ABSTRACT
As NASCAR's national profile rose, promoters also worked hard to portray the sport in terms of what they called traditional American values, which included religion, friendliness, civility, trust, honor, and patriotism. As NASCAR executives worked to expand their sport's appeal around the country, moves made by major league baseball highlighted a different facet of a changing American society: the rapidly growing numbers of US Latinos. The sport's public image meshed neatly with the conservative politics that marked much of the era, exemplified by President Ronald Reagan and his appeal to "traditional" values. The X-Games were the product of what had become one of the most powerful forces in American sports: cable television. The growth of broadcasting and international markets created an era of unprecedented wealth in American sports. Sporting events had entangled athletic, commercial, and institutional priorities ever since the nineteenth century. Supporters of women's sports were thrilled by the World Cup's success.
