Running head: american sports culture vs european sports culture 1

How do the sports cultures of the United States of America and Europe compare and contrast.
Trent D Revelette
University of Kentucky

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Abstract
The United States of America prides itself on its rich sports culture but is it any better than the
sports culture of Europe? This essay will take an in depth look at both the sports culture United
States and Europe. Using Hofstedes cultural dimensions, these two cultures will be compared
and contrasted. The cultures are different in many different ways but perhaps the biggest
difference is the way that the players are treated and compensated for the play on the field.
However, the differences dont stop there. The way that the United States sports organizations
selects its champion is completely different than the way the Europeans select a champion.
Although there are many differences, there is still similarities amongst the two cultures such as,
the impact on the economy. Sports play a huge role in the economy of the US as well as Europe
and provide many jobs, other than athletes, for the workforce.
Keywords: Athlete, Fan base, Economic, History, Culture

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How do the sports cultures of the United States of America and Europe compare and
contrast.

Sports are the one constant in todays world. The economy might not always be the best,
peace might not be peace for long, but the one thing that humanity can count on to be there is
sports. Sports are universal. For example, soccer is played in every country in the world but it is
not treated the same in every country. This comes down to the sports culture of the country
where the sport is being played. The culture of athletics today is a billion dollar a year industry in
the US alone and when the culture of European sports is added to that, the number grows even
larger. It is impossible to ignore how big of an impact sports play in our lives today, but
depending on the country the impact could be different. With all of this sports are nothing
without fans.
Picture yourself at a Kentucky football game. The other team takes the field and every
fan in attendance is cursing, throwing their concessions on the field and verbally abusing the fans
of that team (Blum 2013). It may seem strange or taboo in American sports culture but in Europe
it is an every game occurrence. When comparing the fans from the United States and Europe we
see a few differences. It is said that European soccer fans are the rowdiest, most passionate fans
on the planet. The Europeans bring hundreds of years of animosity into the stadium with them,
the games arent just games. Andrei Markovits, a sociology professor at the University of
Michigan and expert on American and European sports culture said, When Barcelona plays
Real Madrid, this is the Spanish civil war. It's not a soccer game. This is not Lakers-Celtics,
Yankees-Red Sox, Giants-Dodgers, the most pedigreed of American rivalry games. They hate
each other, but it's about sports. It's not about you don't have the correct political view (Blum

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2013). The European soccer fans are a great example of one Greet Hofstedes dimensions of
culture, Individualism versus Collectivism.
It goes without saying the Americans love their sports teams but to the average fan, they
are just a team. In Europe, the sports fans take on a cult like atmosphere (Blum 2013). The fans
for European soccer are as collective as it gets. They are willing to fight in the stands over wrong
calls on the field because they believe that the team would want that. Both sets of fans will dress
head to toe in their teams apparel to support their guys on the field, sometimes dumping
hundreds of dollars just to buy one piece of clothing. Needless to say, having millions of fans
purchasing apparel can brew up millions of dollars but that is just a fraction of the impact sports
culture has on the economy.
Sports culture plays a huge roll in the economy of both the United States and Europe. In
the United States alone, in 2013, the sports sector of the economy generated $14.3 billion and
accounted for more than 456,000 jobs with an average salary of $39,000. If you factor in the
revenue from the NBA, MLB and NFL the total revenue for the sports sector in 2013, athletics
generated over $34 billion (Burrow 2013). Similarly, the British Premier League, the most
prestigious soccer league in Europe, had a total revenue of approximately $5 billion in 2014
(Gordon 2014). With that being said, it is virtually impossible to ignore the impact that sports
culture has on our economy. This ties in with Greet Hofstedes cultural dimension of the power
distance index. The power distance index states, People in societies exhibiting a large degree
of Power Distance accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs
no further justification. This connects to the economic power of the sports cultures of both the
United States of America and Europe because sports culture has been so ingrained into modern
society people do not even think twice about seeing these numbers. Hofstede mentions that

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society accept a hierarchical order where everyone has a place. In the hierarchy of United States
culture sports is, without a doubt, in the top tier of that hierarchy and it is the same in Europe.
Sports

have always been a big part of life if you want it to be or not and that has been an accepted fact
in both the United States and Europe. Sports culture is not going anywhere. The economic
impact is far too great and the ties into history are too great.
In the United States, sports can be traced deep into the history and too many world
altering events. Sports in America have helped our culture cope with racial differences, religious
differences and economic struggles (Naison 2009). For example, in the early twentieth century
the United States had a new wave of immigrants looking to make a name for themselves. Men
like Joe DiMaggio became a figure for these immigrants to look up too (Naison 2009). These
immigrants who became great athletes showed the other immigrants that it is possible to make it
in America. It showed that putting your head down and getting to work could potentially give a
better way of life and it was that attitude that turned America into the great country that it is
today.
The Europeans take a different approach to their history in sports. Being that sports in
Europe is not as deeply rooted as in the United States, Europeans do not have the same ties and
consistency to their sports culture. Instead of sports helping the Europeans through rough times,
they reenact their struggles on the field. Andrei Markovits says, When Barcelona plays Real
Madrid, this is the Spanish civil war. The European sports fans project real life struggles and
hardships onto the field. Unlike the American sports fan who will use sporting events and

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activities to remember the hard time and how they past, the European will use sports to project
anger and remember the hated on the sports field.
All of this being said, there is still one difference that separates these two cultures more
than anything and that is the battle of football versus football. In Europe, and every other part of
the world, soccer is referred to as football. If you were to ask any European sports fan what they
though the greatest sport of all time is, the answer would be football. The same answer would
come from any American as well but they would be talking about two different footballs. The
American version of football is completely unique to the United States. It was invented and
played in the USA and has remained that way since the early nineteen hundreds. The Europeans
claim that American football is savage and useless (Ziemba 2015). However, any true
American will tell you that football is the best sport on earth and it is the ultimate team sport. In
America, football is king. The NFL alone makes approximately $10 billion during the 6 month
season. This debate on which football is better has raged on for decades and will more than likely
never be solved.
In todays society, sports culture has almost has become normal culture. It is impossible
to ignore the impact that sports culture has on us. Sports are everywhere we look, they make
appearances on every television station and every radio station. Although the United States may
have deeper roots into sport culture, the Europeans have taken it and made it their own. The
Europeans pour their heart and soul into their sports team and wont think twice about starting a
brawl in the stands. Americans may not be fighting in the stands, but they love their sports teams
with a passion. The historical value of sports in America carries so much weight that it is nearly
impossible to ignore it. There is not ones culture that is better than the other. Both the United
States and Europe both have great sports culture and they are growing with every game.

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Reference
Blum, R. (23 May 2013) "Ocean Not All That Separates US, European Fans." ESPN.com.
ESPN. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.
Burrow, G. (9 July 2013) "Not Just a Game: The Impact of Sports on U.S. Economy - EMSI |
Economic Modeling Specialists Intl." EMSI Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. N.p.,
. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.
Gordon, N.(16 July 2014) "Sports Paradox: America's Regulated Economy vs. Europe's Free
Market." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, Web. 06 Oct. 2015.
Naison, M. (2009) Why Sports History is American History. The Ghilder Institute of American
history.
Ziemba, J. (19 January 2015) European Football vs. American Sports: Some Interesting
Differences. Soccer politics of football. Duke University

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