Contributions of sport to society“True glory is being brought to your knees and then coming back. This is true glory. That's the main thing. » -Vince Lombardi From 1870 to 1940, sports became one of the most important popular cultural activities in America. The evolution of American sports has occurred in response to the changing needs of society. Each transformation was established and popularized through the positive contribution of sport, using them to streamline the use of resources necessary for participation or attendance. As urbanization and industrialization spread, the Victorian ideal emphasized physical fitness and self-improvement to combat the harsh consequences of daily life. During the 1930s, sports became a means of transmitting the American characteristics of hard work, teamwork, honesty, fair play, and overcoming obstacles. Many powerful and respected Americans view sports as a way to build character. Teddy Roosevelt, for example, who founded the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1912, was a staunch supporter of sports, as his essay Character and Success shows: "Just as a kind of man makes fun of the university because it doesn't think it bears any immediate fruit in terms of money, then another type of man scoffs at college sports because he doesn't see their immediate positive effect in practical life... If he's treated like he must… like a good healthy game, it is not only very beneficial. to the body, but in its effect on the character. Studying involves the character of the student, and working hard in a sport that involves intense physical effort and regular training also involves character. »7The history of sports in America is full of events that transcend the realm of sports. middle of paper ......e Historiography of American sport. OAH History Magazine 7, No. 1 (1992): 10-14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25162849.Schwartz, Larry. “Brown Bomber was a hero to all.” ESPN Sports Century's Best Athletes: Joe Louis. Accessed February 2, 2014. http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016109.html.Sklaroff, Lauren R. "Building GI Joe Louis: Cultural Solutions to the 'Negro Problem' in World War II." The Journal of American History 80, no. 3 (December 2002): 958-983. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3092347Stets, Jan E. and Peter J. Burke. “Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory.” Social Psychology Quarterly 63, no. 3 (September 2000): 224-237. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2695870.White, J. Andrew. “Vocal Broadcast of the Moving Progress of the ‘Battle of the Century’,” The Wireless Age, (August 1921): 11-21. Accessed October 27, 2013, http://books.google.com/.