Oz Almog
1. The Popularity of Watching Sports-Games
The restaurant
owned by Michael Jordan, legendary star of the
Chicago Bulls
basketball team, has become one of the most
popular tourist
attractions in the United States. Charles Barkley,
Jordan’s rival
and fellow NBA player, has announced his
intentions to
run for governor, and public opinion polls are already
predicting a
sizable victory. Four years ago, when Brazilian
racecar driver
Ayrton Senna was killed, Brazil declared a national
day of mourning,
and throngs of wailing and screaming fans took
to the streets.
After the Bulgarian soccer team’s surprising victory
in the 1994
World Cup, signs appeared in the streets of Sofia
proclaiming,
perhaps earnest, perhaps in jest, "Stoichkov" for
president!"
When the Brazilian press dubbed Romero, the most
popular player
on the Brazilian soccer team, "a holy genius," not a
peep of protest
was heard from Brazil’s Catholic establishment.
And just recently,
Argentina announced plans to erect a ten meter
high statue
to commemorate one of its national heroes: soccer
superstar Diego
Armando Maradona. These examples as well as
others point
to a global trend with a potential tremendous
sociological
impact, they point to a mounting popularity of sports
heroes and a
growing interest in sports competitions among both
the masses and
the elite, particularly as spectators (Horrigan,
1992; Koppett,
1994).
While interest
in athletic competition is not new to human culture,
never before
have games and sporting competitions been such an
integral part
of the social territory of so many people. Thanks to
modern inventions
such as the camera, the radio, motion pictures,
television,
and satellite communications, sporting events now
arouse the interest
and stir the emotions of millions of fans.
2. The Psycho-Social Dynamics of Sport Watching
Conservatives
and "squares" who still regard the watching of
professional
sports as a colossal waste of time can be compared
to those who
still believe that sexual masturbation is harmful and
childish. Modern
psychology has been instrumental in refuting the
superstitions
surrounding sexual masturbation, and now some
people are also
attempting to prove that the self-gratification
derived from
being a spectator, or, more precisely, from being a
couch potato,
is just as natural and normal as sexual
masturbation
(Murphy & White, 1978). Clearly, rooting for a
particular team
satisfies first and foremost the need to belong.
Being one of
many enthusiastic supporters of a given sports team
is, from a psychological
and sociological standpoint, similar to
being part of
a family, a tribe or a nation (Edward, 1973). In their
1954 classic
study, Princeton researchers A. Hastorf and H.
Kantril showed
that fans of one particular sports team (in this
case, it was
an American football team) were able to detect fouls
committed against
players on their team much more readily than
fouls committed
against players on the opposing team. This
"sporting blindness"
parallels the human tendency to overlook
deficiencies
in one's own family members or fellow citizens. The
act of identifying
with sports heroes can also result from innate
emotional tendencies.
According to the Freudian school of
thought, for
example, this form of identification corresponds to
identification
with a leader, which in essence is a sublimation of
the human tendency
to identify with the primordial father figure.
The tension,
drama, and element of surprise implicit in sports
provide the
active and unsuspecting spectator -- that proverbial
"babe in the
woods" -- with an answer to another five basic
emotional needs:
(1) The drive to succeed and win. Fans
subconsciously
construe the victory of a favorite team or player as
a personal and
uplifting victory that often leads to a feeling of
ecstasy. (2)
The need to love, hate or scorn one’s fellow human
beings and to
express feelings of superiority and aggression. This
need appears
to explain the prolific creativity of zealous fans in
their songs
of praise for beloved players and of vilification of
players on the
opposing teams. (3) The need to relieve tension,
frustration
and pent-up anger and for spontaneity in expressing
emotions. Watching
a particularly suspenseful game seems to
supply the one
niche in our "respectable" society in which people
are permitted
to return to their primordial state, and to rant and
rave to their
hearts’ content without regard for good manners,
mature behavior
or self-respect. At the same time, in this niche,
people can comply
with the prevailing psychological call for
releasing internal
conflicts and expressing emotions. (4) The need
for optimism.
