MSMS Essay
Making Sense of Modern Sport 13PSB024
Ryan Harris - B218745
Word Count – 3,468
Sport can be seen today as a product of distinctive national histories as well as global phenomenon. Discuss the extent to which we need to explore the intersection (convergence and contradiction) between nationalism and globalisation in order to make sense of modern sport.
In today’s society, sport is seen as a huge influence on just about everything. For some, it’s a profession, a pastime or even something to avoid altogether. Modern sport has evolved from something that was enjoyed by local citizens and school children as a hobby or subject, into a global competition that is viewed and followed by the entire world and has the power to bring together or tear apart an entire nation. But how did sport become such an influential mechanism in today’s world and what are the kinds of effects that occur due to such a rapid change of popularity? I will be looking into some of the outcomes of this matter in terms of national identity and nationalism in relation to globalisation and how commercialisation in sport has taken a central stage as a result.
Let’s begin by identifying where sport began and what were the reasons behind it. It all started off in Ancient Greece where the emphasis on developing a physically fit being was huge. The Greeks glorified the ‘perfect being’ in a way that was indescribable for one reason and one reason only, war. They endeavoured to become the best organism possible and a way of doing this was to partake in physical activity. However, there were no rules or regulations here, as these physical activities were not performed as a means of competition between their own societies, but as a mean to building the ideal soldier. An additional benefit to taking part in such activities was that it would build character and be educative in the importance of physical well being as well as physicality. The physical
Ryan Harris - B218745
Word Count – 3,468
Sport can be seen today as a product of distinctive national histories as well as global phenomenon. Discuss the extent to which we need to explore the intersection (convergence and contradiction) between nationalism and globalisation in order to make sense of modern sport.
In today’s society, sport is seen as a huge influence on just about everything. For some, it’s a profession, a pastime or even something to avoid altogether. Modern sport has evolved from something that was enjoyed by local citizens and school children as a hobby or subject, into a global competition that is viewed and followed by the entire world and has the power to bring together or tear apart an entire nation. But how did sport become such an influential mechanism in today’s world and what are the kinds of effects that occur due to such a rapid change of popularity? I will be looking into some of the outcomes of this matter in terms of national identity and nationalism in relation to globalisation and how commercialisation in sport has taken a central stage as a result.
Let’s begin by identifying where sport began and what were the reasons behind it. It all started off in Ancient Greece where the emphasis on developing a physically fit being was huge. The Greeks glorified the ‘perfect being’ in a way that was indescribable for one reason and one reason only, war. They endeavoured to become the best organism possible and a way of doing this was to partake in physical activity. However, there were no rules or regulations here, as these physical activities were not performed as a means of competition between their own societies, but as a mean to building the ideal soldier. An additional benefit to taking part in such activities was that it would build character and be educative in the importance of physical well being as well as physicality. The physical
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