America and the Olympics. How the U.S. Does it

Tom Kando 

Once again we went through an Olympics dominated by the US. 

I am not writing this piece to engage in chauvinism. Nor do I need to rehash the various obvious explanations for America’s advantage, such as population size and wealth. In a previous post (see Olympics), I showed that in proportion to population, small countries do much better than large ones: In 2016, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Denmark and Slovenia were all in the top ten medal winners. The US ranked #39 in the world, and China ranked #77. 

Bu now, I want to suggest a factor which has not been focused upon very much, namely the uniquely American DUAL system of athletic achievement: 

In the US, athletic achievement is cultivated and rewarded (1) at the amateur level in schools, and (2) at the professional level. 

To my knowledge, no other country has such a dual reward system. Of course, many countries have vibrant amateur sports, and in many countries the government supports athletics. The most extreme form of this was the Soviet model. Throughout much of the twentieth century, the USSR and East Germany used to garner the highest number of medals because sports were supported so lavishly by their government. Today, China probably provides generous government support for sports, as do probably many other countries as well. 

Clearly, the more money is spent on sports and on athletic training by a given country - from whatever source - the more medals that country will garner. 

But the American system is unique and more interesting: Here, it begins with schools. There is an inextricable link between schools and sports. It begins with high schools and then universities. Most self-respecting high schools have varsity baseball, football and basketball teams. Many also have teams for swimming, ice hockey, wrestling, soccer, volleyball, track and various other sports. These teams belong to regional leagues. Schools compete with each other regionally and for league championships. The news media report extensively on these contests, and successful high school athletes enjoy local recognition in their communities. Scouts from major universities and even from professional teams visit the successful high school athletes. Athletic scholarships become available. 

Then, the youngsters move up to the college level. Both at the high school level and at the college/university level, there is an elaborate culture. There are over 5,000 colleges and universities in America. Allegiance to one’s alma mater is expressed through flags, bumper stickers and other symbols. Rivalries are long-lasting and of enormous importance. Competition for the league and the national championships is fierce. Sports events are accompanied by 150-man band performances and all sorts of festivities. 

Successful athletic programs and championships depend on multi-million dollar budgets. These expenses are necessary so as to retain the allegiance and support of alumni and their multi-million dollar contributions to the universities. 

For example, the California State University in Sacramento and the University of California at Davis have had a football rivalry for nearly half a century. They meet annually in a wildly popular game called the “Causeway Classic.” The Pennsylvania State University’s football program has long been one of the country’s most successful ones. The man who coached that team for many years (Joe Paterno) was so popular that he could have run for President of the United States. 

Excelling at the national collegiate level is a huge achievement. Universities such as the universities of Georgia and Alabama are admired and famous. They also offer quality programs that range from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. 

Admittedly, the highest quality universities are not the ones that dominate college athletics. The best universities - such as Harvard and the rest of the Ivy League, MIT, Cal Tech, etc. - are not dependent on their athletic prowess. 

However, many universities, for example Stanford, UC Berkeley and UCLA, combine outstanding scholarship and elaborate and nationally recognized sports programs. 

So what makes American higher education unique is the nexus between education and organized sports. Many universities’ very identities are determined by their football or basketball programs, more than anything else. And those are multi-million dollar programs. 

But the crowning apex of American organized sports is the professional level: The big four professional leagues are Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League and the National Hockey League. There are several other professional leagues, both for men and for women. The athletes who play in these leagues are overwhelmingly recruited from elite universities. Their annual salaries range from less than $100,000 to several dozens of millions of dollars. In recent years, depending on the sport, a growing number of professional athletes has come from overseas. However, the nexus between the universities and professional sports remains fundamental. 

And that is the main point of this article. 

I went to high school and the university in France and in the Netherlands. I dont remember cheering for my alma mater at any of the schools which I attended. There were no running rivalries between the University of Amsterdam and the University of Groningen, or any other university. I dont remember entire cities being wildly excited about their university’s athletic standing. In fact, There were no athletic contests being staged by my European alma maters, with all the hoopla and the multi-million dollars budgeting that goes with them. 

There are many ways in which athletics can be organized and supported.. For example, if gaining a lot of Olympic medals is important to a country, its government can spend more money pursing this goal. I am not passing judgment on how a country chooses to achieve its priorities. 

I am just highlighting a unique and interesting American feature. The inseparable connection between its educational system and Big Sports, and the role this plays in America’s preponderance of Olympic medals. I know of no other country where education and sports are so interrelated. 

I am not sure where this came from. It surely was not something the Founding Fathers pondered. Nor was it a legal plan such as, for example, the establishment of Land Grant universities in the 19th century aimed to democratize higher education. When it comes to athletic achievement, other countries are gradually catching up with the US. However, they are more likely to pursue this goal through more government funding for sports and athletic achievement, not emulate the weird and interesting American model. leave comment here