Sports Heroes
During the Great Depression, the morale of Americans was generally low. Since many people did not have the extra money to spend on tickets to sporting events, attendance to popular sports like baseball declined. However, sports themselves still remained important to Americans, as games were picked up on the radio or read in the newspaper. During this dark time, larger-than-life sports heroes became an outlet for Americans to celebrate and root for. Stars like Jesse Owens and the immortal Babe Ruth kept the American spirit alive with their athletic accomplishments. Owens' legendary 1936 Olympics performance proved to be a huge boost for American nationalism and morale. A quote from a historian who lived through the Depression sums up the feeling Americans often had for their beloved stars:
"We didn't want our sports heroes during the 1930s to be human beings, we wanted them to be gods," Grace said.
"Sports heroes were larger than life back then. And we as a country wanted it that way, because we were grubbing for a living."
Effect on American Life
Obviously, the feats of these athletes did not do anything to actually fix the problems of the Depression in any tangible way. However, the support they and other forms of entertainment such as literature and art gave Americans during this time should not be underestimated.
The interesting part about sports is that they became hugely popular during the 1920's. During this time period, tickets sold for a lot of money, and people became fascinated with the sports around them. One instance was the public admiration of Babe Ruth, and the millions of dollars that went into the games at the Rose Bowl. I wonder how this public fascination with sports has translated into today's world.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Depression seemed to halt many sporting events, and Americans could not afford to go out to the ball game. The depression had changed many aspects of the American way of life,Sports seemed to come to a standstill. Babe Ruth among others were becoming famous with the introduction of the radio, and many became American heroes. Great article!
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting, because I never thought about how the great depression would impact those that are in sports. Mainly when we are learning about the great depression, we are learn how others that worked in factories, or had businesses lost their wealth, but the idea of sports is not always mentioned. Also, it shows how the radio has been a good invention because it allows others to keep up with the sports even if they don't have the money to be at the games.
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting to know about the impact that the great depression had on the sports. I think this is a little bit different than what is usually said about the Great Depression because it is usually "depressing", but this is an interesting post since it talks about something different and new
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