Taking A Look At The Top Sports In The US

All around the globe, on any given day, you will find some sort of sports event on your local television station or on cable. With networks dedicated solely to sports, you can find things like boxing, bowling, fishing, basketball, football, baseball and soccer on 24 hours a day! Most days you will be able to see sports live, either by watching pee-wee, high school, college and even professional sports events. Most ticket prices for local sports are reasonable and you and your whole family can enjoy the excitement of the game!

When you look at the citizens of the United States, there are several sports that seem to be much more popular than others. They, of course, will cost you a bit more to attend, but the thrill of being there will make the price well worth it. The most popular sports in the United States today, being watched live and on screens, are:

1. Baseball is one of the top sports being played in the United States. Having been played in the United States the longest, baseball attracts millions of fans to ball fields every year. There isn’t just professional baseball to keep many Americans busy, though. Proud parents everywhere enjoy watching their children learn and play the game. What a great feeling when you see your child hit the ball or score a run! As the old song goes, “Take me out to the ball game!”. When it comes to sports, professional and amateur, baseball is ranked right up there at the top.

2. Football began as a college sport in the United States in the mid 1800s. Football is truly the “American Sport”, since it is played in the United States exclusively. It has grown from being played only in college to having professional teams and being played by students in both elementary and high schools. The Super Bowl is one of the most watched television events when it comes to sports, and it determines which one of the many professional football teams will be considered the best for that year!

3. Basketball is a popular sport worldwide. The number of people around the world playing basketball can reach a staggering 300 million! Basketball is one of the only professional sports in the United States to welcome foreign players onto teams, with many players of professional basketball being recruited from other countries and brought to the United States to play.

4. Hockey is one of the newer sports gaining popularity with the American public. It did not originate in the United States, but it has found its way into our sporting life and become one of the fastest growing sports. Ice hockey is the most popular form of this sport, with street hockey being popular with older kids everywhere.

You may be asking “Where is golf and soccer on this list?” Well, although both sports are gaining in popularity, neither one meets the level of fans of the sports listed above.

Outdoor Sports Facilities Help You Enjoy Different Games

Proper sports gear is important for play, not just because you want to look the part, but also because of safety issues. But what if you are all kitted out and ready to play, but the match gets cancelled due to a soggy pitch or field? The disappointment is acute. Nothing can beat the feeling of playing on Natural grass sports surfaces, however, there are limitations. Natural grass cannot withstand extreme weather conditions owing to its delicate and fragile nature. As a result, artificial playing surfaces have gained popularity, which allow players to enjoy and play their game irrespective of the weather conditions. This is so because artificial sports surfaces are made from synthetic materials like polypropylene. This material is unaffected by rain or extremes of temperature. Furthermore, the construction of the pitch is such that proper drainage channels are built into the foundation, so that the pitch does not get flooded or soggy even after heavy rains. The artificial turf is filled with sand or rubber which provides stability to the surface. The base is made up of an impermeable material, making it weather proof and safe to play on.

Artificial turf first came to prominence in 1965, when AstroTurf was installed in the newly-built Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Since then, these sports surfaces have gained popularity.

Some of the reasons why synthetic sports surfaces are preferred over natural grass are:

Artificial sports surface are more economical in the long run
It is weather resistant
It requires minimum sports surface maintenance.
It exhibits uniform playing characteristics
It offers protection to players from injuries due to sliding and falling, because of an inbuilt shock pad.

In addition to these advantages, one of the main features of synthetic outdoor sports facilities is that it can be designed as to exhibit different playing characteristics, to meet the requirements of different sports. Different types of outdoor sports pitches include In-filled artificial turf made of polyethylene, In-filled artificial turf made of polypropylene, Sand-dressed artificial turf, and Unfilled artificial turf.

In-filled artificial sports surfaces can cater to a wide variety of sports. This is because these pitches exhibit different kinds of playing characteristics by varying the length and the density of the synthetic grass fibres. Not only this, these artificial outdoor surfaces are natural in appearance, skin and joint friendly, and possess shock absorption features. Thus, their use has also been approved by international sports associations like FIFA and UEFA.

Sports Related Fundraising Ideas

Are you tired of selling chocolate bars to raise money for your school fundraisers? Do you spend a lot of time training for your sport with nutrition and practice that selling chocolate and sugary snacks doesnt seem to reflect your team?

Would you like to have options that include healthy snacks? Would you like to put on an active fundraising campaign? Here are a few options that you might like to put on better sports fundraisers.

Sell Healthy Items

A lot of professional fundraising companies can offer your school sports team better alternatives to chocolate. Some examples of smart fundraising snack alternatives are nuts. And trail mixes. Cashew halves are available and other mixed nuts. They have natural oils and are low in fat.

Trail mixes are available with a mixture of nuts, cranberries, raisins and banana chips. There are other samples of trail mixes that your school club can sell. Whether the donor has spicy tastes or salty there are healthier options for him.

It is a very easy and successful campaign to put on. The healthy snacks fundraisers are sold to donors in the $6-$8 dollar range. Donors are usually excited about this switch from chocolate because it gives them new choices. It is an order taking campaign with the donor choosing his snacks; the orders will be totaled and then shipped from the fundraising company. There is no left over stock to handle because everything that is shipped is already sold.

