Why were “amateur” sports so attractive to wealthy Americans in the la

Why were “amateur” sports so attractive to wealthy Americans in the late nineteenth century?

What will be an ideal response?

ANSWER
Amateur sports were especially attractive to upper class Americans because they were a way of segregating the wealthy leisure class from the professional athletes who were champions of the masses and engaged in sport for money. Exclusive athletic clubs sponsored “gentlemen’s” sports like tennis, yachting, polo, and golf that usually were too expensive in time or money for working class Americans.