Sports is the subject that dominates the minds of more Americans for a larger period of time than any other subject.
Since the days of the coliseum in Rome and even before in ancient Greece, areas have been laid aside for large groups of people to gather and watch spectacles.
Sports and sportsmanship have never been synonymous. Certainly neither the Christians or the lions thought that this was sportsmanship. The Turkish army would use young children and babies for bayonet practice. Needless to say, the children didn't think this a sport or that sportsmanship was in effect. Obviously, there are two ways to look at everything. American football has been described by some as "One guy kicks the ball and then everyone runs about like five hundred pound ballet dancers. Then one guy jumps on the ball and everyone else jumps on him so that what you see is legs and posteriors sticking in the air."
It's all in how you look at it.
Maybe Mike Tyson was like one of the lions and he was hungry enough to bite off the ears, but not to devour the whole boxer.
The days of the gladiators may not be over. On the whole, most people watch sports for enjoyment, or to bet, which is another form of enjoyment(?). Golf, baseball, Jai Alai, basketball, ice skating and hockey, soccer, horse racing, running, tennis, mountain climbing, bull fighting, boxing, wrestling, cycling, racing, the list is enormous. The sports are as varied as are the amount of or lack of violence.
Over the years many items have been produced that are highly collectable and coveted both by collectors and sports historians. The writing of certain news columnists are seldom collectable but those of Red Barber and of course the great Damon Runyon, are highly prized in literary circles. Books and magazines abound, pictoral as well as unillustrated stories and articles. There are many specialists in some of the sports such as golf, baseball, and tennis, and it is an education in itself how much is available. There is more to sports collecting than just gum baseball cards! Board games like chess, checkers, backgammon, which are played competitively internationally, are sports and are very difficult to find still extant. Items showing Kasparov the chess king (computers don't count) are very much in demand at present, but Bobby Fisher is not. There are sports figures that no matter whether they win or lose remain popular -- and others because of their personalities are not. Chess is not boxing; no one gets bitten. Tickets from sporting events, especially early important ones are in high demand. Races like the Kentucky Derby, Saratoga, and other high profile large purse events, produced programs.
Should those programs mention or picture important horses like Man O War, or Aristides, they place in the money as desirable. Certain jockeys on the program can be interesting also. Because he has become such a great detective story writer, former jockey Dick Francis is interesting to more than just racing afficionados.
Jockeys, like race car drivers and golfers have avid followers. Items from defunct race courses are of interest to local history collectors but items from the Cuban race course which Castro confiscated are of interest to not just the racing community but the Miami and Cuban collectors. A post card of that track averages about $4, but programs can range from a few dollars to about twenty dpending on the event there. Certain race courses like Hialeah produced too many cards, especially of flamingos, so they have low value. Sportsmanship assumes that the opponents are evenly matched or a handicap is given. Even the neighborhood bully wouldn't want to be in the ring with George Foreman!
Foreman, and all his Georges, do show up on modern advertising and if you can procure (legally) these items, because he is such a likeable guy, they are worth salting away. Mohammed Ali is still in great demand, but he signed a lot of stuff so it will be a while before it goes up significantly in price. For some reason, golfers hold their own even after semi-retirement. Perhaps, because it is such a civilized sport, no age restrictions, no physical contact, no one dressed like they were refugees from a war zone, and everyone acts with a sense of decorum. At a baseball game the visiting team is booed, called all types of names and most people are too busy eating overpriced hot dogs, spilling beer on their neighbors, and doing the wave, to watch the game.
At a golf match you have your favorite golfer but you'd be "teed off" if the guy next to you started to yell, "Miss it ya bum", or if they littered the greens with cans, cups, and peanut bags. There is a major fluxuation in the sports collecting field which investors, even more than collectors, need to keep an eye on. The more stable the players, the more likable, the more stable the collecting field. OJ, Tyson, and others have left scars on their professions and it is affecting the prices in the field.
On the other hand, Kasparov fans feel he was in a no win position and got a very raw deal. He, Forman, and Michael Jordan have kept their fields stable and items within them are increasing in value. Everyone wanted to see a triple crown winner this year, but the horse and jockey that won ran a fabulous race and they were cheered even by those who bet on the wrong horse.
That is sportsmanship. Motorcycle and car racing might be in for some trouble now that the cigarette companies have been banned. Perhaps the dairy industry will take over and instead of Joe Camel that smooth racer, being photographed in the pit, Alphonse Holstein will be giving drinks in the bull pen! Rowing, fencing, and Jai Ali, along with soccer are gaining in popularity and prices have begun to rise in those fields. Bull fighting memorabilia is plentiful and almost impossible to sell. Perhaps if the bull was allowed to do to the matador whatever he was allowed to do to the bull, there would be more sportsmanship involved, because at least then the bull would have a chance!
Then again, bull fighting could become like the ballet, or as it was in ancient Crete, beautiful to watch but no victim. It is difficult to even sell bullfighting in countries where it is fought, which is strange as there are wonderful posters and postcards which no one but a stray Spanish or Mexican resturant want to decorate with. Baseball cards? If 95% of them are worth less than 25 cents what are your chances of finding a Honus Wagner? Be careful on the Wagners as they are being reproduced, faked, whatever. When a card goes into the tens of thousands of dollars it is to be expected. Unless you know what you are doing, stay pre-1960, and pray your eye and instinct don't let you down. I just saw great repro Ted Williams and Babe Ruth "real photos" that someone is going to lose a lot of money on, because they are modern, not of the period fakes, and someone didn't know as much as they thought they did. No one prices cards they tell you are worth $100 each at $30.
When in doubt.... don't, unless you don't mind betting on a fixed race. Sportsmanship begins with the spectators, and sets the tone for how the athlete or player react. You might not have time for Tonya Harding but I'm sure even Nancy Kerrigan felt pity when she broke her lace, as that could have happened to her or any other skater.
When Princess Anne was thrown from her horse she must have been not only humiliated but in pain. "So how did it feel to be thrown from your horse in front of all these people?" She was too kind to the reporter according to all the other participants! When fans stab tennis players and catch baseballs, anarchy sets in and sportsmanship suffers. When the PGA is in town what is stopping the audience from collecting souvenir golf balls? You could even go home with a club wrapped around your neck. I guess I'm no better than most as I should have loved to spill coffee in Big Blue and then see if the computer experts and chess pros could still beat Kasparov!