Preface

T. S. Eliot may have called April the "cruelest month," but for American sports fans and athletes, the fun is just beginning. No sooner have fans recovered from their Superbowl revelry and March Madness when baseball’s Opening Day arrives, the Master’s golf tournament begins, the NFL holds its annual college draft, and professional basketball and hockey anticipate the nearly two-month-long playoffs before crowning their champions. Across the country, snows are melting, enabling people to resume biking, roller blading, skate boarding, and organizing little league teams and youth soccer matches. In America, playing sports is about exploring and exploiting freedom while challenging expectations. The controlled conflict that takes place on the field or in the arena gives athletes the chance to shine and spectators the chance to dream—about running faster, throwing harder, scoring higher, or hitting a ball farther than anyone else. The fans marvel at their favorite athletes, who push and sometimes smash the boundaries and standards set for them, as when Barry Bonds smacks a home run out of Pacific Bell Park that splashes into McCovey Cove, or Marion Jones sprints through yet another world record.

This volume, while not intended to be comprehensive, is meant to explore various aspects of the games, athletes, scandals, and concerns that color the worlds of American amateur and professional sports today. The articles chosen survey the topic of sports in America from several perspectives—those of the athletes, the fans, the businessmen, and the media. The writers consider the appeal of certain sports, the athletes who inspire and those who disappoint, and the billion-dollar industry that has developed to showcase the talents of a few gifted individuals.

The book is divided into six sections, each addressing American sports from a different angle. The articles in Section I, "America’s Pastimes," consider the singular appeal of some of the most popular sports, including football, baseball, golf, NASCAR, and tennis, as well as women athletes. Section II, "Youth Sports," looks at several important issues concerning child and teenage athletes, such as the importance of prioritizing fun over accomplishment, participation by disabled children, the growing pressures on children participating in sports, the rising violence among parents at their children’s games, and the dangers to children who suffer repeat injuries. Section III, "College and Semi-pro Sports," examines organizational attempts to achieve gender and financial equity for college athletes, the balancing of academics and athletic participation, the role of race in college sports, plans for basketball’s new minor league, and the economic and social advantages of minor league baseball.

The second half of the book looks primarily at professional sports, beginning with Section IV, "The Good, the Great, and the Ugly," which focuses on the character and personality of professional athletes. These individuals include some of the 20th century’s greatest players, such as Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzkey, and John Elway; those who inspire others with their performances, such as Lance Armstrong; and those whose off-the-field behavior brings shame to themselves and their sports. The final article in the section considers the need to reform boxing in order to improve the quality of matches and showcase the sport’s best athletes. The articles in Section V, "The Business of Sports," then look at the big business of sports, considering the history of the professional sports industry in America; the manner in and degree to which owners profit from their teams; the effect of high ticket prices on attendance; the notion of extending the influence of major league franchises abroad; and the marketing of extreme sports to young people. The book’s final section, "The Olympics," looks at those games, beginning with the Special Olympics, then moving on to one athlete’s perspective on the true meaning of the Olympic Games, and the bribery and drug scandals that have recently tarnished the Olympic image.

I would like to thank the authors and publications that gave permission for their work to be reprinted in this volume. I would also like to thank Jacqueline Latif, Norris Smith, Sandra Watson, Sara Yoo, and the staff of the General Reference division for their patience and assistance in the production of this book.

Lynn M. Messina

April 2001