In the States, Americans, depending on location, are generally aware of three sports: football, basketball, and baseball. And there's nothing wrong with that. Each year, households across the country gather around their television to watch an annual, epic, four hour-long battle known as the Super Bowl. Every family has that basketball-fanatic uncle who always has a piece of advice for the local team's general manager and placing bets during playoff time. Fathers and sons across the country can be found throwing a baseball to each other and predicting who will impress at the homerun derby this year. Although, with so many other sports in the world, it's time we, as Americans, and more importantly the US sports media, become a little more open-minded about the attention we devote to athletics.
Only last summer, the world was marveling at how Michael Phelps captured eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. Who would've thought that a swimmer would steal the show on the global stage? Sure, the US men's basketball team (a.k.a. the Redeem Team) blew by its opponents en route to a gold medal and the beach volleyball tag team of Misty May and Katie Walsh became #1, but the glorious August of 2008 belonged to the swimmer. He had participated in the Olympics before, but was never as dominant or popular. After his historic peformance in China, Phelps made another splash as an author, hosted Saturday Night Live, and was probably the only swimmer to ever sit in the front row at the ESPYs. For all intensive purposes, he was a superstar.
Unfortunately, he followed up his Olympic success with a marijuana scandal which kept him out of the pool for a little while. But many don't realize that this actually kept Phelps relevant; "Michael Phelps" continued to be a household name. And he earned more headlines at the 2009 World Championships not only by swimming well, but also for staying true to his sponsor, Speedo, by wearing a technologically outdated swimsuit - which caused quite a controversy. Ever since his historic outburst in '08, we keep hearing about Phelps - and swimming. With his stardom, he has elevated an entire sport. For once - or actually the second time if you include Beijing - swimmers were on the front of the sports page across the nation. ESPN panelists were weighing in on...whether or not swimmers should be allowed to wear these new, advanced suits? Indeed, swimming has reached new heights with the help of Phelps; Americans were paying attention to an entirely new sport.
Of course, after Michael Phelps captured his eighth gold medal in the relay last year, NBC turned its cameras to a track race featuring the Jamaican star, Usain Bolt. At this time four seasons ago, Bolt was vaguely familiar among avid followers of the Olympics, but otherwise unknown. If you spoke about that "fast, Jamaican guy with the yellow uniform" people may know who you were talking about, but chances are they really didn't care to hear about a runner. After all, who follows track? Well, in these past few days Bolt has proved that he may quite possibly be the fastest man to date. In the 100m and 200m races this week, the records he has set may never be broken - at least not by anyone else. His speed has gotten to the point where sportswriters on ESPN's Around the Horn were debating whether or not he should try playing in the NFL.
He has all the showmanship of a star, too. He's constantly bumping his chest and posing beside his time; he is well aware that he is #1 when he waves his index finger around in the air. What's not to like about this guy? Truthfully, he is a phenom. And while we've been paying attention to this one-of-a-kind athlete, subconsciously we have been following his sport. Who knows, maybe in a few years Usain Bolt will have appeared on as many covers as Kobe. Maybe not. But still, Usain Bolt, just like Phelps, despite the fact that many will focus on his individual accolades, he has also carried his sport to another level. Hopefully, in the near future, the media will recognize that.
Then again, there's always the possibility that these athletes won't attract enough attention to their respective sports. Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps could better play the role of a Tiger Woods; they will surely remain the best at what they do, but "what they do" won't get the necessary coverage. Think about it, how many kids do you see today working on their putting compared to those who are playing a game of hoops? The ratio is pretty daunting. When the media airs a track or swim meet, people will tune in. That's what we saw recently with the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Tour de France...
As soccer fans across the world followed the FIFA Confed. Cup, they saw just how brilliant US soccer players are - I'm talking about home-grown talent. There were definitely some people within our own country who must've been shocked by the success of an American soccer team, supposedly one of the most disconnected teams from the sport. Hard-core foreign fans of the game scoff at us upon hearing that we call the sport "soccer" as opposed to the nearly universal name, "football." However, our team defeated the #1 team in the world, Spain, who hadn't suffered a loss since 2006! In newspapers everywhere, the US soccer team was gaining publicity; people were even learning the names of the players. Despite the fact that most still aren't entirely familiar with the team's star, Landon Donovan, Americans were able to enjoy another sport outside of the traditional big three.
Several weeks ago, Lance Armstrong's triumph in one of the most infamous sports races in the world, the Tour de France, earned as much coverage from the sports media as the entertainment world devoted to Michael Jackson's death. Armstrong's return to the sport may have been the greatest thing to ever happen to cycling. The Livestrong founder, who hadn't raced professionally for years, proved he was still among the world's best cyclists by finishing third. On top of that, Lance had some drama with his teammate and eventual first place winner, Alberto Contador, which also directed more media to the sport. What's more, Armstrong has already announced that he will be back in 2010 racing for Team RadioShack. Cycling has never been so entertaining.
