Why did sports become so popular in the 20th century?

Answer 1

The mass media had a major impact on the popular culture of the 1920s, which were already becoming a decade of social change (women had gotten the vote; a number of successful black artists, poets, authors and sculptors brought us the "Harlem Renaissance," more young people were going to college, etc). Sports in and of themselves remained popular, especially at the college level-- although professional sports were expanding (new pro hockey and pro football leagues were formed, for example). It was thanks to the new mass media of radio and talking pictures (movies that could now provide dialog and music and were no longer "silent") that popular hits and new stars were spread nationwide.

For example, when radio came along in 1920-1921, it broadcast some of the most popular games-- the World Series was on the air in 1921, and pro hockey was on the air by 1924. Few fans had ever been able to go to a world series game-- tickets were expensive; and getting time off from work was not always possible because pro Baseball back then was mainly concentrated in the Eastern US so you had to travel to a city like New York or Philadelphia to see a major league game. Further, some minor league ballparks were segregated, making it impossible for black fans to attend. Radio changed all that, bring sports directly into people's homes, no matter where they lived, how rich or how poor they were, or what their race was.

Radio, and later (1927-1928) movies, did the same for music. Songs that had been hits in one city only could now be spread nationwide, just by airplay on the radio. And when the networks (NBC in 1926, CBS in 1927) were created, that further enhanced the ability of hits to be heard from coast to coast. Al Jolson, a huge star with many hit songs, sang several of his hits in the 1927 movie "The Jazz Singer" (the word "jazz" back then meant "popular music") and suddenly fans all over the United States could see him, hear him, and then go out and buy his records.

So, it might be fair to say that radio and movies had a symbiotic relationship with sports and music. Both of these things were already popular with their fans, but radio and movies enhanced and expanded their popularity. Radio brought the hits and the sporting events into your home; movies enabled you to see, and later hear, your favorite stars (the movie theater was not just the home of romances, action adventures, and comedies-- it was also home to the "news-reel," a weekly roundup of the biggest news events, and major sports stars were often included). This certainly affected the popular culture, creating new celebrities, new fads, and new catch-phrases, while expanding the popularity and fame of those who were already successful.

Answer 2

The big change in the 1920s was the arrival of radio. But first, it is worth noting that all of these forms of entertainment were already popular, although movies were generally silent (that is, they did not have talking, although they often had background music or sound effects provided by the theater). But sports and music had been around for centuries. What changed was that radio brought sports, music, and news directly into people's homes, in real-time; this was something no previous mass medium had been able to do. As more people listened to music, they became fans of certain singers or performers and this led to increased popularity for those entertainers. In sports, more accessibility (not everyone could afford to attend a game, plus in most southern cities, ballparks or stadiums were segregated) meant people of all races and socioeconomic statuses could enjoy the game at home, even if they couldn't be there in person.

Many musicians had feared that radio would mean people would stop buying records or attending concerts, but that did not happen. Rather, radio became one more way to enjoy entertainment, and it did not replace the other ways. As for movies, by the late 1920s, talking pictures had finally been perfected and that too enhanced their enjoyment, with a new generation of fans going to the theaters to both hear and see their favorite stars. It should also be noted that the 1920s was generally a prosperous time, prior to the Depression, which meant that many newly middle-class people were able to afford movie or concert tickets, go to a sporting event, or go dancing to their favorite songs. Sales of radios continued to increase as well.