Sports
What is a Sport?
A sport is a competitive activity, which is governed by a set of rules or customs. The term sports commonly refer to activities where the physical or mental capabilities of the competitor, and/or equipment qualityare the sole or primary determiner of the outcome (winning or losing).
Ancient Sports
Ancient artifacts and structures suggest that individual and organized sports have been in existance since 4000 B.C. Cultures from the Ancient Chinese, to Ancient Egypt, to Ancient Greece, all participated in sporting events. A number of sports, including swimming, fishing, javelin throwing, high jump, and wrestling, were well-developed and regulated several thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, as indicated by Ancient Egyptian monuments. Persian sports such as the martial art Zourkhaneh, had a close connection to warfare skills, as did the popular polo and jousting.
A wide range of sports had been established by the time of Ancient Greece and the military culture and the development of sports in Greece influenced one another considerably.In fact, sports have become increasingly organized and popular since the Ancient Greeks began the first Olympic Games, which in ancient times were held every four years in a small village in the Peloponnesus called Olympia.With the rise of industrialization, mass media, global communication, and captialism, sports began to turn professional, and citizens were able to follow the exploits of their favorites teams and playerson a daily basis. Thus begat the current popular trend of professional sports in the twenty first century.
Modern and Popular Sports
The most popular sports in America in the early 2000s include American football, baseball, softball, soccer (football), basketball, and hockey.
American Football - American football comes from a variety of football played in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century called rugby football, in which the majority of the plays involve handling the ball rather than kicking it. The National Football League (NFL)is the top professional football league in the world.
Baseball - Organized baseball in the United States originiated for playing informal team gamesin the 1830s, with the Philadelphia Olympics club. Semiprofessional baseball started in 1869 with the Cincinnati Red Stockings. Major League Baseball (MLB) is the popularprofessional baseball league, although baseball is quickly growing in popularity in Japan.
American Soccer (Football) - Sometime during the 2nd and 3rd centuries B.C. in China, there is evidence of the earliest form of the technique of kicking a ball, although the first rules for modern soccer were drafted inEngland in 1848. Major League Soccer (MLS) is the popularAmerican soccer league, although soccer (football) is much more popular in England and othernon-US countries.
Hockey - Hockey is any sport in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a disc-shaped puck or ball, into an opponent’s net or goal, using a hockeystick. The popular professional hockey league is the National Hockey League (NHL) basedin North America.
