Sports are no longer about passion and competition; these were lost a while ago. All we have left is a structure in which corporations dominate our favorite pastimes. The games are less about enjoyment, and more about increasing the value of “property”. We live in a society in which the entirety of jerseys, stadiums, and even bodies are owned and advertised by people looking to make a quick buck. The question we should be asking is how did we get here? Every day of our lives, we follow a hegemonic system that to us feels normal, but for an outsider looking in, is startling. Hegemony, simplified, is normalizing the prevailing political system to the general populace whilst asserting dominance. Whether that refers to Americans reciting …show more content…
However, when referring to hegemony in sports, the conflict of interest becomes transparent. An example that was brought up during class was that playing the national anthems before a soccer match shows our pride to our nation, but it also shows how our sports normalizes and strengthens the ruling ideas of those in charge. Corporate sports on the other hand are kind of different. The idea that people are able to profit off of our passions is frustrating, but the fact that they use it to manipulate and normalize their actions is disturbing. For example, McDonalds, an organization that has had a hand in the increase in childhood obesity (Young, 2011), sponsors the FIFA World Cup, which is a competition that revolves around health, fitness, and athleticism. They are using sly tactics that lead to an increase in sales, which can be seen in the recent US World Cup Qualifier when the children walked out wearing McDonald’s shirts rather than the team’s jerseys. These companies then use the profit to further boost their presence in the game and regulate/manipulate their image. It’s a vicious cycle that may lead to the downfall of sports and to the rise of corporate control over the
Can cheating be an excuse for the phrase; survival of the fittest, or is it an epidemic moral corruption? Since the advent of modern competitive sport, winning has always been the bottom line. Honesty, honour and fair play have taken the backseat. The purpose of the essay May The Best Cheater Win, by Harry Bruce, is to inform how cheating has become widespread and accepted in America. Sports are an integral part of American culture and indeed an entire industry exists because of these competitive sports. The result of these competitive sports has led to the moral corruption of most athletes, as they would do anything to win. Harry Bruce discusses the distortion of right and wrong that has penetrated all levels of sports, from children's league to regional division. He confidently informs his reader that organized sports not only "offer benefits to youngsters" but "they also offer a massive program of moral corruption".
Professional sports, like most of our popular culture, can be understood only partly by through its exiting plays and tremendous athletes. Baseball and football most of all are not only games anymore but also hardcore businesses. As businesses, sports leagues can be as conniving, deceitful, and manipulative as any other businesses in the world. No matter what the circumstances are, it seems that Politicians are always some how right around the corner from the world of sports. These Politicians look to exploit both the cultural and the economic dimensions of the sports for their own purposes. This is what is known in the sports industry as “playing the field”.
Greed and the Death of Professional Sports "Show me the money," screamed Rod. "C'mon Jerry, show me the money!" We vividly remember this famous line from the hit movie, Jerry Maguire. The greedy football player, Rod Tidwell, screams these unforgettable lines trying to convince his agent that he will not settle for any less than a top dollar salary as the flashy Arizona Cardinal wide receiver. This scene exemplifies what has happened to professional sports in recent years.
In Zakaria’s article the Rise of the Rest, Zakaria highlights that Americans believe that they are on the wrong side of history, and that the American government is creating futile policies that only benefit the government; this upended feeling is moving is rooted and based in a deeper place, a place that senses large and disruptive forces (Zakaria, 2008). Zakaria goes on to note that “in almost every industry, in every aspect of life, it feels like the patterns of the past are being scrambled….And for the first time in living memory the United States does not seem to be leading the charge. Americans see that a new world is coming into being, but fear it is one being shaped in distant lands and by foreign people (Zakaria, 2008).” Zakaria’s prose on the subject matter highlights that America is a downspin, and the downspin has in part been created by fear, and that fear creates a response creates a reaction that is not based in collective action but rather bridge burning- a Hobbesian
...he discussion of this difficult topic. Of course we can utilize the duck test to determine whether or not the United States looks like an empire and acts like an empire--possibly even bringing us to the conclusion that it does in fact have these characteristics--but this does little more than scratch the surface of this complex question. In order to truly analyze this concept, we must go “beyond incidental observation and look at the historic big picture” (Grondin et al.,2006: p. 219). Though this debate will never result in a definitive answer, based on an understanding of America’s position and power within the international community both in the present and the past, I firmly believe that characterizing America as an “empire” is inappropriate and hyperbolic and should only be used as a situational description as opposed to an indefinite assertion.
