Sports In The 1930s

The 1930s can be credited for the beginning of many nationally known sporting events, tournaments, and championships that are widely popular today. The 30s gave athletes a larger stage to display their talents and what they had achieved. Many sports would not have the history they have now without this particular decade. The National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014 set the record for most-watched television event in United States history. The Sunday night game drew in 111.5 million viewers. Making it the fourth time in five years that a Super Bowl game had set a viewership record. The first Super Bowl may have taken place in 1967 but the first time the National Football League had a championship game was in 1933 when the New York Giants took on the Chicago Bears. Generally the season’s champion were determined by the regular season standings, but in 1932 the Chicago Bears and Portsmouth Spartans had tied for first at

The notion that championship games were “in,” what the public wanted and what the sports needed. Another addition to tournaments was the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The tournament only consisted of eight teams and took place in Evanston, IL. The NCAA tournament which many know by the name, “March Madness,” had its first game in 1939 against Oregon and Ohio State. This tournament became the grand stage for teams which ultimately replaced what was previously considered the huge tournament of the NCAA, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) which is the oldest tournament in college basketball. Today 68 teams participate in the NCAA tournament which determines the “Final Four” who compete in the semi-finals and then the two winners from each game face off for the championship game. Over the past 76 years the Tournament has grown, been redesigned, and inspired other tournaments such as the, NCAA Women’s Basketball