London Calling: The Globalization of the NFL

As with any business, the NFL's goal is to make as much money as possible. It has already proven to be the most popular sport in America, and massive quantities of revenue are drawn from each of the games. However, while the NFL has maintained America's interest for many decades, it has yet to make a notable impact overseas. In order to expose the sport to an international audience, there have been several games played in Wembley Stadium in London, despite having no current team there. However, in order to expand their brand to a global audience, there has been strong indications that the NFL wants a full-time team based in London. While this seems like a good business idea, there are several flaws that make the idea better on paper than in practice. There has been little indication that British citizens would welcome an NFL team openly, as American football is simply not ingrained into the culture there like soccer or rugby is. Also, the logistical issues of having to plan long flights to and from the UK could be a potential nightmare, and attracting players to the team could prove difficult due to the lack of an established fan base and travel issues. Ultimately, I would not be surprised to see the NFL put a team in London eventually, because of the nature of capitalism. Money always talks loudly, and while it would be difficult to solve the issues of having an international team, if there is any chance of gaining more money, the NFL would gladly jump at the opportunity.

Sociogenesis of Baseball

Baseball is America's national pastime, and has been a popular sport in this country for more than a century. In 1845, Alexander Cartwright designed the modern baseball field, and also devised the basic rules of the game, and formed the New York Knickerbockers baseball club, which was a precursor to modern baseball teams that would follow in the decades ahead. Interestingly, the game of baseball was based off the British game called "Rounders", which became popular in the United States during the early 19th century. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings were formed, which was considered the first professional baseball team, and the first professional baseball league (the National Association of Professional Baseball Players) was formed two years later. In 1878, a patent for a baseball catcher's mask was formed, thereby setting the standard for baseball equipment. As the pictures indicate, the design of the catcher's mask has changed over time, from when it was first invented to the modern day.

In 1901, the American League was formed, which solidified the modern version of Major League Baseball. At the end of the season, the team with the best record in the National League has traditionally faced the American League champion in the World Series. The game became significantly more popular in the 1920s, and this is known as the "live ball" era, where players like Babe Ruth began to hit home runs; a rare event in the previous decades (the "dead ball" era). The game continued to increase in popularity throughout the years, and the color barrier was broken in the 1940s by Jackie Robinson, who was the first black athlete to play in the major leagues. Today, baseball continues to be a popular sport, although the use of performance enhancing drugs has been a controversial subject that continues to provoke intense debate.

References: http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventions/a/Baseball.htm

Sport in the Ancient World

In ancient Greece, sport was a significant part of the culture. Events such as discus throwing, wrestling, and sprinting were all primary events, and put the participants' physical and athletic ability to the test for spectators to witness. In contrast, the sport of choice in ancient Rome was Gladiator battles, which were extremely brutal to witness and a true battle of survival. Interestingly, the Greeks allowed people of any background to participate in their Olympics, and in this way, it was a very even playing field, and a true meritocracy. The Greeks placed an emphasis on the human body, and the nude participants were treated as Gods due to their impressive physical stature. However, the Roman Gladiators were typically slaves and considered savages, and were forced to fight each other for the entertainment of the upper elites and the crowd. Another point of interest was the fact that males dominated athletic competition, and women were typically not present, suggesting the perception of gender differences that still persists to this day. Despite the differences between sports and methods, both the Greeks and the Romans placed an emphasis on winning, and the glorification of the winners as well as the stigmatization of the losers is an aspect of sport that is still present in the modern day.

References: Youtube videos provided of Ancient Rome and Greek sports

Sport, Society, and Me

To me, sports represent more than just entertainment. I believe that they embody characteristics that I can apply to my own life: courage, sacrifice, teamwork, commitment, and perseverance. Growing up, I played basketball, and through experience, I learned how to apply the lessons that it taught me off the court to become a more well-rounded individual. I also watched a lot of sports (mainly football, but also basketball and baseball), and as a fan of specific teams, I felt part of a broader community of sports fanatics. This gave me a sense of camaraderie with other individuals who liked watching sports, and I could develop a connection with people based on this common interest. Overall, sports have had a strong impact on my life, and by both playing and watching them I have definitely changed and grown as an individual.

