Sports and Their Fans: The History, Economics and Culture of the Relationship Between Spectator and Sport

Though Americans spend more than $25 million on sports and sporting events, this book argues that the influence of sports on our lives is even more profound than this huge economic force would seem to suggest. Exploring such topics as the role of sports in the creation of mass culture, cheating, the abuse of illegal drugs, the strange and fascinating role that numbers play in sporting events, and the future of spectator sport, this book attempts to gauge the vast impact that sports have on American culture. The author draws from new work in such fields as history, economics, politics, sociology, psychology, and ethics to support his claims.