America.gov-Sports: Games We Play

Baseball, Once Just an American Game, Extends Reach Worldwide

Ralph Dannheisser — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:26:31 GMT

When major league baseball introduced the “World Series” in 1903, the name was an exercise in hyperbole. The sport was strictly American in nature, and the bulk of players and managers were U.S. natives. But as the game has grown in popularity around the world and international superstars develop, the “World” aspect has become a reality.

Watching Soccer: a Popular U.S. Pastime

Ralph Dannheisser — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:23:32 GMT

Summers Restaurant in Arlington, Virginia, is a football institution. It was voted the best soccer bar in the United States in 2002 by the U.S. Soccer Federation. Manager Joe Javidara has been showing soccer matches there since the bar’s inception in 1984.

Trailblazing African Americans Enriched the Sport of Tennis

Ralph Dannheisser — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:14:46 GMT

Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson were trailblazing African-American athletes. Their skill and determination opened up new areas for athletic achievement by African Americans. Their breakthrough achievements in tennis and their lives beyond the court are an example to future generations.

Stanley Cup Is a Hockey Tradition

Ralph Dannheisser — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:15:50 GMT

Detroit Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom was the first European captain to lead an NHL team to victory in the Stanley Cup finals. The victorious captain will take the Stanley Cup back to Sweden as part of a traditional day with the cup accorded to each player from the winning team.

“Trinity” of Sports Demonstrates American Beliefs

Ralph Dannheisser — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:50:28 GMT

The favorite American games of football, baseball and basketball illustrate a striving to reconcile individual freedom and competition with sacrifice and cooperation in pursuit of the common good, argues Craig A. Forney, a professor of religious studies.

Baseball Museum Honors Negro League Players

Ralph Dannheisser — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:52:49 GMT

In 1996, the U.S. Congress designated a small museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as America’s National Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, lifting its status to a national destination for anyone seeking to know more about the ways that racial segregation affected what is known as "America's pastime."

Traditional Baseball Song Turns 100

Ralph Dannheisser — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:27:13 GMT

America’s favorite baseball song is 100 years old. Standing up and singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch is an enduring sports tradition and part of the U.S. baseball culture. Americas.gov looks at the colorful history of this iconic American classic.

American Football Blends Martial Fervor, Clockwork Precision

Ralph Dannheisser — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:42:02 GMT

American football incites passion that exercises a rare unifying pull in American society. If the game nurtures aggression, it also fosters an appreciation of sacrifice, teamwork, and discipline, says American journalist Mark F. Bernstein.

Baseball Seen as the Game of Innocence and Growth

Ralph Dannheisser — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:08:14 GMT

Of the three principal American games, baseball is the most elegantly designed and the easiest to account for in terms of its appeal. Its rules are unbending and with a very few exceptions they have not changed in a hundred years, says American writer Roger Rosenblatt.

Basketball Was First to Breach Race Barriers

Ralph Dannheisser — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:11:17 GMT

Neither baseball nor football creates the special, jazzed-up excitement of a basketball game, during which the human body can be made to do unearthly things, to defy gravity gracefully, argues American writer and professor Roger Rosenblatt.

American Football Celebrates Sacrifice and Progress

Ralph Dannheisser — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:06:55 GMT

Football is a game of individual progress achieved through team cooperation. The victory is gained “inch by inch, down and dirty,” argues American writer Roger Rosenblatt.

Favorite Games Showcase American Temperament

Ralph Dannheisser — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:25:07 GMT

Baseball, football and basketball, the three most popular American games, are uniquely reflective of the American character -- American dreams, ambitions, achievements and defeats -- and Americans often watch them as morality plays about their own conflicting natures, argues American writer and professor Roger Rosenblatt.