In a startling introduction to the Bible of sports particiaption research -- which can be used as both a reference manual for marketing professionals and the foundation for a two-semester educational curriculum -- the author identifies the surprising but unifying theme linking sports and social analysis.
Tackling a comprehensive array of sports participation topics which includes the Fitness Revolution, Youth Development, Team Sports, Generation Y, Obesity, Sports Injuries, Health Club Trends, Psychological Stress, Outdoors pursuits, research methodology and much more, he concludes that after religion, not only is sport the second most powerful force in American culture -- it is also a precision index of changing values and behavioral norms.
Specifically, despite current perceptions of a nation "straining at the leash", America in the third Millennium is a very tolerant and permissive place. The U.S. in 2006, according to Lauer, is "the counterculture on steroids" -- two generations of social evolution mirrored by trends in sports and fitness participation.
