Sports are as universal as music or religion. Every culture and community practices some type of sport or competitive athletic game. Perception and appreciation of different sports has changed over time; many games have fallen by the wayside while others have evolved into more sophisticated varieties of ancient games. Some of the most popular sports today include soccer (called football everywhere but North America); American football; and baseball. Because there is a dizzying array of sports, it can be helpful and fun to arrange a classification and division scheme to organize and conceptualize them. Furthermore, an effective classification and division schema can help people to better understand and appreciate sports popular in other cultures, or sports they are simply unfamiliar with. Many sports are played in teams of people, but many others are single-player sports in which the individual can compete in isolation from others, competing as much against him- or herself as with other participants. Basketball is a team sport; marathon running is an individual sport. Team and individual player sports have different psychological demands on participants, and they also appear different to spectators. Most if not all sports are fun to watch, but some sports are considered to be more spectator-friendly than others. Although millions of people tune into the Tour de France, cycling is generally not considered to be a spectator sport. In addition to classifying sports according to whether they are team-oriented or individual, sports can be divided into spectator and non-spectator; contact and non-contact; sports that involve equipment and sports that don"t; and finally, local or regional sports like rugby versus those that are universal, like soccer.

             One of the fundamental divisions of sports is into team and individual activities. Popular team sports include basketball, baseball, hockey, football, water polo, rugby, soccer, and volleyball.