Let's face it, as Americans, touchdowns, homeruns, and baskets have been instilled in our DNA. That doesn't mean, though, that we shouldn't watch soccer players score goals, swimmers glide their way to the other end of a pool, or runners rapidly sprint to the finish line - or, in general, follow (and participate in) other sports.
Only last summer, the world was marveling at how Michael Phelps captured eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. Who would've thought that a swimmer would steal the show on the global stage? Sure, the US men's basketball team (a.k.a. the Redeem Team) blew by its opponents en route to a gold medal and the beach volleyball tag team of Misty May and Katie Walsh became #1, but the glorious August of 2008 belonged to the swimmer. He had participated in the Olympics before, but was never as dominant or popular. After his historic peformance in China, Phelps made another splash as an author, hosted Saturday Night Live, and was probably the only swimmer to ever sit in the front row at the ESPYs. For all intensive purposes, he was a superstar.
Unfortunately, he followed up his Olympic success with a marijuana scandal which kept him out of the pool for a little while. But many don't realize that this actually kept Phelps relevant; "Michael Phelps" continued to be a household name. And he earned more headlines at the 2009 World Championships not only by swimming well, but also for staying true to his sponsor, Speedo, by wearing a technologically outdated swimsuit - which caused quite a controversy. Ever since his historic outburst in '08, we keep hearing about Phelps - and swimming. With his stardom, he has elevated an entire sport. For once - or actually the second time if you include Beijing - swimmers were on the front of the sports page across the nation. ESPN panelists were weighing in on...whether or not swimmers should be allowed to wear these new, advanced suits? Indeed, swimming has reached new heights with the help of Phelps; Americans were paying attention to an entirely new sport.
Of course, after Michael Phelps captured his eighth gold medal in the relay last year, NBC turned its cameras to a track race featuring the Jamaican star, Usain Bolt. At this time four seasons ago, Bolt was vaguely familiar among avid followers of the Olympics, but otherwise unknown. If you spoke about that "fast, Jamaican guy with the yellow uniform" people may know who you were talking about, but chances are they really didn't care to hear about a runner. After all, who follows track? Well, in these past few days Bolt has proved that he may quite possibly be the fastest man to date. In the 100m and 200m races this week, the records he has set may never be broken - at least not by anyone else. His speed has gotten to the point where sportswriters on ESPN's Around the Horn were debating whether or not he should try playing in the NFL.
He has all the showmanship of a star, too. He's constantly bumping his chest and posing beside his time; he is well aware that he is #1 when he waves his index finger around in the air. What's not to like about this guy? Truthfully, he is a phenom. And while we've been paying attention to this one-of-a-kind athlete, subconsciously we have been following his sport. Who knows, maybe in a few years Usain Bolt will have appeared on as many covers as Kobe. Maybe not. But still, Usain Bolt, just like Phelps, despite the fact that many will focus on his individual accolades, he has also carried his sport to another level. Hopefully, in the near future, the media will recognize that.
Then again, there's always the possibility that these athletes won't attract enough attention to their respective sports. Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps could better play the role of a Tiger Woods; they will surely remain the best at what they do, but "what they do" won't get the necessary coverage. Think about it, how many kids do you see today working on their putting compared to those who are playing a game of hoops? The ratio is pretty daunting. When the media airs a track or swim meet, people will tune in. That's what we saw recently with the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Tour de France...
As soccer fans across the world followed the FIFA Confed. Cup, they saw just how brilliant US soccer players are - I'm talking about home-grown talent. There were definitely some people within our own country who must've been shocked by the success of an American soccer team, supposedly one of the most disconnected teams from the sport. Hard-core foreign fans of the game scoff at us upon hearing that we call the sport "soccer" as opposed to the nearly universal name, "football." However, our team defeated the #1 team in the world, Spain, who hadn't suffered a loss since 2006! In newspapers everywhere, the US soccer team was gaining publicity; people were even learning the names of the players. Despite the fact that most still aren't entirely familiar with the team's star, Landon Donovan, Americans were able to enjoy another sport outside of the traditional big three.
Several weeks ago, Lance Armstrong's triumph in one of the most infamous sports races in the world, the Tour de France, earned as much coverage from the sports media as the entertainment world devoted to Michael Jackson's death. Armstrong's return to the sport may have been the greatest thing to ever happen to cycling. The Livestrong founder, who hadn't raced professionally for years, proved he was still among the world's best cyclists by finishing third. On top of that, Lance had some drama with his teammate and eventual first place winner, Alberto Contador, which also directed more media to the sport. What's more, Armstrong has already announced that he will be back in 2010 racing for Team RadioShack. Cycling has never been so entertaining.
Let's face it, as Americans, touchdowns, homeruns, and baskets have been instilled in our DNA. That doesn't mean, though, that we shouldn't watch soccer players score goals, swimmers glide their way to the other end of a pool, or runners rapidly sprint to the finish line - or, in general, follow (and participate in) other sports.
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