When I was growing up I alway heard that baseball was our national sport. Thinking back, I think that was probably true. Every fall, the major topic of conversation when any group got together was the World Series… today — not so much. I did some checking, and it turns out that, based on revenue, the top major sports leagues in the US are the National Football league (NFL); Major League Baseball (MLB; the National Basketball Association (NBA); the National Hockey League (NHL); and Major League Soccer (MLS) — in that order.
But I got to wondering…. what about the states? Sports are an important part of culture in the United States, so I figured since states have state flags, flowers, nicknames, mottos, trees, and some even have state dinosaurs, that the states must all have official sports. But that’s not true — I think every state has a state bird, and even though sports are very popular in the United States, every state doesn’t have an official sport — only about 15 do — and having a state sport is a fairly recent thing.
So as a public service to you faithful blog readers, here’s what my extensive research turned up:
Maryland became the first state to adopt an official state sport in 1962. The sport? Jousting. In 2004, Maryland also adopted lacrosse as its official team sport. The other states that have adopted official sports (all after 1962) are:
Alaska — (Dog) Mushing.
Michigan — Wakeboarding. (A water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (short board with foot bindings) is towed behind a motorboat across its wake — a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing.)
Hawaii — Surfing. (Team sport — Outrigger Canoe Paddling.)
New Hampshire — Sking.
Texas — Rodeo
South Dakota — Rodeo
Wyoming — Rodeo
Massachusetts — Basketball (Team sport — Volleyball)
Minnesota — Ice Hockey
Colorado — Pack Burrow Racing
North Carolina — Stock Car racing
Delaware — Bicycling
California — Surfing
New York — Baseball
Some of these official sports may surprise you — and — the fact that so few states have an official sport is surprising in and of itself. But I think Maryland comes out the winner on this list. Their sport of jousting is unique, and pretty cool. In the movie, Wedding Crashers, there was a line that said, “Crab cakes and football — that’s what Maryland does.” Obviously, they also do jousting.
Jousting tournaments have been held in Maryland since early colonial times, and became increasingly popular during the Civil War. Today, in modern-day tournaments, men (referred to as knights) and women (referred to as maids) are dressed in colorful costumes full of regalia and many of the medieval customs and practices are still utilized. The Maryland State Jousting Championship is held annually.
Good for Maryland. I’m going to push for West Virginia to get a state sport, like huntin, fishin, spittin, or scratchin……
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