Baseball
The history of baseball is entwined with the history of the United States. From the inception of the sport in the late nineteenth century, baseball has become part of our collective identity as Americans. Although other sports have come to rival baseball in American cities, it is baseball that remains closest to the heartland of America. What I find most interesting about baseball is that it is uniquely American.
I have also come to appreciate the way the sport has evolved. One of the most interesting eras in professional baseball -- and probably in all professional sports -- is the transition from segregated to integrated baseball teams. Learning about Jackie Robinson helps us to understand how slow the process of integration was in the United States. Some women's leagues even sprouted up during World War Two when women's sports were seriously underrepresented. Now that baseball is populated by a large number of minority players, the sport represents a true swath of American society. African-Americans, Hispanics, Causasians, and Asians are all part of the culture of baseball. It is important to understand that it was not always like that.
What I also find fascinating about early baseball is how early baseball evolved into the business it is today. Expansion of teams into new markets first occurred in the 1960s ("The History of Baseball" nd). Players, fans, managers, and team owners as well as cities started to view the sport more as a business opportunity than simply a pastime. Before long, the players formed a labor union and their high earnings remain a controversial topic.
Baseball may have been based on games played in England, but now baseball is well-known as an American sport ("The History of Baseball" nd). Americans have been playing and watching baseball for well over a century, making the game an integral part of the nation's popular culture. The way professional baseball evolved since the Civil War also reflects on how American culture has changed into one that is more heterogenous and globally influential than ever before.
Reference
"The History of Baseball." (nd) Retrieved June 29, 2009 from http://www.rpi.edu/~fiscap/history_files/history1.htm
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