Sports
The State of California is the only US state to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles. Squaw Valley Ski Resort in the Lake Tahoe region hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics. Multiple games during the 1994 FIFA World Cup took place in California, with the Rose Bowl in Pasadena hosting eight matches including the final, while Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto hosted six matches.
California has nineteen major professional sports league franchises, far more than any other state. The San Francisco Bay Area has seven major league teams spread in its three major cities: San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. While the Greater Los Angeles Area is home to ten major league franchises, it is also the largest metropolitan area not to have a team from the National Football League. San Diego has two major league teams, and Sacramento has one. The NFL Super Bowl has been hosted in California 11 times at four different stadiums: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Rose Bowl, Stanford Stadium, and San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium.
Home to some of the most prominent universities in the United States, California has long had many respected collegiate sports programs. California is home to the oldest college bowl game, the annual Rose Bowl, among others.
California has also long been a hub for motorsports and auto racing. The city of Long Beach holds an event every year in the month of April, which is host to IndyCar Series racing through the streets of downtown. Long Beach has hosted Formula One events there in the past, and also currently hosts an event on the American Le Mans Series schedule. Auto Club Speedway is a speedway in Fontana, and currently hosts one to two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races a year, and used to host CART Indycar races. Infineon Raceway in Sonoma is a multi-purpose facility, featuring a road course and a drag strip. The road course is home to a NASCAR event, an IndyCar event, and used to host an International Motor Sports Association sports car event. The drag strip hosts a yearly NHRA event. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a roadcourse that currently hosts an ALMS event, and formerly hosted CART events. The Auto Club Raceway at Pomona has hosted NHRA drag racing for over 50 years.
Below is a list of major sports teams in California:
| Club | Sport | League |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Raiders | American football | National Football League |
| San Diego Chargers | American football | National Football League |
| San Francisco 49ers | American football | National Football League |
| Sacramento Mountain Lions | American football | United Football League |
| San Jose SaberCats | Arena football | Arena Football League |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Baseball | Major League Baseball |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Baseball | Major League Baseball |
| Oakland Athletics | Baseball | Major League Baseball |
| San Diego Padres | Baseball | Major League Baseball |
| San Francisco Giants | Baseball | Major League Baseball |
| Golden State Warriors | Basketball | National Basketball Association |
| Los Angeles Clippers | Basketball | National Basketball Association |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Basketball | National Basketball Association |
| Sacramento Kings | Basketball | National Basketball Association |
| Los Angeles Sparks | Basketball | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Anaheim Ducks | Ice hockey | National Hockey League |
| Los Angeles Kings | Ice hockey | National Hockey League |
| San Jose Sharks | Ice hockey | National Hockey League |
| Chivas USA | Soccer | Major League Soccer |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | Soccer | Major League Soccer |
| San Jose Earthquakes | Soccer | Major League Soccer |
| San Diego Sockers | Soccer | Professional Arena Soccer League |
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Famous quotes containing the word sports:
“Guys do not have a genetic blueprint that allows them to understand or love sports.”
—Lesley Visser, U.S. sports reporter and announcer. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 82 (June 17, 1991)
“...I didn’t come to this with any particular cachet. I was just a person who grew up in the United States. And when I looked around at the people who were sportscasters, I thought they were just people who grew up in the United States, too. So I thought, Why can’t a woman do it? I just assumed everyone else would think it was a swell idea.”
—Gayle Gardner, U.S. sports reporter. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 85 (June 17, 1991)
“The whole idea of image is so confused. On the one hand, Madison Avenue is worried about the image of the players in a tennis tour. On the other hand, sports events are often sponsored by the makers of junk food, beer, and cigarettes. What’s the message when an athlete who works at keeping her body fit is sponsored by a sugar-filled snack that does more harm than good?”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)