In society, I think that sport has a primarily positive influence, but there also negative aspects of it. As Stanley Eitzen states in "Fair and Foul": "Sport shares with the larger society the basic elements and expressions of bureaucratization, commercialization, racism, sexism, homophobia, greed, exploitation of the powerless by the powerful, alienation, and ethnocentrism". While I generally think that sport embodies more positive values such as teamwork and perseverance, at the professional level there is no denying the corporate influence that threatens to overshadow the game. I think that due to the popularity of sports in American culture, most people tend to appreciate the positive aspects of it, and attempt to ignore the uglier behind-the-scenes aspects of it. Overall, I think that it is obvious how pervasive sports are in American society, and I think that this is largely due to marketing. Even people who do not follow sports closely know the names of certain athletes and teams, and I believe that this is partially due to the commercialization of sports as a brand, which gets the attention of the general public. It is interesting to note how athletes are perceived by the general public, as some are held in high regard for their accomplishments and persona, while others are harshly criticized for being liars, cheaters, or just plain arrogant. While I think that the perception of most famous athletes is positive due to their athletic accomplishments taking precedence over their personal lives, it is undeniable that an athlete's reputation can increase or decrease drastically in a short amount of time.

References: Eitzen, Stanley. Fair and Foul. Chapter 1.

The Sport Ethic

The sport ethic is "the criteria for defining what it means to be a real athlete" (Hughes and Coakley 1991). The ethic encompasses four primary points, the first of which is "making sacrifices for the game". This essentially means that part of an athlete's moral code when participating in a sport is to understand that making decisions for the greater good is necessary to be successful. Values such as as teamwork and selflessness are of particular importance, for example. The second point is that athletes must strive for distinction, meaning that they must attempt to separate themselves from other athletes through superior performance. The third point also relates to the moral code of an athlete, and involves the perception that athletes should play through pain and accept risks. This suggests that toughness is admired by the public, and can boost an athlete's reputation amongst his peers and viewers. The final point is that athletes should "refuse to accept limits in the pursuit of possibilities". This further suggests the "never give up" mantra that athletes are expected to abide by, and their perseverance through the hardship is noticed and respected by others.

I believe that athletes conform to these points of the "sport ethic" because of moral obligation as instilled by their peers and the general public. By failing to understand or incorporate this code into their sport participation, they are risking being criticized and made fun of for being lazy or incompetent. Personally, I have experienced the sport ethic when I participated in YMCA basketball growing up. On the team, I was expected to be a good teammate by passing the ball and setting up scoring opportunities for my teammates, and cheering them on. At the same time, I also wanted to perform well individually so I could separate myself from the other players, and I always wanted to play regardless of if I was feeling tired or hurt. I also wanted to win every game during our league season, and tried hard in practice and the games so I could help my team in pursuit of this goal.

References: Hughes and Coakley (1991)

Sports in the USA

In the United States, sport is a significant part of the American culture. Some of the most popular sports here are football, basketball, baseball, and hockey. While each of these games is different and has a unique set of rules and characteristics, there are several elements that are similar. As with any game, the objective is to win by scoring more points than the opposing team, and competition is encouraged. This makes sports a microcosm of American society as a whole, where the capitalistic system upon which the nation was built encourages competition through businesses creating and selling products to consumers.

In each of the aforementioned sports, a typical game day involves fans coming together to cheer for their team, or simply to watch the game as entertainment. This makes attending or viewing a sporting event a social act in nature, and the fans respond to the events in the game by cheering or booing when certain things occur in the game. Viewers want the game to be played fairly and with class, so abiding by the rules of the sport and showing good sportsmanship is always appreciated.

Success in sports is defined by winning, and the ultimate goal of each sport is to win the championship at the end of the season, thereby signaling a certain team as the best in the league for the season. Because of this, all sports encourage competition, and the aforementioned connection to capitalism holds true in any level of professional sport. The most popular individual athletes are widely recognized for being winners, and elevating their team to a higher level through their athletic ability and perseverance.