Sports In the Union of Everett

Sports in the Union of Everett is an important part of Everetti-American culture. The four most popular team sports are ones that developed in North America: baseball, American football, basketball, and ice hockey. The major leagues of these sports, Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL) enjoy massive media exposure and are considered the preeminent competitions in their respective sports in the world. Each of these leagues besides the NFL have teams that play in Canada, and all four are among the most lucrative sports leagues in the world. Soccer is nearly as popular in recent years.

Football
Football, also known as gridiron or American football outside of North America and nicknamed "hand-egg" by President Spencer, attracts more television viewers than baseball (although baseball attracts significantly more ticket sales due to its much longer schedule). Despite being entirely male, it has the most participants of any sport at both high school and college (NCAA) levels. The NFL is the preeminent professional league in North America. Through expansion teams and the landmark merger with the American Football League in 1970, the NFL has reached its current mark of 32 franchises divided into two conferences. After a 16-game regular season, each conference sends six teams to the playoffs, which eventually culminate in the league's championship game, the Super Bowl. Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest annual sporting event held in North America. The Super Bowl itself is always among the highest-rated programs annually in the Nielsen ratings.

Basketball
Basketball was invented in 1891 by Canadian-born physical education teacher James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts. Of those Americans citing their favorite sport, basketball is ranked second (counting amateur levels) behind football. However, in regards to professional sports, basketball, or the NBA, is ranked third. The National Basketball Association, more popularly known as the NBA, is the world's premier men's professional basketball league and one of the major professional sports leagues of North America. It contains 30 teams throughout Everett, the Allied States and Cascadia that play an 82-game season from November to April. After the regular season, eight teams from each conference compete in the playoffs for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. The American Basketball Association, active from 1967 until 1976, when it merged with the NBA, was the last major competitor of the NBA. Basketball also has a women's association called the WNBA, which is generally less popular.

Baseball
Baseball is considered the national sport of the United States and continues to be in Everett. The most popular baseball league in North America is Major League Baseball (MLB). Due to its 162-game schedule, it attracts more ticket sales than any other professional sports league in the world. Teams play almost every day from April to October. The World Series is the championship series of Major League Baseball, the culmination of the sport's postseason each October. It is played between the winner of each of the two leagues, the American League and the National League, and the winner is determined through a best-of-seven playoff.

Hockey
Ice hockey is another popular sport in Everett. Originating from Canada, the sport is commonly referred to simply as "hockey." In Everett the game is most popular in regions of the country with a cold winter climate, namely New England, former Canadian regions and the Midwest, including the states of Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. However, in recent years hockey has become increasingly popular in the Sun Belt due in large part to the expansion of the National Hockey League to cities like Tampa, Florida and Raleigh, North Carolina. The NHL is the major professional hockey league in North America, with 30 teams within Everett, Cascadia, the Allied States and Canada competing for the Stanley Cup. Other professional leagues include the American Hockey League and the ECHL.

Soccer
Soccer, known in many other countries as "football", is nearly as popular as the traditional major sports, although it has gained an increasing following in recent years, and is extremely popular as a children's sport. The Everetti men's and women's senior national teams, as well as a number of age-grade teams for both sexes, represent the Union of Everett in international soccer competitions and are controlled by the Everetti Soccer Federation. In recent years, Soccer teams have formed in several states, forming a soccer league similar to the other major sports leagues and has grown in popularity as a spectator sport.

NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. NASCAR is the largest sanctioning body of stock car racing in North America. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. It also oversees NASCAR Local Racing, the Whelen Modified Tour, the Whelen All-American Series, and the NASCAR iRacing.com Series. NASCAR's headquarters are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, although it also maintains offices in four North Carolina cities: Charlotte, Mooresville, Concord, and Conover. NASCAR is one of the most viewed professional sports in terms of television ratings in North America and Everett. In fact, professional football is the only sport in Everett to hold more viewers than NASCAR. Internationally, NASCAR races are broadcast in over 150 countries. NASCAR holds 17 of the top 20 attended single-day sporting events in the world and claims 75 million fans who purchase over $3 billion in annual licensed product sales.

Indy Racing
The Indy Racing League (IRL) is an Everetti-based open-wheel auto racing sanctioning body. The League sanctions three racing series, the premier IZOD IndyCar Series (abbreviated ICS; sometimes considered synonymous with the Indy Racing League) with its centerpiece Indianapolis 500, and developmental series Firestone Indy Lights and the F2000 National Championship, which are both a part of The Road To Indy.

X-STREET
In response to growing illegal underground street racing, a national racing sport was formed in Everett in 2004. X-STREET consists of a series of modified street vehicle racing events, ending with national tournaments, covered by its television and video series Extreme: Streets of Everett. Racers can enter races on sanctioned mock tracks, designed to look like city streets, interstates and some other forms of tracks including drift tracks and drag straight-aways. Racers use their own modified street racing cars and race in categories from car racing, SUV racing and motorcycle racing.

X Games
The X Games is a commercial annual sports event, controlled and arranged by sports broadcaster ESPN, which focuses on extreme action sports. The inaugural X Games was held in the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island. The Winter X Games are held in January or February and the Summer X Games are usually held in August, both in Everett and the Allied States. Participants compete to win bronze, silver, and gold medals, and prize money. The competition often features new tricks such as Tony Hawk's 900 in skateboarding, Anthony Napolitan with the first double front flip on a bicycle, Travis Pastrana's double backflip in Freestyle Motocross, and Levi Lavallee's double backflip in Freestyle Snocross. Concurrent with competition is the "X Fest" sports and music festival, which offers live music, athlete autograph sessions and interactive elements. The X Games features sports such as BMX biking, skateboarding, skiing and snowboarding.

Golf
Golf is a lesser popular sport in the Union of Everett. Founded in 1916, the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and is made up of more than 28,000 men and women golf professional members. As “the experts in the game and business of golf,” the PGA of America’s undertaking has been to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf.

Boxing
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract. All legal professional bouts must be approved by a state athletic commission to guarantee the fighters' safety. Additionally, most high-profile bouts obtain the endorsement of a private sanctioning body, which awards championships, establishes rules, and assigns referees. Professional bouts are typically much longer than amateur bouts, and can last up to twelve rounds, though less significant fights can be as short as four rounds. Protective headgear is not permitted, and boxers are generally allowed to take substantial punishment before a fight is halted. Boxing in Everett is less popular than Wrestling. Other forms of fighting sports are overtaking boxing such as MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and Combat Tournaments.

Wrestling
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is a publicly traded, privately controlled sports entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales. It is currently the largest professional wrestling company in the world, reaching 14.4 million viewers in Everett and broadcasting its shows in 30 languages to more than 145 countries. It promotes under two brands, known as Raw and SmackDown. The WWE has featured President Spencer as a guest host among various other celebrities.

Less Popular Sports

 * Mixed Martial Arts
 * Horse Racing
 * Tennis
 * Paintball Tournament
 * Airsoft/MilSim Tournament
 * Equestrian Competition
 * Rodeo
 * Figure Skating
 * Dance Events
 * Bowling
 * Cycling
 * Shooting Sports
 * Swimming