All-America
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see All-American (disambiguation).
An All-America team is a sports team composed of star players. It is usually used in U.S. team sports to refer to players that are selected by members of the national media. The term is used primarily with regard to college and occasionally (and more controversially) high school players; professional players are usually referred to as all-stars, or, in the case of professional American football, "All-Pros", who are usually selected by the fans to compete in Pro Bowls. Selection to such a team is primarily of an honorary nature; All-America teams, unlike some other all-star teams, are generally not assembled for the purpose of playing games as a unit.
The original usage of the term "All-America" seems to have been in reference to a list of college football players who were regarded by football pioneer Walter Camp as the best at their respective positions. Camp first came up with this list in the 1890s. Today, the NCAA recognizes College Football All-America Teams selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine Consensus All-Americans.
There are many All-America teams selected annually in most other major collegiate sports.
At the high school level, the most recognized All-America teams are those selected by Parade magazine in football and the McDonald's restaurant chain in basketball. The McDonald's All-American Team is unlike other All-America awards because it actually stages an annual game involving these players.
Many coaches and others [citation needed]feel that it is wrong to select players as young as most high school athletes are for national-level honors and that the pressures related to this far outweigh any good that can come for it; supporters respond that it is valuable to the collegiate sports recruiting process and that such teams would continue to be selected by private "recruiting services" even if all corporate sponsorship were to be removed.
This concept has been expanded in recent years to honor persons outside of the field of sports, especially informally; it is now not unusual to hear someone referred to as an "All-America" level debater, drama coach, or other activity. Additionally, it has been applied to sports in a different way in that "academic" All-America teams are now also named to honor the academic achievement of student-athletes whether their sports skills are at an "All-America" level or not. Individuals selected to All-America teams are generally referred to as All-Americans.
This concept of team selection is largely confined to the United States because in almost all other countries real national teams that take part in international competitions play a much greater role in sports culture at both adult and age-restricted level[citation needed].