Rooting for a team to win a game and secure a
championship
legitimizes hopes for a rosy future. (5) The need for
entertainment
and distractions from the daily grind. Most games
take place on
the weekend, and tournaments have turned into
new national
and even international holidays or festivals which
attract intense
interest (See: Novak, 1976; Mcpherson et al, 1989;
Cashmore, 1990).
3. The Media Revolution in Sport
These legitimate
needs were already valid fifty years ago, thus
they are not
sufficient to explain the growing popularity and
appeal of sports
today. The key to this riddle can be found in an
additional,
powerful variable in the sociological equation: the mass
media revolution
(Wenner, 1989; Larson, & Park, 1993). Live
broadcasts,
close-ups and shots of the cheering crowd, replays
and slow-motion
replays, overhead shots and alternating camera
angles, sportscasters’
enthusiastic ongoing dialogue with sidekick
color commentators,
pre-game shows and post-game analyses in
the studio and
the newspapers. All of these have transformed
spectator sports
into an exhilarating drama (Whannel, 1992).
The most popular
sports that draw millions of fans to stadiums
and TV screens
around the world are the ball games. Countless
numbers of coaches,
advisors, sportswriters and commentators
earn a very
respectable living from these games. Several factors
appear to contribute
to the popularity of ball games: The games
are extremely
simple, particularly the most popular among them,
soccer (Walvin
1975; Wagg, 1984; Murray, 1994). Indeed, almost
every male has
tried to play some ball game at some point in his
life. Moreover,
the long and tense moments spent waiting for a
goal or a basket
or a touchdown or a home run lead to a catharsis
of sorts. The
games – particularly the soccer game - are also
extremely unpredictable
so that the underdog has always a
chance of unexpectedly
conquering the odds-on favorite. Finally,
most of these
games are exclusively "masculine" and even violent,
and therefore
serve as a social valve for male aggression.
An additional
explanation for the popularity of ball games can be
found in neo-Freudianism,
itself based on male chauvinism
because liberating
eruption of energy when a player score a goal
or slam a basket
can be said to have the earmarks of "scoring"
with a woman.
Furthermore, the international nature of these
games enables
almost any country to send a high quality team to
a sports competition,
to gain instant renown (with American
professional
basketball still a notable exception). The result is a
media product
with enormous marketing potential. The fact that
this drama "photographs
well" also contributes to the success of
ball games in
the age of mass communications.
Today, with increased
leisure time and expanded satellite
broadcasts,
sport in general have gained significant social stature
(Elias, &
Dunning, 1986). The signs that sports play a prominent
role in modern
life are everywhere. For some time now, national,
continental,
and international sports competitions and
championships,
particularly the Olympics and the World Cup, have
been celebrated
as national and international holidays by millions
of impassioned
fans (Blain et al 1993). These high-level
competitions
produce new World records, electrifying drama and
new culture
heroes. The pageantry of the opening and closing
ceremonies of
these sporting media festivals becomes more
ostentatious
from year to year; these ceremonies constitute a form
of religious
"mass for the masses," replete with flags, anthems,
parades, circus
acts, and rock performances (Hoffman, 1992).
Sports apparel,
including shoes, tank tops, sweat suits, and
tee-shirts,
has become the most popular branch of the fashion
industry today.
The relationship between science and sport is also
growing stronger,
as evidenced by the new training techniques
and innovative
measurement instrumentation as well as by the
sophisticated
methods of surveying viewing habits and of
analyzing losses.
This connection serves to legitimized the
respectability
and achievements of sports. Sports reporting in the
written and
electronic media is no longer relegated to the category
of puerile news
directed at adolescents, nor is it considered
merely a distraction
for the rank and file. On the contrary, sports
reporting, primarily
of ball games, occupies a central spot in the
daily headlines.
