Extreme Sports Popularity

Extreme sports popularity: People enjoy the thrill of having their heart race and their stomach knot, and they link these thrills with entertainment and enjoyment. Extreme sports, such as BMX biking, skateboarding, bungee jumping, rock or ice climbing, and whitewater kayaking fulfill the need for danger and fear. Although traditional sports remain popular, still extreme sports popularity is steadily increasing because of different age, sex, and race, media influence, degree of danger and fear, and Competitors and audiences have evolved to include more than just the white male. Now, with the young and old, male and female, and numerous races competing and watching sports, sports have taken on a new role with greater risk. Immigration and global markets have influenced the involvement of a variety of races in extreme sports. Also, more people are beginning to turn to extreme sports because mostly everyone is seeking blood rushing thrills. Thus, with the new generation that does not place restrictions on age, sex, and race, a new continuum in sports is the popularity of extreme sports that defy gravity and flirt with death.

Secondly, the degree of danger and fear involved with extreme sports adds to the popularity of these sports. Individuals incorporate at least some degree of danger and fear into many leisure activities because they do not consider them fun unless they include fear factor. Extreme sports involve a real physical danger and death. Audiences are captivated by these death defying stunts and want more dangerous activities to watch because they are looking to see something go wrong. The full impact of the potential for danger in extreme sports has fascinated the audiences and athletes to try these sports.

Last but not least, when considering the surge in the popularity of extreme sports, the impact the media portrays must be considered. It becomes a case of “monkey see, monkey do.” If I count the number of times extreme sport programming and advertisements spill into various time slots, so that viewers, listeners, and readers are never far away from extreme film clips, sound bites, and pictures. Pressure is places on the media to show radical images to maintain the audiences attention. As a result, audiences enjoy watching athletes flirt with danger and death.

Risk-takers have taken extreme sports to a new level by inventing new sports quicker to gain thrills. Extreme sports have become culturally acceptable by most all groups. The increasing popularity of extreme sports can be linked with the publics’ fascination of accidents and deaths. In conclusion, extreme sports tempt fate making them more appealing to individuals seeking high thrills.