Odd Things About America That Americans Haven’t Realized

In America, sports franchises are very important to people and cities. They are not only a sport, but a way of life. When there is a big game on, Americans will cancel their plans and turn off their phones in bars, taverns and living rooms. Just look at the Super Bowl. It is considered a national holiday to many Americans and they will stop at nothing to host the biggest and best party!

But when it comes to American sports, there is very little involvement with the rest of the world. American teams play American teams throughout the season and that is about it. So it is quite odd to crown any American team 'World Champs' after beating only other American teams, but that's what America does. They give themselves these impressive titles engraved on large cups and trophies and march through stadiums telling everyone that they are the best in the world.

Professional sports provide the perfect example of how some Americans fail to recognize the rest of the world. Have you ever noticed how the champions of the MBL, the NBA and the NFL are always referred to by the fans as "World Champions" despite having only played other American (and maybe Canadian) teams to achieve such a lofty title?

"When you watch the Olympics in Canada or Asia," adds David, a Canadian resident, "the events are broadcast and replayed regardless of where the gold medal winner came from. In the US, it seems as if only the event broadcasts are ones where the gold medal went to American athletes.....or if the winner upset an American athlete!"

"Americans only see US winners and get 'verbal results' from Bob Costas for the other events" David continues to say. American television stations rarely if ever broadcast a game from another country. 99% of all sports games on cable today are American teams playing other American teams for the "World Championship".

This insular outlook explains the uniquely American obsession with sports. It's not that other countries don't love sports. Have you ever seen a relaxed stadium of Brits at a football match? All countries have their sport and have fans that are just as dedicated and crazy as Americans. Canada has their hockey, Cuba and Dominican Republic has baseball, Japan has sumo wrestling and Slovenia has alpine skiing. Every country has their national sport that they love to cheer on and obsess over the games like it is a religion.

But an American has a seriously impressive amount of professional sports teams: 134 between the 4 major leagues, to be exact. Baseball, football, soccer and hockey make up the four largest sports in America, and although all of these leagues do include Canadian teams, the majority are all Americans. The MLB, the NBA, the NFL, and the NHL are commonly called the "Big 4" and are the wealthiest professional club competitions in its sport around the world!

Just because Americans only watch American sports, the doesn't mean they are the only ones. The "Big 4" Leagues are the most popular sports leagues in the world, being watched on televisions in living rooms worldwide. These leagues also bring in the most revenue in the world!