United States

=== Sports ===
{{Main|Sports in the United States}}
{{See also|Professional sports leagues in the United States|National Collegiate Athletic Association|United States at the Olympics}}
[[File:Commanders vs. Jaguars (52379056543).jpg|thumb|[[American football]] is the most popular sport in the United States; in this September 2022 [[National Football League]] game, the [[Jacksonville Jaguars]] play the [[Washington Commanders]] at [[FedExField]].]]

The most popular spectator sports in the U.S. are [[American football in the United States|American football]], [[Basketball in the United States|basketball]], [[Baseball in the United States|baseball]], [[Soccer in the United States|soccer]], and [[Ice hockey in the United States|ice hockey]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sports |date=September 25, 2007 |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/4735/sports.aspx |publisher=Gallup, Inc. |access-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref> While most major U.S. sports such as baseball and American football have evolved out of European practices, basketball, [[Volleyball in the United States|volleyball]], [[skateboarding]], and [[snowboarding]] are American inventions, many of which have become popular worldwide.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Krasnoff |first=Lindsay Sarah |date=December 26, 2017 |title=How the NBA went global |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/12/26/how-the-nba-went-global/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226153302/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/12/26/how-the-nba-went-global/ |archive-date=December 26, 2017 |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=2269358}}</ref> [[Lacrosse in the United States|Lacrosse]] and [[Surfing in the United States|surfing]] arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate European contact.<ref name="liss">Liss, Howard. ''Lacrosse'' (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970) pg 13.</ref> The market for professional sports in the United States was approximately $69&nbsp;billion in July 2013, roughly 50% larger than that of all of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined.<ref>{{cite web|date=June 18, 2008|title=Global sports market to hit $141 billion in 2012|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pwcstudy-idUSN1738075220080618|access-date=July 24, 2013|work=Reuters}}</ref>

American football is by several measures the most popular spectator sport in the United States;<ref>{{cite web|author=Krane, David K.|title=Professional Football Widens Its Lead Over Baseball as Nation's Favorite Sport|url=https://www.harrisinteractive.com/Insights/HarrisVault8482.aspx?PID=337|publisher=Harris Interactive|date=October 30, 2002|access-date=September 14, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709111448/https://www.harrisinteractive.com/Insights/HarrisVault8482.aspx?PID=337|archive-date=July 9, 2010}} MacCambridge, Michael (2004). ''America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation''. New York: Random House. {{ISBN|978-0-375-50454-9}}.</ref> the [[National Football League]] has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world, and the [[Super Bowl]] is watched by tens of millions globally.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27321898/how-nfl-took-america-100-years|title=How the NFL took over America in 100 years|last=Guliza|first=Anthony|date=August 14, 2019|publisher=[[ESPN]]|access-date=May 8, 2021}}</ref> However, baseball has been regarded as the U.S. "[[national sport]]" since the late 19th century. After American football, the next four most popular professional team sports are basketball, baseball, soccer, and ice hockey. Their premier leagues are, respectively, the [[National Basketball Association]], [[Major League Baseball]], [[Major League Soccer]], and the [[National Hockey League]]. The most-watched [[individual sport]]s in the U.S. are [[Golf in the United States|golf]] and [[auto racing]], particularly [[NASCAR]] and [[IndyCar]].<ref>{{cite web|date=January 16, 2014|title=As American as Mom, Apple Pie and Football? Football continues to trump baseball as America's Favorite Sport|url=https://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris%20Poll%205%20-%202014%20Fave%20Sport_1.16.14.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309053431/https://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris%20Poll%205%20-%202014%20Fave%20Sport_1.16.14.pdf|archive-date=March 9, 2014|access-date=July 2, 2014|website=Harris Interactive}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Cowen, Tyler|author2=Grier, Kevin|date=February 9, 2012|title=What Would the End of Football Look Like?|url=https://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7559458/cte-concussion-crisis-economic-look-end-football|access-date=February 12, 2012|publisher=Grantland/ESPN}}</ref>

