TV audience. The sports figures involved play up to the crowd or cameras with overly aggressive behavior because they know that the resulting drama hooks fans into tuning in week after week. A good example would be the present popularity of professional wrestling. This sport has become so popular that it is winning the TV ratings race in its time slot on more than one evening per week. This sport actually has writers that script the outcome of the wrestling matches. Week after week viewers tune in to watch wrestlers perform their moves on fellow wrestlers that have “done them wrong”. Storylines include wrestlers involved with family problems, problems of betrayal, and other personal problems with which everyday people can relate. Professional wrestling shows people solving these problems using violence. The reason for the popularity of professional wrestling is that its continuing stories are similar to soap operas with continued drama from week to week. Fans tune in to find out the continuation or conclusion of the problem from the week before. This sport is highly entertaining and highly violent. Children as well as adults watch each week with great attention to see what is going to happen next. The problem is, professional wrestling, with its great popularity, encourages people to use violence for their everyday problems. The influence of professional wrestling and other sports may have far reaching effects on young people. Children are encouraged to participate in sports and life in a dangerous way. They often act out various sports scenarios that they see on TV. For most youngsters, this is not a problem. However, some young people have problems separating fantasy from reality. As a result, we are seeing an increase in school violence, playground violence, and aggressive behavior towards family members. Do sports have any responsibility towards the fans that watch? I believe that TV executives are going to have to tackl...
