America's obsession with sports is funny because, I would be willing to bet that no one would've ever expected them to become this big. Originally, sports were meant to be something that people did for entertainment and exercise. Now, in 2016, sports has become a multi-billion dollar industry. But as money for the sport has increased, the focus of the sports has shifted away from the athletes to the fans. You could argue that nothing is marketed more in America than sports. This can take a toll on athletes, as it's easier than ever for fans to directly harass athletes via social media. Sports has become such a big market that it now has submarkets that are becoming million dollar industries, one for example being fantasy football. I played in 3 leagues last year and spent more money on it than I probably should've. I won that money back, but that's not the point. The point is that sports has become a force that is as close as they come to unstoppable.
One thing that the sports in America deserves credit for is the new age of player safety developments. Particularly in the NFL, studies have begun to show that ramming your head into other objects over and over again is not good for your health (shocker). The NFL has made strides recently regarding player safety, trying to eliminate hits above the shoulders and below the knees from the game. These were needed, as severe lower leg and knee injuries, along with concussions had been rising steadily in recent years.
It is crazy how big of an Industry the NFL is, and how much money they make off of sponsor endorsements. I've also seen it as a fall back tactic used by retired NFL athletes to earn some fast cash. Once athletes in the NFL can't afford their lavish lifestyle they will endorse anything from canned soup to mens electric razors.
ReplyDeleteEveryone goes crazy over anything sports related these days, if you enjoy sports yourself like I do it's kind of interesting to take a step back to realize just how big of an industry it is. Sports teams don't just include the players, there's the coaches, trainers, and staff who work in the arenas, and all of those people need to get paid! I like how you mentioned fantasy leagues because that has certainly blown up over the past five years. I don't think Americas obsession with sports is dying down any time soon.
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