Sports in the United States are an important part of the United States' culture. However, the sporting culture of the U.S. is different from that of many other countries. Compared to any other nation, Americans prefer a unique set of sports. For example, soccer, the most popular sport in the world, is not as popular in the U.S. compared to the four most popular team sports — namely American football, basketball, baseball, and ice hockey. The major leagues of each of these sports enjoy massive media exposure and are considered the preeminent competitions in their respective sports in the world. The preeminence of the major leagues is partially attributed to their strong financial power and huge domestic market. In addition to the difference of popular sports, sports are also organized differently in the United States. There is no system of promotion and relegation like sports in Europe and major sports leagues operate as associations of franchises. Moreover, all major sports leagues use the same type of schedule with a playoff tournament after the regular season. Also, unlike many other countries, schools and colleges and universities sports competitions play an important role in the American sporting culture. Competition between national teams is far less important than in the sporting culture of the rest of the world.
Baseball is the oldest of the major American teamsports. Professional baseball dates from 1869 and had no close rivals in popularity until the 1960s; though baseball is no longer the most popular sport it is still referred to as the "national pastime." Also unlike the professional levels of the other popular spectator sports in the U.S., Major League Baseball teams play almost every day from April to October. Football now attracts more television viewers than baseball; however, National Football League teams play only 16 regular-season games each year, so baseball is the runaway leader in ticket sales. Basketball, invented in Massachusetts by the Canadian-born James Naismith, is another popular sport, represented professionally by the National Basketball Association. Most Americans recognize a fourth major sport—ice hockey. Always a mainstay of Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic and New England-area culture, the sport gained tenuous footholds in regions like the American South in recent years, as the National Hockey League pursued a policy of expansion.
The top tier of stock car auto racing, NASCAR, has grown from a Southern sport to one with a following nationwide. It has largely outgrown a previously provincial image; it is now avidly followed by fans in all socioeconomic groups and NASCAR sponsorships in the premier Sprint Cup division are highly sought after by hundreds of the U.S.'s largest corporations.
Soccer is another popular team sport played in the United States. Soccer is the number one youth participation sport in the U.S. today, more popular even than football, baseball, basketball, or hockey, up to about the age of 13. Dramatic growth in youth participation has fueled the men's national team's steady rise in caliber of play since 1990, with the US participating in every World Cup since that time. Almost as many girls as boys play youth soccer in the U.S., contributing to the women's national team becoming one of the world's premier women's sides. MLS (Major League Soccer) and the USL (United Soccer Leagues) are the men's first and second tier professional leagues in the U.S., respectively, and WPS (Women's Professional Soccer) is the top tier of American women's soccer. The designation of "tier" is mandated by FIFA in each case.
The extent in America to which sports are associated with secondary and tertiary education is unique among nations. In basketball and football, high school and particularly college sports are followed with a fervor equaling or exceeding that felt for professional sports; college football games can draw six-digit crowds, many prominent high school football teams have stadiums that seat tens of thousands of spectators, and the college basketball championship tournament played in March, known as March Madness, draws enormous attention. Sports are a significant source of revenue for schools competing in Division I (D-I), the highest level of collegiate athletics. This has created controversy as collegiate athletes are considered amateurs and thus may not receive a salary, although many athletes are granted scholarships to attend a school and compete in a sport. Further, among the most popular sports such as basketball and football, coaching success is revered to the point that D-I schools may extend multi-million dollar contracts to the most proven coaches; several coaches of D-I football programs and a few D-I basketball coaches are claimed as the highest-paid public employees in their respective states.
