Popular Culture and Sports in American Society Introduction Communities in many parts of the world proudly associated themselves with cultural, traditional and social practices that were founded by pioneers, which was an effort to establish identity and can be identified from the rest of the communities. Popular culture, also referred to as pop culture, is one of these traditions that managed to survived the test of times to influence the various aspects of life of the twenty first-generation generation (Shabby 11).Pop culture refers to the general ideas, attitudes, images, perspectives, and any other phenomena that form the foundation of a certain culture, especially culture of the West, of the early twentieth century to the emerging global mainstream of the twenty first century. The media play a significant role in the spread of pop culture and it is the reason, why this collection of ideas penetrates daily lives of any given society in both beneficial and harmful ways.
Sports as a Pop Culture American pop culture is today regarded the most influential because of its fast parade worldwide through the majority of media including television, movies, sports and television (Shabby 12). Sports forms an essential of the national culture in the US, however, the cultural practices towards sports are different from what other countries practice.Americans have unique preferences for sports compared to the rest of the population in other countries; they do not go by what the rest of the world thinks is popular but by what they regard to have a cultural basis in their history. The American community has responded by incorporating sports into its daily program hat it has become a norm, and some individuals have discovered the probable business venture in the same that has resulted to rise of criminal activities.
Well- organized individuals who try to change the results of the game by compromising the players, management or officials in charge of the match commit the illegal acts. In the 19th century, people in United State community started expressing love for football, moving away from their love of other sports, which had long standing history in the culture such as baseball, basketball, American football and hockey (Shabby 12). The love for other sports has grown over time to exceed that shown for football, making sport an essential part of the society daily lifestyle.Ideology of Sports Sport has a different meaning besides the usual known competition, entertainment and spectacle, and a number of those involved in organizing sports' events provide the public with the opportunity to learn this hidden side of the game, which on based on ideologies. Ideologies refer to collections of conscious and unconscious ideas that comprise an individual's objectives, expectations and actions hat form a comprehensive way through which certain aspects of the society are visualized (Bayle and Haynes 7).According to Bayle and Haynes (163), the exhibitions staged in sports tournaments trace the history of sports for the last 150 years by elaborating the various developments that have been witnessed since the 18th century.
This way, the public is made aware and challenged to formulate their own answers of what sport was and what it is today. Sports and the Emergence of Gambling Sport events in the current times have taken a different bad direction because cost people use them for gambling.When people start gambling, they make some money, which leads to the need to get more money and become addicted in the process because they want to gamble on high money (Brothers 63). People who take part in gambling use money carelessly, leading themselves into lots of debts because they often borrow money from friends and relatives, to support their gambling needs.
Gambling also provides gangs with an opportunity to venture into money laundering because the risk of being caught is minimal (63).The establishment of the awe to fight money laundering in sports has seen a number of Mafia gangs being arrested in the recent past, due to involvement in both gambling and money laundering. It gives the gangs place to laundering them money without risk. Research has shown that the majority of the people involved in gambling do it in relation to sports, and a significant increase in the number of lifestyle diseases among those taking part in the vice has been seen (67). The government losses a lot of revenue due to this practice and it is the community that suffers because of the negative effects on the economy.Conclusion Sports form a major vital part of any society life and is regarded as a pop culture by the majority of the people, who appreciate the history and development that it has gone through over the many years.
However, people should commit themselves into learning the ideology of sports because it is necessary to get rid of misconception that sports is Just but a competition. This misconception is what has led into the vices that are currently being practiced, such as gambling and money laundering which threaten to diminish the value of sports.