On the [[College athletics in the United States|collegiate level]], earnings for the member institutions exceed $1 billion annually,<ref name="si">{{Cite news|url=https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2018/03/07/ncaa-1-billion-revenue|title=Sports Illustrated: NCAA Reports $1.1 Billion in Revenues|newspaper=Sports Illustrated |date=March 7, 2018 }}</ref> and [[college football]] and [[College basketball|basketball]] attract large audiences, as the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA March Madness tournament]] and the [[College Football Playoff]] are some of the most watched national sporting events.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 19, 2013|title=Passion for College Football Remains Robust|url=https://www.footballfoundation.org/tabid/567/Article/53380/Passion-for-College-Football-Remains-Robust.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407075223/https://www.footballfoundation.org/tabid/567/Article/53380/Passion-for-College-Football-Remains-Robust.aspx|archive-date=April 7, 2014|access-date=April 1, 2014|publisher=National Football Foundation}}</ref> In the U.S., the intercollegiate sports level serves as a feeder system for professional sports. This differs greatly from practices in nearly all other countries, where publicly and privately funded sports organizations serve this function.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rosandich|first= Thomas|title=Collegiate Sports Programs: A Comparative Analysis|page= 471|journal= Education|year=2002|volume=122|issue=3|publisher=Project Innovation Austin LLC.}}</ref>

Eight [[Olympic Games]] have taken place in the United States. The [[1904 Summer Olympics]] in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], were the first-ever Olympic Games held outside of Europe.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schaus|first1=Gerald P.|last2=Wenn|first2=Stephen R.|title=Onward to the Olympics: Historical Perspectives on the Olympic Games|date=February 9, 2007|publisher=[[Wilfrid Laurier University Press]]|page=224|isbn=978-0-88920-505-5}}</ref> The Olympic Games will be held in the U.S. for a ninth time when Los Angeles hosts the [[2028 Summer Olympics]]. [[United States at the Olympics|U.S. athletes]] have won a total of 2,959 medals (1,173 gold) at the Olympic Games, the most of any country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://greatestsportingnation.com/|title=Greatest Sporting Nation|website=greatestsportingnation.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/sports/olympics/the-1000-medals-of-the-united-states/| title = 1,000 times gold – The thousand medals of Team USA – Washington Post| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The 10 most fascinating facts about the all-time Winter Olympics medal standings|first=Chris|last=Chase|date=February 7, 2014|work=USA Today|url=https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/02/winter-olympics-medal-count-sochi-all-time-facts/|access-date=February 28, 2014}} {{cite news|title=With Sochi Olympics approaching, a history of Winter Olympic medals|date=February 6, 2014|first=Dan|last=Loumena|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/06/sports/la-sp-a-history-of-the-winter-olympic-medals-20140206|access-date=February 28, 2014}}</ref>

In international competition, the U.S. [[United States men's national soccer team|men's national soccer team]] has qualified for [[United States at the FIFA World Cup|eleven World Cups]], while the [[United States women's national soccer team|women's national team]] has [[United States at the FIFA Women's World Cup|won]] the [[FIFA Women's World Cup]] and [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympic soccer tournament]] four times each.<ref>{{cite web|last=Carlisle|first=Jeff|date=April 6, 2020|title=MLS Year One, 25 seasons ago: The Wild West of training, travel, hockey shootouts and American soccer|url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4082408/mls-year-one25-seasons-ago-the-wild-west-of-trainingtravelhockey-shootouts-and-american-soccer|access-date=May 5, 2021|publisher=[[ESPN]]}}</ref> The United States hosted the [[1994 FIFA World Cup]] and will co-host, along with Canada and Mexico, the [[2026 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Wamsley |first=Laurel |date=June 16, 2022 |title=The U.S. cities hosting the 2026 World Cup are announced |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105562734/us-cities-hosting-2026-world-cup-announcement |publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref> The [[1999 FIFA Women's World Cup]] was also hosted by the United States. Its [[1999 FIFA Women's World Cup final|final match]] was watched by 90,185, setting the world record for most-attended women's sporting event.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gerson |first=Aria |date=July 10, 2020 |title=Impact of 1999 Women's World Cup went far beyond Brandi Chastain's iconic goal |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2020/07/10/1999-womens-world-cup-uswnt-iconic-moments-brandi-chastain/5405459002/ |work=USA Today |accessdate=February 14, 2024}}</ref>
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