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A Quick Look at an Old List of Pennsylvania Entertainment

Grace Kelly's Givenchy Dress, 1961 

Image by thefoxling via Flickr

 

The history of Pennsylvania is rich and robust, and a number of well-known characters come from the state. With more entries than most previously thought, the list was found to be surprising. 

 

The list here is not complete, but the entire list can be viewed. These are just a few favorites. 

 

  • Louisa May Alcott – she lived from 1832 – 1888, having completed one of the most popular books ever written, “Little Women.”
  • Daniel Boone – he lived from 1734 – 1820 and is the founder of two cities; Boonesboro and Boone’s Station in Kentucky, and he later involved himself in American politics as a Virginia Representative and District Magistrate for Missouri.
  • Tara Lipinski – born in 1982, she became a famous Olympic figure skater and the youngest gold medal winner in history. She won gold in the Olympic Winter Games figure skating competition.
  • Bill Cosby – born in 1937, Cosby is one of the funniest men alive. First known as an actor he was the first African-American to land a spot in a dramatic TV series, and countless shows and awards followed.
  • Punxsutawney Phil – he’s ageless – and is PA’s most famous citizen. Each year he arises early in the day to predict the coming of spring on February 2.
  • Grace Kelly – 1929 – 1982, was an Academy Award winner who married Prince Ranier III of Monaco in 1956 and became Grace, Princess of Monaco.
  • Reggie Jackson – born in 1946, the American League baseball athlete played mostly on the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. During his time on the field he hit 563 home runs.

 

 

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The Elixir of Football

As revered coach Tom Landry said, “Football is an incredible game.  Sometimes it’s so incredible it’s unbelievable.”  For some fans, what is even more unbelievable is the annual football season drawing to a close.  The Super Bowl is simultaneously the climax and the conclusion of the season and often brings fans as much bliss as it does sorrow.  The fact that it typically falls in February, a month notorious for being a drab and torturous, not quite winter but not quite spring, and with nothing much in it to celebrate, intensifies the despair of fans.  Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football are solid events and create an atmosphere of excitement; plans do not need to be made, because the NFL has made them for the fans.  This end creates a sense of emptiness for some fans, usually those that are the most dedicated to the sport because they have no outlet for their passion.
Sports are important in everyday life, and not just as a form of entertainment.  It is necessary to have an enthusiasm for something that has nothing to do with our real lives.  Participation in an the following of sports has always been essential because it is something bigger than you, something that diverts and uplifts, and in many ways brings the nation together.  Sports possess a democratic nature, because participation is free, unpredictable, and controlled both by rules and imagination.  Football, rapidly taking over American life, preys on the reality of boredom and the appeal of sports as an elixir for whatever ails you.
The lull at the end of football season may be dreaded by the fans, but it is necessary to the sport in general because it sparks anticipation for the upcoming season.  The cycle is necessary to propel the sport; if national football was constant, interest would diminish.  Fans must maintain their faith in the sport, and hold out for the incredible and unbelievable features.

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National Identity: The Formation of America’s Top Sports

Sports in the United States have evolved and the sport that is dubbed “America’s favorite” has changed several times.  Sports have been a substantial aspect of American culture, and the U.S. has created their unique version of three sports that remain popular today, both spectator and participation-wise.  These sports are baseball, American football, and basketball.  Baseball was developed from a British game known as rounders, and can be traced back to documents describing it being played in the United States as early as the late 18th century, not long after the nation earned its independence.  Half a century later, clubs were founded that would later grow into leagues.  It is perhaps the tie with America’s early history that made baseball “America’s pastime,” a mantle that some argue has recently been passed to football.
American football was generated through a merging of several similar British sports, and became popular at American colleges during the beginning of the 19th century.  Leagues were later formed and in 1920 the American Professional Football Association, which soon became known as the National Football League, or NFL, was officially founded and has been a prevailing American sport ever since.
Basketball was not derived from any other country, but rather originated in the most American of places: the YMCA in Massachusetts.  Stuck inside due to the bitter New England winter, a professor improvised the game for his students, using a football and a wicker basket nailed to the wall.  It was known as “basket ball” from the get-go, and was dispersed to other YMCAs across the country.  Although efforts were made to form clubs, nothing lasted until the sport’s popularity at colleges advocated the formation of a national league in the mid-twentieth century. It would later become the National Basketball Association.
Baseball, football, and basketball, with their unassuming beginnings in the United States, have come to define current sports in the country—sports that have become globally known and popular.

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Pennsylvania – Are You Game?

An homemade banner supporting the Philadelphia...
Image via Wikipedia

There are a number of good professional sports team in Pennsylvania that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Pirates, National Football League, the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, the Philadelphia Union, the Erie Bayhawks, Hershey Bears, and Philadelphia Soul etc. Among these teams, they have been able to accumulate an astonishing total of seven World Series Championships, three Super Bowl Series Championships, one Arena Bowl Championship, two NBA championships, five Stanley Cups and sixteen Calder Cups. There are many small league baseball teams that are located in many parts of Pennsylvania and many of these are also associated with the Pirates or the Phillies. For both the Philadelphia Eagles as well as for the Phillies, the Lehigh Valley is a special and major fan base that conducts pre-season training camps. Baseball is hugely popular and golf I also taking up a chunk of the sports arena with increasing popularity of the same.

College football is the other sport very popular among the people of Pennsylvania. It was in Pittsburgh where the Pittsburgh Pirates was being played in 1903. The other important sport is College basketball, particularly in Philadelphia area where there are actually five universities that are collectively referred to as the Big Five and they have a rich tradition of playing competitive basketball games. The La Salle University, Villanova University, Pennsylvania University, Temple University and Pittsburgh University -all of these have won the college basketball titles at sometime or the other. There is a greater fan following for this wonderful sport that marks the American modern culture apart from baseball. Within the State, the other sport that is catching up fast is Soccer. Skateboarding is also a favourite sport among the youth. Motorsports also attracts attention in and around the city circuit. There is this Maple Grove Raceway track near the city of Reading in Pennsylvania that hosts one of the major drag races of the world called the National Hot Rod Association every year.

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