Posted on behalf of Katie Devlin:
With the constant advances in technology and work ethics, a major change has been made with universal communication becoming exceptionally simple and virtually effortless as evidently seen in sports. Although countries are more connected which can be seen as an increase in globalization, this also means there is an increase in global competition.
Some sports have failed to become globalized. For example, baseball, America’s favorite pastime, and arguably the most famous sport to watch and participated in America has not become so popular in other countries… yet.
Soccer however is globalized which is why watching the World Cup is so popular in many countries. Sport globalization definitely shows both universal competition and universal bonding. It seems as if Europe and Canada seem to be adopting football into their culture which may lead to World Football Championship perhaps in the future. If soccer has been globalized, there is no doubt other sports have the same capability to be picked up by other countries. For instance, NFL played its first regular season game in London a couple years ago which could definitely a way to promote and advertise the game of football that us Americans seem to love.
Sport globalization can lead to international markets and business opportunities in the sport industry that can help the economy that especially needs help in our country.
Sports act as a universal feature of culture. There are no language barriers in sports. The rules are the rules. Everyone has the ability to know the game. There are no geographic barriers.
As notes on page 325 of the Handbook, “The motivations for and responses to viewing sports on television are primarily functions of affect, but they contain distinctly cognitive and social aspects as well.”
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I definitely agree with Katie’s statement that “Sports act as a universal feature of culture. There are no language barriers in sports. The rules are the rules. Everyone has the ability to know the game. There are no geographic barriers.” I think that sports translate exceptionally well across the globe. You don’t need to know a foreign language to watch, follow, and enjoy a game.
ReplyDeleteThis is why Wenner says that “’Live’ coverage of such events as the Olympics and the World Cup are space-binding and time-splitting technologies of international sporting culture, recorded and read across the world through a complex prism of nation, region, race, class, sexual practice, and gender” (Wenner 124). Sports have the power to appeal and reach out to every demographic there is. This guarantees solid and long-lasting popularity.
For example: In the case of the NBA’s Yao Ming, people in China now have a major reason to follow the NBA. China’s fanship of the NBA is evident every year when All-Star votes are cast. Yao Ming is the consistent leader in votes because he has an entire country supporting and voting for him. Yao Ming has single-handedly launched an entirely new fan base for the NBA. This has helped the NBA greatly in terms of not only popularity, but money as well. I think globalization is awesome. It brings people together and that’s always a good thing.
Leigh Weissman
I agree that some sports have to be globalized and this is because these sports thrive in other countries and because America is so diverse the opportunity to make money from these sports comes into play. Soccer is a sport that has connected the world through its game. A good example is David Beckham who was giving the opportunity to play in Los Angeles. Beckham is obviously well known for his soccer talent, however many people have not seen him play because he spent most of his career in England. He and the Galaxy had the idea of expanding into a global market, which was struggling to find success and that is the MLS. For a short while soccer fans in America got to see Beckham because of these expanding markets.
ReplyDeleteI believe some sports need to shy away from global markets due to the success certain leagues have had in the United States. Baseball is America’s game and MLB does not need to expand into a market that they all ready have covered because of the wide variety of nationalities on each team in the MLB. I believe it takes away from the leagues integrity when they start playing games overseas and in other countries. The MLB is to be played in an American ballpark and because this league is the best people will have to come in order to see it. In the Handbook of Sports and Media it says, “ The fan is the consumer, the athlete the worker, the club a brand, and the sport a commodity”. (Raney and Bryant 445) The fan of the MLB is almost all the time the common person watching from the couch and they want to see the athletes perform at their jobs when and where there supposed to. By going into certain markets I believe the league looses its respect.
Finally what it ultimately comes down to is whether or not an idea is profitable. The CFL can only operate in Canada with 8 teams and that’s the way it will stay because that’s what works. Before to long we are going to have World Classic this and World Tournament that and we might just forget about the World Series.
Chris Myers