Sports bring friends, family and our country together more so than political debates or even church on Sunday. Whether it be football, basketball, baseball or everything in between everyone has their favorite team that they cheer for regardless if they are the shits or number one. Americans will have gatherings of their friends every week of the season to watch games and “support” their teams from hundreds of miles away. Sports have an enormous impact on our society in every way shape and form, whether it is kids pretending to be their favorite super star while playing in the yard or it is co-workers participating in fantasy sports or making March Madness brackets, but which is the most entertaining, is it the professionals that are paid millions of dollars to play or college kids struggling to get by while trying to earn an education?
Football is a culture and within that culture is the desire to make money. In the 2014-2015 season, the NFL made $7.24 billion. Many dedicated fans travel to the stadium on a Sunday afternoon to experience the culture of football: the tailgate in the parking lot, the hundreds of dollars they pay to publicly display their favorite team’s gear, the front row seats to the game for them and their best buddy, the hotdogs and beer from the concussion stands. Many fans will participate in the NFL’s lifestyle every week. But the question is, do they really care about the actual sport or is it just the comradery and entertainment that it
Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.
The Current Scale and the Economic Importance of the Sports Industry Over 100 years ago the scale of the sports industry has increased gradually. Not all sports have followed in the same path or footsteps. A slow increasing level of control has been affecting the sports industry since 1960Â’s. Mainly standardisation and commodification of sport. More money has been put into the industry equivalent with the efforts that the sports organisations have put in, to increase their potential at the professional end of the scale, and the voluntary end they remain sustainable.
...irst in the world of sports. If it is not, one day, people may not want to play sports anymore. People need to realize as much as they love the big hits and fights, the athletes, owners of teams, and the loved ones of the athletes will never enjoy them.
Without winning, they will not make any money. That’s when they tend to take matters into their own hands. The hegemony theory supports this idea of money driven sports and athletes. In Sociology of the American sport, Eitzen and Sage describe the hegemony theory as sports being a means by which we teach values and cultural ideas of what is right and wrong (Eitzen & Sage, 2016). The major franchises such as NFL and MLB pay their players and coaches thousands, often millions, of dollars to play and coach. In result, the players and coaches are going to live very comfortable lives and be fairly wealthy. This is teaching the athletes that aspire to be like the professionals and the main benefits of being a professional athlete is the money. So, as a result, some athletes realize that the only way they will get to that status is if they
In this paper, I will argue that the current system is hegemonial. My explanation to hegemony will then be centered on the sources of the United States as a hegemonial power. Furthermore, I will state the different primary implications associated with the rise of China and what the Roman Empire offers for understanding the United Sta...
A recent article in Readers Digest estimates that most Americans spend at least 13% of their income on sporting events and sport related products. Sports has entertained American people and drained money out of their pockets making sporting events an arena of pure economic activity. It has been proven that Americans will purchase tickets to attend sporting events, but this alone does not create enough revenue to keep sports teams profitable.
A young boy goes up to his mother and says, "Mommy! I want to be a baseball player!" If this was said in 1930, the boy's mother probably would have told the boy, "That's not future for you! You need to get a real job and make good money." If this was said in 1999, the boy's mother probably would have said, "Let's go to the store and buy you a baseball glove so you can start to practice." It is visible to every sports fan that in the past few decades, sports has undergone a whole new renovation. It isn't just an activity that is played for fun. It is a business in which owner and players attempt to coincide. It is a business where TV controls fan interest. It is also a business that affects many people's lives, both monetary and living aspects. There are many aspects that are involved with the economics of sport. Each one having unique qualities that adds to the greatest source of entertainment.
Sports have been around for thousands of years. The history of sports in United States began back in the 1840s. United States is a very unique country when we look at its sports, just like every country has a different structure of sports so does US. This paper will be taking about the Sports Organizations and Governance, the sports industry, sports organizations, and Structure of sports in the United States. It will also cover the Sport in the United States vs. Other Western Democracies by taking a look at the State Political, historical context, team objectives, and sports organizations. It will also cover the uniqueness of American sport as well as cover the mass participation and give recommendations on how to increase participation and success.