Increasing numbers of columns and television
shows are devoted
to reviewing and analyzing sporting events,
through serious,
in-depth discussion and commentary.
4. Politicians as Sport-Fans
One provocative
indicator of the new status of sport on the world
scene is the
interest expressed by world leaders in what happens
on the playing
fields and their active support of sports
associations
and teams (Hargreaves, 1986; Wagg, 1995).
Recently, the
president of Brazil declared that "Brazil has two
pressing problems
to solve: reduce the 50% inflation rate and win
the World Cup"
(not necessarily in that order). Before the World
Cup, the president
of the Cameroons ordered the coach of the
national team
to include the president's favorite player, Roger
Milla, in the
team. The president of France cut short his speech at
a meeting of
the industrialized nations so that those attending
could watch
the World Cup, while the president of Italy actually
canceled a cabinet
meeting so that he could cheer his favorite
team to victory.
In the past,
politicians fraternized with players and fans only as a
political gimmick,
a way to demonstrate their affinity for the
common man.
Today, by contrast, politicians must demonstrate
interest and
expertise in sports as part of their rudimentary
political baggage.
It’s no coincidence that two of the most popular
European leaders
in recent years, Berlusconi of Italy and Tapie of
France, have
been the owners of extremely successful soccer
teams: Milan
and Marseille. Presidents, politicians, and public
figures fly
from one end of the globe to the other, just to root for
their teams,
prompted not only by love of sports and homeland
but also by
the growing link between victory in the sports arena
and victory
in the political sphere.
5. Professional Sport as a Mean to Global Identity
The success of
any social organization or structure has always
been dependent
upon its ability to tie psychological needs to
sociological
needs. While the psychological dimension of sport is
evident, the
sociological connection is less clear. I believe that
the present
popularity of sports is the product not only of its
tremendous economic
and entertainment potential (Hoffman,
1980) but also
of its function as an effective instrument for
creating international
solidarity and promoting the concept of the
global village
without borders. The millions around the globe who
watch a live
game beamed by satellite and cable television do
indeed make
up one solid group of fans from many different
countries, united
in their fervent support of a chosen team.
Already today,
most of the world’s successful soccer and
basketball teams
attract numerous fans and admirers from beyond
the borders
of their own countries. Anticipated developments in
satellite communications,
interactive television and computerized
communication
networks should further the physical contacts
among fans from
different countries. Consequently, sports is
gradually breaking
its symbolic, ritualistic ties to the nation state
(Blain, Neil,
et al. 1993; Sugden & Tomplinson, 1994), and is thus
helping to reduce
the traditional significance of geographical
location even
as it strengthens the feeling of universal belonging.
Teams around
the world have also exhibited an increasing
propensity for
signing on foreign players as free agents. This
practice, recently
legitimized by several new player draft laws
such as the
European Bosman ruling, together with the growing
tendency of
players to move from club to club and from country to
country, have
created a new type of team comprised of an
international
amalgam of players who speak different languages.
These new teams
are less parochial and more universal and
professional
in nature, than the traditional teams (Maguire, 1994).
Sports also play
a significant role in spreading and reinforcing
democratic values
that act as a modern "ethical glue" for binding
the developed
nations. Some of those democratic, capitalistic
values which
sports and media, both overtly and covertly drill into
society are:
justice for all; obedience to the rule of law; fair play;
free enterprise;
efficiency, competitiveness, and achievement;
self-control
and restraint; initiative and a creative imagination;
hard work; variety
and change; division of labor and cooperation
to attain longed
for goals. A Sports mythology and its underlying
Western world-view
mutually feed and reinforce each other. The
belief in equal
opportunity, the notion of the rise from rags to
riches through
hard work and determination, and the conviction
that the virtuous
few can triumph over the evil many (Mason,
1990; Guttmann,
1993). These modern "western imperialist" myths
are integral
components of today’s sporting culture.
6. Can "Sport-Wars"
Substitute "Conventional
Wars"?
