The Nationalistic Portrayals Of American

 While Americans were initially resistant to sports, it seems today, our culture has not only accepted sports, but encourage and reward participation. Some might even say that we have gone too far as we have moved from the initial concept of sports being for entertainment, camaraderie and exercise to a more competitive, separatist, capitalist

The Olympics have shown over the decades that they can be affected by political conflict. However, it seems that this is the point of the Olympics, to illustrate national pride, by competition. Bloodshed should not be the way for pride of one’s country to be shown, but it should be shown through competition, in the words of the founder of the modern Olympic movement, Pierre de

Ever since its inception in 1896, the Modern Olympics has hosted an invisible sport: politics. The Olympics calls for “a halt to all conflicts … [and to] strive towards a more peaceful world,” but politics soon spoiled its biennial message. “As the Olympics continue to dissolve into … a political competition … they no longer … justify the time and trouble,” Dave Anderson, Pulitzer Prize winner for his sports column, wrote in the New York Times in 1984. The Olympic spirit has routinely been used as an outlet for political agendas. With political and Olympic ambitions intersected, the great international sports festivity negatively affects all nations involved.

American sport culture has had many influences that impact how they are today. I believe the ancient greek culture, and society accurately reflects on our sports. There are many variables to american sports that were taken from the greek society. Americans have open gyms and mass training sessions like the greeks had. American sports also have big festivals with sports competitions like the greeks has. Americans also use sports to train, and some to train for war just like the greeks did as well. There are many more ways american sports reflect the greeks, but those are just a few examples.

Sports of old were merely competitive activities rooted in heroism and romanticism. Sports activities today, however, have no such innocence or simplicity. Currently in America, the activities that make up our sports culture is not only the competitive events themselves but the processes and issues that underlie and surround them. Entwined in our sports culture is the giant business of mass broadcasting. Indeed, sports and the media go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly, like Mickey and Minnie, Darth Vader and Luke. They are intertwined and depend on each other to continue to grow. Sports media includes television, radio, magazines, newspapers, books, films, and, now, most importantly, social media devices provided by the

Furthermore, sports and success within the sports world are what many Americans perceive to be the equivalent to success or domination within the realm of politics, economics, and militarily. The ideology of success in sports coinciding with political, economic, and military success is evident when analyzing the “Miracle on Ice;” the United States Men’s Hockey team’s defeat of Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics. By default, this Olympic victory for the United States’ perpetuated the perspective that Russia’s beloved Communism form of government was inefficient, added unprecedented support regarding the Cold War, and stimulated our economy as result of the added encouragement for American capitalism and a free market. For many Americans, this event was the start of the modern coexistence between American globalization, capitalism, and sports. Essentially, this is where sports became more than just a game; where corporations such as Nike; athletes such as Michael Jordan; and sports such as American Football, and Baseball were presented the opportunity to dominate socially and

Over the last decade, the prominence and relevance of sports has permeated the social fabric of American culture. As a sociological construct, sports have helped create a new sense of identity for millions of Americans by appealing to their personal and physical needs and by subconsciously influencing the manner in which they interact with one another. When analyzed through a sociological framework, sports have the capacity to transcend racial, political and socioeconomic barriers making it one of the world’s most powerful community-building institutions.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries were a time of immense change in Europe. Germany had recently unified, destabilizing the centuries-old balance of power. The second industrial revolution was in full swing, and Europeans thrilled to the latest inventions, from the skyscraper, the first airplanes, and, most ominously, to the machine guns of Maxim and Krupp. During this time, Europeans perceived sports in a number of ways. First of all, many saw sports as an arena to train their nations for war. Secondly, others saw sports as a unifying principle around which to build nationalism and ethnic identity. Finally, many simply saw sports simply as a healthy and productive activity.

There are multiple elements that shaped the modern Olympic movement from 1892 to 2002. The concept of the modern Olympic movement was to create a global brotherhood using a common interest of all the country’s to bring them together. There were three main factors that shaped the modern Olympic movement, women’s suffrage, economy, and intercountry politics. Feminism helped to shape the Olympic movement because feminism brought women into the Olympic movement because they wanted to prove they could do anything. Nationalism helped to shape the Olympic movement because it brought back rivalries between country’s that were once at war, and the feelings of those country’s due to the outcome of the wars they were in. economics helped shape the Olympic

As a sporting mega-event, the Olympic Games have numerous social impacts on the people, not only on those from the host country, but on individuals all over the globe.

Sport is a global phenomenon, it is a common between all the nations of the world there is not one culture that has not engaged in a way or another in some type of sporting activity; such activities are not only often physically challenging and mentally stimulating – they also provide a sense of belonging and personal meaning to people’s lives. In American culture like many other cultures worldwide winning is highly prized and cherished by fame and money from audiences and sponsors.

In the book “Winning Is the Only Thing”, Randy Roberts and James Olsen unravel the true origins of sports and the post war effects on American sports. The book reveals the social, economic, racial, and worldly affairs that shaped sports in the U.S. Roberts and Olsen also explain how sports went from fun and games to winning being the only importance. The book begins with the cold war and its effects on the Olympic Games, demonstrating how the games were politicized. It then transitions with racial integration becoming a thing of the past, to the modernization of sports through mass media and technology. “Winning is the Only Thing” offers a variety of the historical stories, giving the readers factual insight on the controversial and scandalous sides behind the transformation of American sports. The book was informative and quickly covered the historical and evolutionary aspects of sports, keeping the book short, sweet and easy to read.

This essay will concentrate on looking at the ethnic and class divide within the sports subculture of American society, and how it reflects American Society as a whole. When examining any society there is a always a broad area to cover, while looking at America’s society I will be looking at the arguments that it is the ‘land of the free’ a ‘new nation’ which immigrants flocked to start a new life in a country of much ‘opportunity’. I will be using the sport in the 19th century to examine just how much America was a land of opportunity and of the free, and whether it differed from the attitudes in countries from around the rest of the world.

In the past two decades, professional sports have skyrocketed to the top of the world’s cultural hierarchy. In an age where online streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu are leeching viewers from conventional television networks, professional sports have witnessed almost unprecedented growth. According to a 2011 study by A.T. Kearney, the sports industry is growing faster than overall GDP in developed countries such as America (Collington, Sultan, and Santander,“The Sports Market”), and the 2015 Super Bowl was the most watched television broadcast in American history (Pallotta, “Super Bowl XLIX posts the largest audience in TV history”). As the amount of money and attention poured into this booming industry grows, the influence of its

Sports figures have always been a glorified group within traditional societies. From cultures around the world, sports stars are honored and praised much more so than other members of the societal group. As a result, sports has become just as much of a mythological part of a nation's culture as it is a practical source of entertainment. Thus, a nation's sports teams and power can have an impact on the society's sense of nationalism. This is exactly what is seen in the movie Munich, where Israel feels the need to violently avenge the murder of many of its sports superheroes. The film clearly shows how sports teams and events can help bolster a strong sense of nationalism, especially within the context of international competitions. This same sentiment remains the same today, although the degree to which it affects nationalism may have been dulled down over the years.