Reminded me of the stories I used to read about US riders who joined pro cycling teams in Europe. They invariably explained that in Europe, cycling was a blue

Reminded me of the stories I used to read about US riders who joined pro cycling teams in Europe. They invariably explained that in Europe, cycling was a blue collar sport, akin to boxing here in the US. Cycling is much more of an upper class activity in America. This discussion would then lead to interviews where American riders would describe their Euro teammates tastes in literature as either non-existent or at the juvenile comic book level. It's probably not a fully symmetrical situation, since I doubt that basketball is of a much higher social standing in Europe than it is here. But I did find it interesting that the "outsiders" were called out as being the intellectuals of the sport.