, was the most popular sport in America, and often is called "America's pastime." Today,
Major League baseball features plenty of foreign players l
ike from Dominican Republic, Japan, and Venezuela.
Basketball — Nowadays the National Basketball Association features many foreign players. You can expect to see at least one European on just about every team.
Ice Hockey — while popular in the U.S., hockey has nowhere the popularity here that it does in its home of Canada. Governed professionally by the National Hockey League, the league is dominated by Canadian players, but also features many from Russia and Scandinavian countries.
Golf — while most Americans love football, basketball, and baseball, they don't usually play these sports past their youth. Golf's popularity on the other hand, rests almost entirely on the shoulders of middle-aged men who use the game as a means of socializing, as well as conducting friendly business.
Tennis — Similarly to golf, tennis is just as popular to play as to watch. In America, the sport's popularity tends to wax and wane with the rise and fall of successful American tennis stars.
Swimming—swimming is also being popular among American where we can see lots of player from different ethnic.
Young Americans also enjoy what are usually called the "extreme sports" such as surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, dirt biking, etc., which are judged by tricks and stunts.
Ever since Yao Ming came to play basketball from China, there have been reports about his immense popularity in China and the exposure that the NBA is receiving there. But is that really where it started for China? Similarly, when Hideo Nomo came to play baseball from Japan, we saw a news story on "Hideo-vision," a large outdoor television in downtown Tokyo that played his games nonstop.
In this way we can see changing thought of people about sports and their player. Best example of sports globalization can be seen in cricket among the India and Pakistan game where people are cheering for cricket even though both countries are having political disputes.
