A) Sport has had a connection of varying strengths to me throughout my life. Growing up sport was a big part of my life (as it was for many). I played a sport for every season of the year, sometimes playing multiple sports in a season and on two occasions playing in two different leagues for the same sport (baseball) during the same season. That experience was pretty rough and, as a pitcher, contributed to the right shoulder issues I deal with today.
By the time I got to highschool I was almost burned out on sport. I still played football my freshmen year but baseball had wrecked my arm, hockey had become unappealing because my friends were put in a different age class, basketball had lost interest on me and soccer, well soccer was never a big part of my life.
Being from the city of Chicago, though, I've always been a huge fan of all the local teams. And especially since coming to Colorado for school, my fandom has only increased because I like to represent my city and teams even more. It's more special to me because it's one of the few connections to home I have left (my parents divorced, sold the house and moved away since I've come out here)
B) Sport in the US can be both hugely positive and negative. It can give hope to disadvantaged kids who might otherwise have no opportunity to succeed in life. Some of these kids can turn into huge superstars and support their family and friends for the rest of their life. But on the other hand, sport can reinforce racial stereotypes and has provided an environment for severe bullying and conflict among both kids and adults.
Sport, overall, is important in American society mostly in that it's a huge money-making machine for a lot of people. Sport is entertainment and has made lots of people into millionaires and billionaires. But it's important for the fans, too. They feel a sense of solidarity and belonging both with each other and the players. The ups and downs of a season are exciting and exhilarating and provide entertainment and fun for the whole family.
Athletes hold a funny position in society. The currently playing athletes are at the top tier, they're "cool", they hang around celebrities (heck, they ARE celebrities) and spend the big money for the cool things. The instant an athlete retires they plummet social ranks until most of them are close to the bottom within a decade of retirement. Maybe it's cruel, maybe it's fair considering the huge social privilege they enjoy growing up. But as long as they are playing (well) and winning, they will be respected role models of kids and adults alike as long as they don't have some big scandal (which they always seem to)
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