5 facts about Americans and sports
Many Americans participate in sports in some way, whether they play, cheer on their favorite teams or gamble on outcomes.
Ahead of March Madness – the annual men's and women's college basketball tournaments – here are five facts about Americans' experiences with and interest in sports, drawn from Pew Research Center surveys.
Ahead of this year's NCAA Division I basketball tournaments, Pew Research Center explored Americans' experiences with and interest in sports.
This analysis is based on recent Center surveys. Links to these surveys, including information about the field dates, sample sizes and other methodological details, are available in the text.
About half of Americans (48%) say they took part in organized, competitive sports in high school or college, according to 
Most Americans who played sports in high school or college say their athletic experiences improved their physical health and confidence, according to the same survey. Some 82% of adults who played sports say doing so had a very or somewhat positive impact on their physical health, including 46% who say it had a very positive impact. And 79% say playing sports had a positive impact on their confidence or self-esteem, with 38% saying it had a very positive impact.
A smaller share of these Americans say playing sports had a positive impact on their job or career opportunities. Still, the share who say this far outpaces the share who say it had a negative impact (44% vs. 3%).
In all three areas – physical health, confidence and job opportunities – former college athletes are more likely than former high school athletes to say that playing sports had a very positive impact.
Nearly four-in-ten Americans (38%) follow professional or college sports at least somewhat closely, according to 
When asked to choose one sport as “America's sport,” more than half of U.S. adults (53%) choose football, according to 
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