I would suggest that referring to any form of vicarious entertainment -- particularly through television -- as an "American ICON" is a symptom of a nation that is dying. No offense -- but the sooner we get over that mindset, the better off we'll be.
This attitude is how we end up with bankrupt cities that can't even afford to keep the streets paved soaking their taxpayers for billion-dollar entertainment venues that only get used 10-15 times a year. There is absolutely nothing "iconic" about that, and I'd suggest there ought to be nothing American about it, either.
Find something else to do on a Sunday, and you'll be amazed at how silly and pointless the whole thing really is.
While I appreciate your point, and can see some validity to it, there is nothing evil about recognizing that the three main sports in the U. S. are baseball, football, and basketball.
Those are iconic. Again, there’s nothing evil about that.
In other nations there are other sports, soccer being one, where it or another is considered to be their iconic sport. While I personally can’t stand soccer, there’s nothing immoral about their iconic sport being soccer.