Active Sports Fundraising Ideas

You can use just about any activity for a active fundraising campaign. The sports fundraisers are great ways to get a large cross section of people to participate and depending on the time of the year also a variety of choices.

Bowling tournaments are a great way to appeal to different age groups. It doesnt matter if its ten pin, five pin or lawn bowling a tournament will bring out all the bowling aficionados. Approach you local club and arrange for a day for your school team or charity event. This bowling fundraiser can be put on any time of the year.

Golf tournaments are easy to put on and get people out for. Tournaments generate publicity and appeal to corporations. A few calls and some advertising can net you some corporate sponsorship as well. Many courses will be happy to help you set up the organizational work.

Check out part 2 of this article for even more active fundraising ideas.

Sports Jerseys Talismans

Can anyone forget the vision of Brandi Chastain embracing the U.S. soccer team’s victory over China in the 1999 Women’s World Cup by tearing off her sports jersey and going to her the ground in her completely demuresports bra? The image of that jersey waved overhead was displayed internationally and is a wonderful depiction of what sports jerseys have come to stand for talismans of the ability of sports to create joy; engage attention;tap emotions; and even to cure. Jersey wholesalers have made jerseys readily available to all, from professional athletes to childrens’s informal pick-up teams. But wholesale jerseys have also become a way for fans to satisfy their wish to be closer to well-known athletes and memorable moments in sports history.

Jerseys have become synonymous with well-known users in the world of famous athletes. Followers recall their favorites by jersey number alone. Who wears jersey number eight in the National Basketball Association? Maybe a lot of guys do, but the answer from a true follower will be the Laker’s “Kobe Bryant.” When the Lakers achieved victory over the Magic in the 2009 NBA Championship finals, jersey wholesalers were trying hard to keep #8 in stock. Likewise, if a fan hears #7 and Pennsylvania football — the conclusion is instantaneous: Ben Roethlisberger, winner of the Super Bowl. Identifying with their winners by wearing sports jerseys helps followers bond their favorite sport.

Anecdotes abound about the kindness of sports heroes who have donated their own jerseys to individual fans, often kids who have suffered sickness. Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat and a gold-medal Olympian broke his ownsingle- game scoring record and then gave the jersey he wore that night to a kid who had suffered amputation of hands and feet due to a bacterial infection. On a broader scale, professional athletes often donate their signed jerseys to charities that use them for fundraising and for publicity.

Many of these well-known sports figures have begun foundations of their own to convert their fame into help for sick kids and adults. Lance Armstrong, famous bicyclist, has his own foundation for kids with cancer. When the baseball Red Sox were in the World Series, nurses at a nearby children’s hospital wore jerseys in support of the team and Red Sox players visited entire wards of kids to bring some entertainment,excitement and, yes, jerseys to their lives. Wholesale jerseys suppliers have done their part to donate to such philanthropies as well.

Much could be written about the meaning of jerseys and their role in sports and in the minds of the public. Wholesale jerseys and jersey wholesalers make the dreams real to an enormous number of fans who just want the jersey they don to capture the power of sports to inspire.

Career and Tourism Opportunities in the Sports Industry

Recent trends in public interest towards sports has catalyzed new career opportunities in the sports industry, and this trend will also predictably grow. This trend can be thought of as a sign of our times. Families, teams, and individuals are on the move with different motives: some are in for the competition; others seek interaction with like-minded travelers, while others are lured as spectators. This trend may be due to the proliferation of sport supplies in the market which has helped greatly in sports development, and it has brought about the demand for a new team of professionals that will cater solely to the needs both of sports as an industry and as a novel area of tourism.

Tourism-wise, the sports industry have opened an opportunity for hospitality practitioners that are adept with the latest trends in sports that will be of interest to travelers. While practicing their profession as hospitality managers, these professionals suddenly found it that their being abreast with the latest in sports trends have put them in a position that enables them to better interact with their sports-minded clientele.

On the other hand, as an adjunct to the professional training of athletes, the need for professional writers of sporting books have also emerged. These writers of sporting books must be highly knowledgeable in a sense that they should not only have the skills expected of a writer but they should also possess a comprehensive command of their subject, thereby ensuring that they can can serve the industry better.

The sprouts industry also opened a door for technology experts who can engineer the production of sport supplies that will meet not only the physical need of an athlete but will also consider other aspects of a particular sport in a holistic manner. For instance, ergonomic engineers are highly in demand for the design of athletic support systems that will ensure the overall functionality of sports paraphernalia before its final production. Without the expertise of these professionals, the quality of sports supplies will suffer, and as a whole, it may also affect the quality of an athlete’s experience. Such a scenario may demoralize professional athletes and will be detrimental to the sports industry. The same is also true with amateur athletes.

The industry is also being pushed to a steady rate of growth by multimedia practitioners. Before the advent of multimedia technologies, training of athletes and sports amateurs depended solely on face to face sessions with a trainer or instructor, and also on the best sports books that can be had. Thanks to technology, even a minimal session with an instructor or trainer will suffice for an athlete or a sport amateur. The presence of videos makes up for time that an instructor or trainer is not around.