Everywhere you go sports are an integral part of the country’s identity and culture. In fact, sports have now become more than identity and culture, it involves a great deal of money. Take the United States for example. The country has at least four main professional sports leagues that drive revenues. The revenues are not only within United States territories but also around the world.
Taking a closer look, the four main professional sports leagues in the United States are National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Hockey League (NHL). These leagues enjoy domestic and foreign media coverage. There’s television airing, radio broadcasts and online streaming.
The basketball scene in United States is vibrant. In fact, basketball is ranked the second most favorite sport in United States after American football. According to a study conducted by National Sporting Goods Association, roughly 26 million Americans play basketball. Every year, more and more Americans are becoming basketball enthusiasts. When it is championship you will see how people Make sports picks at centSports.com.
Where did basketball start?
Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian Physical Education teacher, invented basketball in 1891. Did you know that the first game was recorded on December 21, 1891, in Massachusetts? But it became widespread after the NBA was founded on June 6, 1946, in New York. It started with thirty teams across North America.
NBA and Women’s Basketball
NBA is now the most popular and most viewed league in the world. Basketball showcases different skills from passing to shooting, dribbling, rebounding and blocking. Every year, the teams vie for the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. During this time, NBA gets high ratings on television and online.
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) was formed later than NBA in 1996. WNBA is not as popular as men’s basketball. Their venue is the same with their NBA counterparts.
High School and College Basketball
High school basketball is greatly admired especially in Upper South and Midwest. It is intense in these places because they tend to have the high school basketball is intense especially schools with large gyms. The governing body is the National Federation of State High School Associations.
As for the college basketball, it is quite popular kicking off every March. They call it March Madness and during this time, the sporting activity draws high TV ratings. The governing body of college basketball is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
National team for the Olympics
It was mentioned earlier that WNBA is not as popular as their male counterpart but to date, women’s team already won 8 Olympic gold medals plus 10 FIBA World Cups. As for the men’s team, they are comprised of NBA players with the moniker Dream Team.
Basketball as a limited-contact sport
Basketball is limited-contact sports like baseball, soccer, softball, and polo. These sports are designed to reduce if not avoid contact between players. Although contact can still happen, there are penalties enforced to discourage contact. The penalties can be as serious as removing the players from the field. The worst case is disqualification to play.