Is it just me or have certain sports gained so much more popularity and become an essential part of everyday life next to school and work? It definitely seems that way. Some might say that sports have always been a big deal, especially here in the United States but are there sports that have increased in popularity over others? Many, including myself, would answer yes to that question.

Gabby Costantino tells us that football, baseball, and basketball are the most popular sports in the United States. That makes sense because the NFL, MLB, and NBA are the longest standing professional sports leagues in the country. But it’s fair to ask if with the newer generations there are new favorite sports that before really didn’t attract people’s interest? Again, it definitely seems that way.

Lets take for example soccer. This is a sport that has gained a lot of popularity in the United States over the last few years. Major League Soccer was developed in the United States when it became obvious that soccer wasn’t just a recreational sport that kids played seasonally for their local neighborhood sports club.

Baseball, for example, is known as America’s favorite pastime. Both young and old alike love the sport, but it seems these days it might have lost some popularity in comparison to another sport. According to Robert Palamidessi, pickleball is the most popular these days. “All dads play it and it’s a sport that has attracted older people”.

But according to Audri Gordon, volleyball is the sport that has become the most popular these days. She says she sees “more hype and posts about the sport on social media”. Perhaps Audri is correct and the most popular sport nowadays is dictated by our current generation who are all about technology and leading trends online and sharing what they consider the most popular things, sports included.

In my interviews with Robert, Gabby, and Audri, I asked them what their favorite sport to play was. They answered baseball, volleyball, and soccer respectively. Interestingly enough, I then asked them what their favorite sport to watch was and they all answered the same. Football. Wait, so you can have a favorite sport that you play but it’s not necessarily the same as your favorite sport to watch? Apparently in my generation, the answer is yes. Depending on the season or the year, there are factors that can contribute to people’s likes and dislikes when it comes to sports.

Audri says wrestling is one of the least popular sports, but when Wrestlemania comes around, fans come out in the hundreds to watch and cheer on their favorite wrestlers. Gabby says swimming is the least popular sport, but then the summer Olympics take place and everyone is watching and cheering on the swimmers competing for the gold medal.

While I can clearly see there are some connections between most popular current sports and those sports that are favorites to play versus those that are favorites to watch, the one thing that remains always clear is that sports in general are loved and an everyday part of our lives now more than ever.