Sports are above
all an extraordinary mechanism for the release
of aggression
between nations and people (with a few notable
exceptions).
Thus, it is possible that in the distant future bloody
combat will
be replaced by contests in the sports arena as part of
a global process
of cultural evolution. This may sound naive in
light of both
history and the current conflicts in Eastern Europe,
Asia and Africa,
but the image of the future appears nonetheless
on the playing
fields of the developed democratic nations. Note
that truly democratic
nations have never engaged each other with
tanks and planes,
yet today more than ever they are facing each
other sweat-drenched,
in a nerve-wracking combat on the playing
fields.
Could it be then
that sports, with all the concomitant drama and
commotion, will
ultimately prove to be the herald of a new age, an
age that will
end conventional warfare (even though the threat of
a nuclear confrontation
still exists)? Sports can be an effective
alternative
to war because, at least in part, sports satisfy instincts
and emotions
that formerly led to wars even as individuals and
society are
spared the heavy price of armed combat (Dunning,
1990).
* Sports, like
war, inflame the masses (see: Sipes, 1973; Hersch,
1982; Kapuscinski
, 1990; Kuper, 1994) but at the same time
provide an outlet
for aggression without endangering people.
Recently published
statistics show that during the World Cup the
crime rate in
the United States droppe.
1.Sports
victories, like war victories inspire local and national
pride but sports victories do not require individuals to make
sacrifices, and certainly not to die for a cause.
2.Participation in sports and support for sports teams allow both
the players and the fans to win without wiping out the "enemy."
Furthermore, what flies around the playing fields are balls, not
lethal bullets. In sports as opposed to war, there is always
another day, and that day always comes fairly soon (next
season or next year’s championship). The team and players
have always another opportunity to recover from even the
most painful and humiliating defeat. In contrast to war, sports
do not leave the losing side without hope. Indeed, because
sports victories are symbolic in nature and valid only for the
very short time until the next game or the next season, sports
provide a more equitable apportioning of failure and success.
In other words, in sports, everyone will ultimately be a winner
and a loser, so that any feelings of injustice or frustration can
be modified.
3.Both sports and war divert personal tension and frustration
into collective channels of hatred for the enemy. In sports,
however, this hatred does not usually translate into border
conflicts or racial unrest. On the contrary, the hatred for sports
adversaries, like its antithesis, the love for team members,
crosses national borders and racial lines. African, South
American and European soccer stars are all admired and
venerated by people of different races and nations. In addition,
the antagonism toward sports opponents is, for the most part,
temporary, and therefore non-virulent. There is always a
chance that during the off-season one's favorite team will sign
on the star of its bitterest rival.
4.Sports, like war, provide an outlet for the human desire for
supremacy and control. But while the destructive power of war
has progressed in step with the new developments in
technology, in sports, even with the new linkage to
technological developments, superiority is ultimately subject to
man's physical limitations. All human beings have only one
pair of legs and only one pair of lungs. These limitations also
serve to temper the megalomania of sports patrons, and allow
for a constantly changing stream of victors and vanquished.
5.Sports, like war, permit a individual's artificial "growth" by
enabling him/her to ride momentary on an artificial wave of
fame. Yet unlike the chauvinism of war, sports propel people
to ward extended loyalties. Sports fans have been known to
dig up very strange reasons or excuses for identifying with a
particular side, whether it be Morocco, Romania, or
Switzerland, in order to intensify their involvement when
watching a particular televised sports competition. Thus,
enthusiastic television sports fans can find themselves
identifying, if only temporarily, with nations and people to
whom, under other circumstances, they would be indifferent or
even hostile.
Perhaps, then,
the roar of enthusiastic fans on stadium bleachers
and the power
of sports competitions are indeed ushering in an
age in which
the knights of war will ultimately relinquish their
place on the
battlefields to new knights in shining armor--the
sports heroes.
Farewell William the Conqueror. Make way for
Diego Maradona,
Pele. Ronaldo and the other conquering heroes
on the fields
of dreams.
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